Customer Reviews

Fishbowl

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As I closed the last page of "Fishbowl" by Sarah Mlynowski, all I could do was take deep breath and say a silent prayer of thanks that I don't have to live with roommates.

I have a feeling that this book gets put in the category of "CHICK LIT" like many MANY books by young women who write about YOUNG women. But - this Red Dress Inc. book goes beyond your usual, "I NEED A BOYFRIEND TO MAKE ME HAPPY" genre and into the unlikely friendships between women. All women - no matter how different they may be.

I really enjoyed "Fishbowl" and think it's a great step forward for Ms. Mlynowski (previous work - "Milkrun"). I loved the dynamics between the 3 female roommates, the adventures they seem to get themselves into and the outside characters they encounter. Its funny, well written, and thought out. It's a keep and a real treat!

Cheers!

The Good: I liked the unique style Sarah Mlynowski used to tell the story of three young roommates. The chapters of the novel alternate between each woman's perspective and that is quite a refreshing style of story telling. Another plus is Mlynowski's great writing. She's very funny and despite the vast differences between the three characters' personalities, that great sense of humor shows through brilliantly.

The Bad: The way these three people relate to each other is just too unbelievable! Usually, when three women who are THAT different from one another live together, they just keep to themselves and do their own thing. I couldn't believe for a minute that they would ever go out together, plan something together or even speak to one another!

The Ugly: Not one of these three women was likable. They were all quite irritating, actually. Although I enjoyed the book as a quick and somewhat fun read, I couldn't find one appealing quality out of any of the three main characters.

This is an okay novel. I enjoy reading this author's books so much---Milkrun was hilarious-that warrants a 3-star review nearly on it's own.

As a big fan of Milk Run, I am disappointed to admit that I didn't like Fishbowl as much as Mlynowski's first Red Dress Ink book. It still is a fast, entertaining read, but the characters were not as likeable as her previous novel.

What is good about Fishbowl, is that it is a fresh approach to the chick lit books that are out there right now. While it does have the girl wants guy theme, it is not center to the story line like most chick lit books. Instead, the novel focuses on the relationship between these 3 very different roommates, Allie, Jodine & Emma.

The girls are bonded when they need to come up with money making schemes to pay for their apartment kitchen which burned down. The story is told in alternating chapters between the three roommates and a "narrator." During the narrator chapters, the author is talking directly to the reader, like she's having a one on one conversation with you, which I was not a huge fan of.
Mlynowski definitely has talent as a writer..she did keep me entertained, and it was easy reading, I was just not as impressed with this one as Milk Run. I'm still a fan and would continue to read other works by her~

"Fishbowl" deals with the story of three young women, Allie, Jodine and Emma who discover that it is not quite easy to share an apartment. All three came from very different family background and hence, very different personalities. In spite of their differences, they bonded and became friends. However, the test to their friendships came when a fire broke out in their apartment. Since the apartment was not insured, they had to come out with money to repair their kitchen and to replace the appliances. They came up with all sorts of schemes, such as Halloween party and seminar on how to pick up women.

Even though the theme of this book is friendship, the book does deal with relationships with the opposite sex. However, "Fishbowl" unlike other chick lits, does not focus on it solely and it is actually quite refreshing and different. The characters are not the typical heroines in chick lits but actually women with tons of flaws. The only complain I have this book is that the author makes it seems like smoking pot is normal and common which I think is not true.

I highly recommend this book as I think it is fun, humorous and very quirky. It deals with everyday issues such as getting along with your roommates, finding yourself after graduation, feeling lost and lastly, friendships. "Fishbowl" shows that even in a confined situation with people who are very different from you, it is still up to you to make the best out of it.

Displaying brilliance through her characterizations, Ms. Mylnowski one-ups herself and gifts readers with a second book that is even better than her first Red Dress Ink offering (Milkrun). She uses four distinct voices--omniscient narrator and three different 1st person points of view--to tell a story that is a nice change from the recent rash of diary-style books. Not that I don't enjoy the diaries, but it's nice to see someone try something different. Although the three heroines have many annoying character traits, they are fascinating to get to know. Even if the reader doesn't like them, he or she will likely admire Ms. Mylnowski's ability to make three women of a similar age and situation sound so different from one another. Ms. Mylnowski throws these three strangers together in an apartment, challenges them with disaster, then shows with humor and sympathy how they learn to work as a team while maintaining their own habits and dealing with their exasperation with one another. She also gives a realistic picture of romance in today's times. Highly entertaining, a cut above many of today's women's fiction books.

I cannot believe how much I loved this book! The language is so hilarious, the situations so plausible, and the characters so lovable that I didn't want it to end! Mlynowski is now one of my favorite authors of all time, and I can't wait to read Milkrun. Here's hoping that Ms. Mlynowski continues to pen such witty and gratifying page-turners.

This book is not your everyday boy dumps girl, girl gets over boy chick lit story. Fishbowl is about the relationship between three women who are forced to live with each other. After their kitchen burns down they have to bond and come up with creative ways to raise money...the novel jumps from Allie to Emma to Jodine's head and then into a hysterical omniscient narrator who basically makes fun of the three girls. Part satire, part relationship story, part romance....I loved it!

When you are young and near the bottom of the employment ladder, renting an apartment in downtown Toronto can be quite a slice of one's income. Individuals can go it alone if they do not mind skipping three meals a day. However, when three incomes split the rent and utilities suddenly the costs are not just bearable, there is some cash for other things.

Allie, Emma, and Jodine become roommates with the immediate reactions being less expense and more clothing to share though Allie is a petite and much shorter than the other two. However, the trio quickly learns the downside of rooming as every move they make someone is watching and every trait they contain grates on someone's nerves. Each member residing inside this FISHBOWL begins to take a close look at her personality through the other two sets of eyes, as the shortcomings appear very undesirable.

This is an engaging look at the lifestyle of twenty something-single females. The story line rotates first person narration between the three roommates so readers watch unfold the same event from an entirely different perspective as each character brings interpreting baggage to the observation. The problem with this novel is the prime traits often displayed by the trio leaves the reader indifferent as Allie turns from naïve cute to irritating just fell off the turnip truck, Jodine appreciates nothing especially her roommates and men, and Emma is a selfish user. Still, fans of chick lit will enjoy the insightful look at group dynamics done so well by Sarah Mlynowski.

Harriet Klausner

I received this book as a gift from an ex-roommate who told me that it reminded her of our final year of university when she and I shared an apartment with another girl. Initially I was touched by the sentiment, but as I read more of Fishbowl, I began to get worried that my friend might actually be attempting to tell me something because all three girls in this book were extremely HATEFUL. I understand that in "chick lit" it is understood that no female character can be perfect and must exhibit certain flaws or quirky traits, but I feel like Mlynowski did this to such an extreme that she wound up generating vapid stereotypes. You've got Type A/emotionally distant/uber bitch Jodine (who's a law student - naturally - with what is clearly some kind of eating disorder), virgin/naive/little girl lost Allie (who is in love with her best male friend), and rebel/promiscuous/wild child Emma (who lives off her daddy's money and has no respect for anyone's personal boundaries). I'll allow that Mlynowski develops her characters enough for them to be annoying, but in reality you'd never put up with any one of these people given how tiresome and unaware they are, never mind all three. To me, I felt like Mlynowski was trying too hard to create "quirky" characters, and this just reeked of a young author creating characters she believes the genre requires, rather than nuanced and realistic women. There are women who strike a balance between these three extremes, and they too have a place in fiction!

The one credit I must give Mlynowski is that this novel does break new ground in the chick lit genre, given that the romantic storylines felt secondary to the interpersonal relationship between the three girls. Of course, the romantic storylines that did exist were predictable and obvious from the beginning, but that is probably an unavoidable pitfall in this genre. I wish I could have found the focus on the women's relationships empowering, but because I found them all so self-obsessed and unaware of reality I really just felt annoyed most of the time. Furthermore, the plot wasn't overly engrossing and I ultimately couldn't wait to be finished with it.

This novel was at times funny and at other times honest, but in the end, it's not enjoyable to read a book where you are rooting against the characters because of their own stupidity. The prose was fine, the plot banal, and the characters more like caricatures. A new twist on the chick lit genre, certainly, but surely there must be better out there, because Fishbowl ultimately floats belly up.

After writing a great first book Milkrun, Sarah Mlynowski is back with her latest book Fishbowl.

This was a cute and quick read. I enjoyed the story and I enjoyed the characters, but at times, I felt that the characters were a bit to cut and paste.

Emma the girl, who gets the men she wants, manages to hurt people, break hearts and still maintain her sanity.

Jodine the girl who has too much on her plate and is stressing about everything and anything in her life that she does not need to. She does not care much past herself and in turn, she manages to seclude herself from a life and what friends she does have.

Allie the young naive girl who thinks that the world is full of happiness and love and that she has found her soul mate and will be happily ever after.

The story was interesting about the kitchen burning down and the struggles the girls have to go through to get the money to fix the kitchen up. I also enjoyed each of the girl's struggles in life, but still it was a bit cut and paste.

Overall, this was a cute book, but the story line is getting old. I will admit I love these types of books, but the characters need to change a bit.