Pond

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Pub Date 10 Apr 2023 | Archive Date 10 Apr 2023

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Description

Feverish and forthright, Pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pit- falls and pleasures of a solitudinous life told by an unnamed woman living on the cusp of a coastal town. Claire-Louise Bennett’s star- tlingly original debut collection slips effortlessly between worlds and is by turns darkly funny and deeply moving.


For fans of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill, Speed Boat by Renata Adler and The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood.

Feverish and forthright, Pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pit- falls and pleasures of a solitudinous life told by an unnamed woman living on the cusp of a coastal town. Claire-Louise Bennett’s...


Advance Praise

‘These stories are intelligent and funny, innovative and provocative, and it’s impossible to read them without thinking that here is a writer who has only just begun to show what she can do.’

— Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing


‘Bennett’s language is an ornate and long-winded riposte to all those pared-back minimalists, and I love it.’

 — Jon McGregor, The Guardian


‘This is a truly stunning debut, beautifully written and profoundly witty.’

— Andrew Gallix, The Guardian


‘This uncategorizable book will leave you positively buoyant.’

— Heller McAlpin, LA Times


‘Wielding a wry but implacable logic, Claire-Louse Bennett dives under the surface of “ordinary” experiences and things to reveal their supreme and giddy illogic. Like Gail Scott and Lydia Davis before her, she writes an impeccable affect-less prose that almost magically arrives at something extraordinary.’ 

— Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick


‘Claire-Louise Bennett is a major writer to be discovered and treasured.’

— Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home


‘As brilliant a debut and as distinct a voice as we’ve heard in years – this is a real writer with the real goods.’

— Kevin Barry, author of City of Bohane


‘Claire-Louise Bennett sets the conventions of literary fiction ablaze in this ferociously intelligent and funny debut. Don't be fooled by Pond’s small size. It contains multitudes.’

— Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation



‘These stories are intelligent and funny, innovative and provocative, and it’s impossible to read them without thinking that here is a writer who has only just begun to show what she can do.’

— Eimear...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781804270462
PRICE £8.99 (GBP)
PAGES 184

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Average rating from 19 members


Featured Reviews

Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett is a collection of vignettes that read like journal entries and is a masterpiece of writing. The writing style is lyrical, contemplative, and introspective, with a strong emphasis on sensory description. Bennett's use of language is unique, captivating, and awe-inspiring, drawing the reader into the narrator's world. The narrator's musings are fragmented and often surreal, touching on themes of solitude, identity, and the complexities of the human mind. The writing is both witty and melancholic, and the observations are often both frivolous and profound. Bennett's ability to describe even the most mundane things in a way that is beyond beautiful and brilliant is something that I have never encountered before in literature. Overall, Pond is a thought-provoking work that offers a glimpse into the mind of its narrator and invites the reader to reflect on their own experiences and emotions.

4/5

Thank you, NetGalley/Fitzcarraldo Editions, for this book in exchange for an honest review

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Not so much a collection of short stories, more a collection of moments. Some a few sentences long, other spread over pages. Beautifully recorded. Not a book to be read all at once, but one to be picked up and dipped into. To be read and reread, and to underline. Something to spend quiet moments with.

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