Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Fishbowl  By  cover art

Fishbowl

By: Bradley Somer
Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A goldfish named Ian is falling from the 27th-floor balcony on which his fishbowl sits. He's longed for adventure, so when the opportunity arises, he escapes from his bowl, clears the balcony railing and finds himself airborne. Plummeting toward the street below, Ian witnesses the lives of the Seville on Roxy residents. There's the handsome grad student, his girlfriend, and the other woman; the construction worker who feels trapped by a secret; the building's super who feels invisible and alone; the pregnant woman on bed rest who craves a forbidden ice cream sandwich; the shut-in for whom dirty talk, and quiche, are a way of life; and home-schooled Herman, a boy who thinks he can travel through time.

Though they share time and space, they have something even more important in common: each faces a decision that will affect the course of their lives. Within the walls of the Seville are stories of love, new life, and death, of facing the ugly truth of who one has been and the beautiful truth of who one can become. Sometimes taking a risk is the only way to move forward with our lives. As Ian the goldfish knows, "An entire life devoted to a fishbowl will make one die an old fish with not one adventure had." Bradley Somer's Fishbowl is at turns funny and heartbreaking and you will, no doubt, fall in love with his unforgettable characters.

©2015 Bradley Somer (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen everywhere

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Reach your reading goals

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for $0.00 $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What listeners say about Fishbowl

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    204
  • 4 Stars
    201
  • 3 Stars
    106
  • 2 Stars
    28
  • 1 Stars
    30
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    266
  • 4 Stars
    155
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    17
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    191
  • 4 Stars
    189
  • 3 Stars
    80
  • 2 Stars
    33
  • 1 Stars
    24

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a fun story about life

I loved this book. Took me a few minutes to get it and what's happening but ended up listening to it start to finish in 2 days, even while shopping. The entangled life stories of the characters was so neat and well described. And all with the fish too! I loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Top ten book

Best read of the year so far. The author is a genius- don't give up on it early.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining chapter titles

A fun read. A glimpse into many different lives that become interconnected. Very funny.
Satisfying ending.
The link of the falling fish is adorable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

Clever, funny, sad, happy. Wow! Really hard to put into words how enjoyable this was to listen to. I was sorry to leave the lives of these characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent. Loved it!

I loved everything about this well-written book and the narration was an ideal match. If you are searching for a creative, intelligent, enjoyable read, this is it. The first and last chapters were particularly exquisite--excepting the classics, rare is the modern novel that exhibits writing in such fine form. THIS is storytelling and narration at their best. Kudos to the author and narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It was OK

Any additional comments?

The middle of this story was well written and the multi perspective very well done. I thought that the beginning and end was too much like a lecture and found it quite overkill. The narrator was very good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A lot to like, but Petunia

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed it. The "bunch of lonely souls in the city with interwoven stories" genre can be pretty hit and miss, but this one was very charming. He's distilled the lives of many people into snapshots, and conveyed the complexity of their lives into tiny slices of time. Also, the fish! Experiencing the world and time and emotions through the lens of a fish was unexpectedly wonderful.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I don't think the author (or the editor) talked to any actual human mother (or obgyn, for that matter) about the process of labor and delivery. Petunia's experience read like something ... well... written by someone who is trying to imagine what it's like to have a baby. There are problems so glaring that a simple wikipedia search could have cleared them up. Petunia's only purpose in this story is to be pregnant and give birth. She is literally a vessel for Herman's coming of age, so her experience should be authentic. It's not.

Did Peter Berkrot do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He's a little overly animated for my tastes, but that's splitting hairs. He's very good.

Did Fishbowl inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to write this to implore all writers to learn more about labor and delivery.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book. Please, do not ruin it by making it into a movie.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

clever; dramas wrapped in hope

Easy to finish within a short period of time, yet also a story you might pick up again and perhaps again . . .Clear and welcoming connectedness theme coupled with "miraculous coincidences." Good read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Something for everyone

This book was very entertaining right from the start. By the last chapters I was laughing out loud. Too many twists and turns to count. It had me thinking of various situations and relationships I've experienced. The perspective from Ian the goldfish is refreshing. Mild descriptions of nudity and some crude language but I didn't find it offensive. A Part II would be fun. Treat yourself to this wonderful story if you can, you won't regret the time spent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Almost perfect!

How could I not listen to a book about a fish falling from the 27th floor of an apartment building?? The chapters each start out with the Pooh-style, "In which (something happens)". I loved that. And oh - some of the little observances about Ian being a fish and finding himself in the predicament of no longer being in water! They made me laugh. The stories of the inhabitants in the building were "unputdownable" or in this case, I couldn't stop listening! It made a grueling day sitting in immigration be almost enjoyable, as I had nothing else to do, so no distractions from this unique story. Of course, all along, I'm wondering what's going to happen to Ian the fish, but also, in such a short time, I was all wrapped up in all of the characters and their sad, funny, poignant, hopeful stories. There was some unnecessary repetition in hearing the stories from two points of view at times, but it worked. And as for Ian...well, it was totally worth the ending, even if I hadn't liked all the in-between. But I did, so all around a fun listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful