Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge,from St Martin's Press, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
All this week, I'll be sharing books and items that honor the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
This new book might seem like it shouldn't belong, but read on....
Synopsis:
A goldfish named Ian is falling from the 27th-floor balcony on which his fishbowl sits. He's longed for adventure, so when the opportunity arises, he escapes from his bowl, clears the balcony railing and finds himself airborne. Plummeting toward the street below, Ian witnesses the lives of the Seville on Roxy residents.
There's the handsome grad student, his girlfriend, and his mistress; the construction worker who feels trapped by a secret; the building's super who feels invisible and alone; the pregnant woman on bed rest who craves a forbidden ice cream sandwich; the shut-in for whom dirty talk, and quiche, are a way of life; and home-schooled Herman, a boy who thinks he can travel through time. Though they share time and space, they have something even more important in common: each faces a decision that will affect the course of their lives. Within the walls of the Seville are stories of love, new life, and death, of facing the ugly truth of who one has been and the beautiful truth of who one can become.
Sometimes taking a risk is the only way to move forward with our lives. As Ian the goldfish knows, "An entire life devoted to a fishbowl will make one die an old fish with not one adventure had."
Review:
New Orleans is known for having fewer steps in the '6 Degrees of Separation game", thanks to it's insular nature and the interaction of citizens in so many cultural activities, that cross over each other. So in a way, this book echoes how the residents of the Roxy may be apart, but are interconnected in more ways than they think. The goldfish falling is really just a ruse to look into the different characters, all of which define the term 'quirky' in one way or another. Each tale is unique and short, so the book is a quick read. This is one of those books you can read in spurts, so it can easily fit into a busy schedule as you're shuffling the kids back and forth between school and activities.
About the Author:
Bradley Somer was born in Sydney, Australia and grew up in Canada and holds degrees in Anthropology and Archaeology. His short fiction has appeared in literary journals, reviews and anthologies. His debut novel, Imperfections, published in Canada, won the 2013 CBC Bookie Award for debut of the year. Bradley currently lives in a little old house in the city of Calgary, Canada, where he works on his writing projects and tries to ignore the wild growth that his backyard has become.
Giveaway:
One BTHM reader will win this review copy
One BTHM reader will win this review copy
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