Feverish and forthright, Pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pitfalls and pleasures of a solitudinous life told by an unnamed woman living on the cusp of a coastal town. Broken bowls, belligerent cows, swanky aubergines, trembling moonrises and horrifying sunsets, the physical world depicted in these stories is unsettling yet intimately familiar and soon takes on a life of its own. Captivated by the stellar charms of seclusion but restless with desire, the woman's relationship with her surroundings becomes boundless and increasingly bewildering. Claire-Louise Bennett's startlingly original first collection slips effortlessly between worlds and is by turns darkly funny and deeply moving.

REVIEWS

'I'd heard more good whispers about Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett than almost any other debut this year so, by the time I read it, expectations were high and - as it turned out - not disappointed. 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

'This is a truly stunning debut, beautifully written and profoundly witty.' - Andrew Gallix, The Guardian

'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

PRODUCT DETAILS
Paperback with French flaps
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions
ISBN: 978-1910695098
Pages: 184