Pod: 'a Pacy, Provocative Tale of Survival in a Fast-Changing Marine Landscape' Daily Mail | 
pickEa, a dolphin elder, the last of the Longi, looks back on her life.
An interesting story illustrating the different social customs among different types of dolphin and just how brutal they can be, and the impact of "anthrops" on the oceans.
panBased on the story note at the end, I see what idea the author started out with. Unfortunately, I don't see it realized on the page. I would rather read non-fiction on the current state of the ocean, its inhabitants (and the leading theories on how to help it/them). I do not have an interest in tragedy porn as a method of raising awareness. And then there's the excessive violence against females and muddled messages around gender. NO. 1/?
Multipurpose: heart in turmoil (rage, shame, humiliation), heart that's predatory, plotting. 🩶🦈🦈🦈
pickI liked Pod. Ea and Google were interesting characters; the wrasse subplot less so. At first I found the use of anthropomorphic terms unsettling, but once I got used to it, I really got into the book.
pickGiven this was on the Women‘s Prize shortlist I was intrigued to read this story of the dire state of the oceans as told by dolphins. Elements of it I really enjoyed, particularly the story of kidnapped Ea and military-trained Google, yet other elements didn‘t work so well for me. A book I didn‘t think I was enjoying whilst reading, but which I‘m still mulling over some time after finishing it 🐬 👇
#WomensPrize shortlist! Very pleased to see four of my favorites there (Marriage Portrait, Black Butterflies, Trespasses and Demon Copperhead). Disappointed Wandering Souls didn‘t make it.
I guess the universe is telling me I should push on with tagged and get my hands on a copy of Fire Rush!
panI was so wanting to love this one because the concept that the blurb described was great! It just didn't really go anywhere though and I felt like I was just reading about random fish for the sake of reading about random fish. The message wasn't conveyed remotely subtly or smartly, and while at first I quite liked the prose, it stopped doing anything for me p quickly. I did enjoy learning the occasional dolphin fact
#WomensPrize2023 #longlist
panWhile there were some good aspects to this book, the overall reading experience was thoroughly unpleasant. The message was as subtle as a mallet, the level of violence unwarranted.
#WomensPrize 2023 #longlist
40% into this and seriously considering bailing, or skipping to the final chapter or two just to see how it plays out. This book is bleak. But also boring. And I just can't with all the dolphin gang rape. 😵
I'm on a mission to read all of the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist and 2 of the books arrived for me at my local library yesterday!!
Ohhh no. I am struggling. There is so much marine language I do not know. It is making it hard to understand what is going on or care about these characters. I am also not feeling like I am in the dolphin. Or whatever I am supposed to feel here. 60 pages in. I have promised myself if I can get through it I can read Bandit Queens which sounds fun.
panThis was a definite no from me - I‘d have bailed after a chapter or two if I wasn‘t such a completist for the #womensprize long list.
The book anthropomorphises a wide cross-section of sea creatures (although mainly dolphins) to hammer home an environmental message. To begin with I was annoyed by the sea creatures referring to fellow animals as ‘people‘. Then it got *really* weird and very sinister, with dolphin gang-rape being the worst of it.
Waterstones online #bookhaul. In 😍 with the Duffy!
Lots of exciting possibilities on this longlist. I‘ve read three, DNF‘d one and already had some of the others on my TBR, but some are new to me and that‘s a delight in itself. Elizabeth McKenzie‘s forthcoming Dog of the North is probably the one I‘m most excited about because I loved The Portable Veblen so much.
https://womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/2023-prize
