What readers think of Fishbowl, plus links to write your own review.

Ian, an adventuresome goldfish, is the leitmotif in Bradley Somer's snapshot of life in an apartment building. Every one of Somer's many characters comes to life through his vivid, detailed descriptions of their physical features and actions. Imagine several short stories, brilliantly intertwined, some resolved (sort of), some left open (partly) and all appended with the author's/narrator's speculations: "Fishbowl" is all of this and more. While the first few pages were a struggle, the rest of the book flew by. While the reader might consider the pinpoint descriptions, which follow one right after the other, a bit tiring to read, they are absolutely necessary to Somer's literary style. Be patient - this book is well worth the processing time! (This is NOT a spoiler alert: Pay attention to the squiggled image of Ian on the right-hand side of the pages, and then flip through the book...)

I loved reading Fishbowl by Bradley Somer! From the first page, he draws us into this world w/in a world at the Seville on Roxy. So many apartments, so many different lives with their own dramas. With his very unusual choice of Ian the fish bringing the dramas together, we explore the occupants of the various apartments. I thoroughly enjoyed his quirky characters and wanted to keep flipping the pages to find out more! I would recommend this wonderful, enjoyable book!!!

Fishbowl is a beautifully written, unique tale filled with peculiar,odd, quirky characters who are tenants of the Seville on Roxy apartment house. While each occupant leads a secret life behind their closed doors, they can be any one of us, e.g lonely, scared, self absorbed, different.

Somer displays remarkable insight into the human condition as he introduces the reader to each soul that the goldfish, Ian, passes on his fall from the 27th floor.

Fishbowl is a must read!

Thank you to Book Browse and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of fishbowl, by Bradley Somer. I LOVED this book, reading it in one day. This story is about Ian, a daring goldfish, who jumps from his bowl and the 27th floor of the Seville on Roxy, an aging apartment complex which houses very real characters who will capture your imagination, steal your hearts, and result in you taking time to consider how much you know about those who live around you. Ian's journey towards his final destination will stay in my head for a long time. I am anxious to share this book with my friends and teacher book club. Thank you, Mr. Somer, for writing such a readable, entertaining, and though provoking book.

That's how my Dad used to describe the encounters we have with others as we all pass through our lives. In the case of The Fishbowl these encounters are just as fleeting but are experienced by a goldfish who made the instinctive leap toward the surface of his bowl only to escape its watery confines and find himself rushing headlong from the balcony on the 27th floor of his building toward his doom on the cement sidewalk below.

The imagery of the author's description of the apartment building's construction, the goldfish view of a cityscape from his bowl, the analogy of the building as a living organism are all enough to keep the reader interested. But to this wonderful interweaving of words and language he has added the lure of an almost voyeuristic glimpse into the lives of some of the apartment dwellers. Through them the individual boxes that comprise the building come alive.
He wanders back and forth among them but each of their stories begins as Ian, the goldfish, passes the floor on which they live. And being a goldfish, the initial glimpse is short and not very deep. After all gravity is pulling this little guy down to earth rather rapidly and, in addition, the brain of a fish is not exactly highly developed. So, as quickly as the scene makes an impression, it is lost and the fish cannot remember where he is or what is happening. A reoccurring refrain on his part is " what was I doing?" Not unlike the preoccupied musing of people in apartment buildings when their routine is interrupted by a brief encounter with another of its residents.

The author amazed me with his observational skills and his ability to describe so well various aspects of the story. I also loved his mind wandering to things like the amino acids of DNA and the concept of terminal velocity in Ian's descent. And at the end, the summation that shows how much can happen in people's lives in a very short time span and how little control they have over much of what happens.

I loved the book because I grew up in a six floor building with no elevator and no parking garage in Manhattan. Two towers with four apartments on each floor--48 boxes in all. Probably knew the occupants of about ten of them but really KNEW and interacted with those in only four. This story truly resonated with me and got me thinking back to that time 50 years ago and wondering what stories were being lived by all those neighbors.
All in all, for such a short book, an enjoyable and thought provoking read.

This quirky book was a joy to read. Starting with a goldfish falling 27 floors and stories that followed his trajectory made for a delightful experience. Do read this book.

The novel is able to explore the profundities of the human condition, yet the author does so in a witty and, at times, even comical manner. By delineating the lives of diverse residents of an apartment building, Somer describes each individual's concern with loneliness. Despite the residents' seeming initial anonymity, they ultimately find the beauty of interconnections with others. I became totally caught up in the situations of the many characters and their predicaments. Fishbowl is an engaging and poignant book.

What a delightful book!! Wise, insightful, whimsical, fanciful --- all due to the writing skill of Bradley Somer. All activity occurs in and directly outside a twenty-seven floor high rise, the Seville on Roxy. The reader meets its residents who travel up and down in its elevator and stairwell. And central to it all is a 99-cent goldfish named Ian who escapes from his glass home and witnesses brief glimpses of LIFE as he plunges to the pavement below. If this isn't a unique storyline, then what is?

The writing is amazing – prose that is imaginative and awe-inspiring and similes so fresh they jump off the page. I underlined passages and made so many marginal notations that my pencil ran out of lead!!
Treat yourself to a one-of-a-kind experience in reading. It's many plusses beyond five stars.