Pond (book)

Pond

First edition
Author	Claire-Louise Bennett
Language	English
Genre	Anthology, Psychological Fiction
Publisher	The Stinging Fly Press
Publication date	10 May 2015
Publication place	United Kingdom, United States
Media type	Print (hardcover & paperback)
ISBN	0-3995-7590-1

Pond is a collection of 20 short stories written by Claire-Louise Bennett, originally published by The Stinging Fly Press in Ireland on 10 May 2015 ( ISBN   0-3995-7590-1). ^{[1] [2]} The stories are written from the perspective of an unnamed woman who lives a solitary existence on the outskirts of a small coastal village.

It focuses on the details of her daily experience, from the best way to eat porridge to an encounter with a cow to the ending of an affair. ^[3] The shortest story in Pond runs to only a couple of sentences. ^[4]

Reception

Pond was well received in both the UK and the US, and was featured in both The New Yorker and The New York Times in 2016.

Stories

№	Title |
1	"Voyage in the Dark"
2	"Morning, Noon & Night"
3	"First Thing"
4	"The Big Day"
5	"Wishful Thinking"
6	"A Little Before Seven"
7	"To A God Unknown"
8	"Two Weeks Since"
9	"Stir-fry"
10	"Finishing Touch"
11	"Control Knobs"
12	"Postcard"
13	"The Deepest Sea"
14	"Oh, Tomato Puree!"
15	"Morning, 1908"
16	"The Gloves Are Off"
17	"Over & Done With"
18	"Words Escape Me"
19	"Lady of the House"
20	"Old Ground"

References

1. Gallix, Andrew (18 November 2015). "Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett review – a stunning debut'". The Guardian .
2. O'Rourke, Meghan (22 July 2016). "A Debut Novel Traces a Woman's Life in Solitude". The New York Times .
3. Jia Tolentino (11 July 2016). "A Work of Fiction That Will Make You Feel Pleasantly Insane". The New Yorker .
4. "Claire-Louise Bennett on writing Pond". The Irish Times . 26 May 2015.