I really can't decide what I think of this book. It was a slow burn for me, and it took me a while to get into it. A great idea - having a goldfish fall from his usual home on the 27th floor of an apartment block (where he's sort of looked after by over-sexed Connor) downwards to the pavement beneath. On his way he passes apartments in which small dramas are being acted out, lives becoming changed. Finally I became engaged in all these stories. I began to care about Katie, one of Connor's many girlfriends,and about home-schooled Hermann, and agoraphobic Claire, and Garth who.... no, spoiler alert, and janitor Jimenez...and, and... The only one I didn't really care about was Ian the goldfish. I found the chapters about him and his downward journey somewhat tedious. Quirky, fun, original .... yes, go on, read it. ( )

The cover of "Fishbowl" by Bradley Somer says, "An irrepressible novel--breezy, funny, sexy, and bursting with life." And it is actually and undeniably all of that. Perhaps that is enough said, but I do want to add a few thoughts, largely because of my experience with reading other goodreads reviews and also because, like some others, I believe this book deserves wider promotion and more readers.
Even though I dislike giving 5 star ratings, I gave Fishbowl that rating because it is so original, so well crafted and so enjoyable. While so many authors are trying things like abandoning punctuation, following multiple timelines, eschewing capital letters and a lot of other malarky, Somer rose above that nonsense and delivered an innovative and creative text. Creativity and innovation always baffles many people at first, and it is no surprise that it happened here.
The goodreads reviews of this book I looked at before starting it seemed to either entirely like or dislike the book and many reviews focused on the story thread being tied to the fall of the goldfish from the 27th floor.
Several people did not like the goldfish element. I did, though not as a part of the plot, but rather, as a part of the tone and general feel of the book.
The meat of the novel has little to do with the goldfish and in fact, I think the novel could be read as a series of flash-fiction stories without the goldfish angle at all. But the goldfish element adds a tone of play, fun, humor and lightheartedness that makes the various stories, some quite tragic, easier to digest. In fact, there are parts of the book that a would seem didactic and preachy were it not for the tone established by the goldfish story. This is particularly true of the last chapter which is thoughtful and even almost profound, but would be heavy-handed in a more serious presentation of the book.
I think Somer has also hit upon a very important fact by using this format in which actions are obversed in the flash of a second and then are unremembered by the observer. The fact is that life happens in flashes, in small bits most of which are unplanned and usually unremembered, but each of these nanoseconds of reality is absolutely critical to the whole. Sometimes lives change in the nanosecond of tragedy: a car wreck, a gunshot, a heart attack. Other times, the changes are not as directly or easily seen as in those profound moments, but each second is nevertheless a vital building block of all of the others. This book captures that entire idea, yet the author's insight is palatable, presented in a frame that also makes it memorable. Moreover, Fishbowl actually reflects the belief observed by many philosophers: The only moment we truly have is this moment, the now. The past is gone and even the memories of it are inaccurate and the future has not arrived. The future that will arrive is the result of all of these unremembered second of the "now".
The book will cause readers to chuckle or even laugh in many places, but in the end, it makes a serious and profound insight into life.
( )

The cover of "Fishbowl" by Bradley Somer says, "An irrepressible novel--breezy, funny, sexy, and bursting with life." And it is actually and undeniably all of that. Perhaps that is enough said, but I do want to add a few thoughts, largely because of my experience with reading other goodreads reviews and also because, like some others, I believe this book deserves wider promotion and more readers.
Even though I dislike giving 5 star ratings, I gave Fishbowl that rating because it is so original, so well crafted and so enjoyable. While so many authors are trying things like abandoning punctuation, following multiple timelines, eschewing capital letters and a lot of other malarky, Somer rose above that nonsense and delivered an innovative and creative text. Creativity and innovation always baffles many people at first, and it is no surprise that it happened here.
The goodreads reviews of this book I looked at before starting it seemed to either entirely like or dislike the book and many reviews focused on the story thread being tied to the fall of the goldfish from the 27th floor.
Several people did not like the goldfish element. I did, though not as a part of the plot, but rather, as a part of the tone and general feel of the book.
The meat of the novel has little to do with the goldfish and in fact, I think the novel could be read as a series of flash-fiction stories without the goldfish angle at all. But the goldfish element adds a tone of play, fun, humor and lightheartedness that makes the various stories, some quite tragic, easier to digest. In fact, there are parts of the book that a would seem didactic and preachy were it not for the tone established by the goldfish story. This is particularly true of the last chapter which is thoughtful and even almost profound, but would be heavy-handed in a more serious presentation of the book.
I think Somer has also hit upon a very important fact by using this format in which actions are obversed in the flash of a second and then are unremembered by the observer. The fact is that life happens in flashes, in small bits most of which are unplanned and usually unremembered, but each of these nanoseconds of reality is absolutely critical to the whole. Sometimes lives change in the nanosecond of tragedy: a car wreck, a gunshot, a heart attack. Other times, the changes are not as directly or easily seen as in those profound moments, but each second is nevertheless a vital building block of all of the others. This book captures that entire idea, yet the author's insight is palatable, presented in a frame that also makes it memorable. Moreover, Fishbowl actually reflects the belief observed by many philosophers: The only moment we truly have is this moment, the now. The past is gone and even the memories of it are inaccurate and the future has not arrived. The future that will arrive is the result of all of these unremembered second of the "now".
The book will cause readers to chuckle or even laugh in many places, but in the end, it makes a serious and profound insight into life.
( )

An apartment building can present a wide range of lives and lifestyles. And even the briefest of views — the time it takes a goldfish to fall from the 27th floor to the ground (about 4 seconds) — can capture (with a bit of fudging) complex emotional intensity and subtlety, and a bit of naughtiness. Set aside the conceit of the falling goldfish synoptic view if you find it irritating (understandable) and you still have a solid slice-of-life novel with some interesting and some fun characters. It’s not War and Peace, but then it doesn’t pretend to be. And though it may lack some plausibility (for example, it has a character walk up 27 flights of stairs, have a row with her boyfriend, and stomp down those same stairs all in less than 30 minutes), it has believable action and reaction, and a few nice insights.

This is an ensemble piece, apart from Ian, the goldfish, but if there were a primary protagonist, it would be Katie, the slightly implausible stair walker. And her antagonist would be the villain, Conor Radley. Lest you be in any doubt as to how to read these characters, the labels “villain” and “heroine” are helpfully applied in the appropriate chapter headings. Yes, it’s that kind of a whimsical novel. Just go with it.
Naturally, the action here is a bit cartoonish, but with that proviso in mind, the writing is actually very solid. Once I got past my annoyance with Ian, I found it an enjoyable read. Light but not wholly insubstantial.

And so, gently recommended. ( )

Ian the goldfish tries to find freedom by jumping out of his fishbowl from the 27th floor of an apartment building. As he falls, the reader is treated to Ian's point of view (he is a goldfish, so it's not terribly developed), plus a glimpse into some of the lives of the apartments he falls past on his trip down. The residents we read about are very different from each other. There is a young home schooled boy with a physical affliction, a very pregnant woman with a clueless boyfriend, the lonely building janitor, a construction worker with a secret, and a sex-crazed young man and his series of girls. Some of the characters will get to know each other, and some won't. I think this is an interesting glance at the differences in people's lives, plus an indication that we don't really know how others live when we aren't looking. ( )