Fishbowl
As Ian, the goldfish plummets to the ground, I wanted a swimming pool, an ACME brand swimming pool to be precise to miraculous appears on the sidewalk below him and save him from a disastrous outcome. I wanted a “that’s not all folks” at the end of this novel, as his journey has been incredible. I wanted to know more about the individuals whose lives he shared with me and I wanted more of Ian, for his insight was deeper than some individuals I know, who are not amphibians. The story centers on a tall apartment complex, with individuals who reside inside it and a goldfish who longs for adventure. The stories of the individuals who reside inside their apartments are all unique, each of their lives are hidden behind their own doors, yet there something that ties them together in this structure on Roxy. Living on the balcony, Ian gets out of his bowl and starts his freefall decent outside the building. As Ian falls, he glimpse inside his neighbor’s apartments as he descents downward giving up readers short narrative accounts conveying what he perceives from their glass panes. I enjoyed his insight, his language and his view of life made me stop and contemplate, and it was funny to think that this was coming from a goldfish. As the stories of his neighbors are revealed, the diversity and the similarities of their lives made this book one that I truly enjoyed. I had a hard putting it down once I got involved in the activity of the building and the individuals who resided within. I found that when I first started this novel, it took a while for me to get into the groove of the writing style and the language but when I finally did, I loved it and I couldn’t put it down The diversity of the characters and the way the book was put together was fantastic. I was really impressed with this novel.
3
