“Sinking words into the pages,” with a “moping sky” that reflects the narrator’s aimlessness. Reading Bennett’s book of loosely linked stories is a lovely retreat from the cacophony of contemporary life. Like her narrator, Bennett moved to the Irish countryside after dropping out of a PhD program and started exploring different approaches to writing that focused on her response to physical space more than people and relationships. “Pond,” which was first published by a small press in Ireland last year, arrives emblazoned with praise from fellow writers, thrilled to encounter a fresh new voice from seemingly out of nowhere. But if you’re excited by the kind of writing that can transport you deep into the oddly beguiling, meditative reflections of a woman living alone in a thatched-roof, stone cottage on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, then this uncategorizable book will leave you positively buoyant. If your idea of a great read requires a rousing plot line, Claire-Louise Bennett’s “Pond” probably isn’t going to float your boat.
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