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Human Fish
His mom is a trout and his dad’s a human. He is a half-man, half-fish creature from the sea, trying to figure out the world of man. But the answers he finds lurking in the Los Angeles underbelly only lead to more questions. On a journey to find his father after a drug deal gone bad, how far will the Human Fish go to seek out the truth of his identity?
A new twist on the mermaid narrative, Human Fish is a dark bizarro adventure of drug trafficking, interspecies romance, and the ghosts of our past that come back to haunt us.
A new twist on the mermaid narrative, Human Fish is a dark bizarro adventure of drug trafficking, interspecies romance, and the ghosts of our past that come back to haunt us.
69 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2020
2 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 17, 2019
Over the past couple of years I have become enamored of Benjamin DeVos' writing. From the first words of his short stories, poems and novellas, I feel right at home with his relatable writing style and his quirky characters. When I recently came across his offer for advanced reviewer copies for his upcoming novella, Human Fish, I was instantly writing my request.
Human Fish is about a young hybrid, who is the offspring of a lovely trout and a scoundrel of a human being. Our narrator is sensitive yet rebellious, preferring to hang out with sharks rather than fish of his own kind. Following the death of his turtle friend, who suffers a drug overdose, the human fish turns to the land to further explore the world and his destiny. Seedy nightclubs, a tattooed but beautiful stripper, a human scoundrel with something in common, gangsters, drugs, deception, mole people and ghosts populate the world that the our main character discovers. The human fish has a lot to learn about the earth's inhabitants, and he has some difficult choices to make.
This is a quick and immersive story; one that appeals to the humanitarian in us all. The knowledge that nature is being exponentially exploited by greed and capitalism every day makes us hope that there will be more human fish like the one in this story who can make the world a better place; ones who will lead us back to an untainted ocean.
Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful novella.
Human Fish is about a young hybrid, who is the offspring of a lovely trout and a scoundrel of a human being. Our narrator is sensitive yet rebellious, preferring to hang out with sharks rather than fish of his own kind. Following the death of his turtle friend, who suffers a drug overdose, the human fish turns to the land to further explore the world and his destiny. Seedy nightclubs, a tattooed but beautiful stripper, a human scoundrel with something in common, gangsters, drugs, deception, mole people and ghosts populate the world that the our main character discovers. The human fish has a lot to learn about the earth's inhabitants, and he has some difficult choices to make.
This is a quick and immersive story; one that appeals to the humanitarian in us all. The knowledge that nature is being exponentially exploited by greed and capitalism every day makes us hope that there will be more human fish like the one in this story who can make the world a better place; ones who will lead us back to an untainted ocean.
Many thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this wonderful novella.
June 8, 2020
Smells kinda fishy but goes down smooth.
A perfect gateway bizzaro book if you're not familiar with the genre.
Here we've got a dude who is half fish, half man, who craves to fit in. He's born between two worlds and, like every single one of us at some point in our lives, he wonders what else might be out there for him.
It's flaky.
It's funny.
And it's a fascinatingly masculine, dark, and gritty spin on mermaid fiction.
(side note: FWIW, the book would have been perfect if it ended at Chapter 12!)
A perfect gateway bizzaro book if you're not familiar with the genre.
Here we've got a dude who is half fish, half man, who craves to fit in. He's born between two worlds and, like every single one of us at some point in our lives, he wonders what else might be out there for him.
It's flaky.
It's funny.
And it's a fascinatingly masculine, dark, and gritty spin on mermaid fiction.
(side note: FWIW, the book would have been perfect if it ended at Chapter 12!)
April 1, 2022
A whacky, dark, absurd, comical tale of finding identity & creating utopic futures.
A book in which the quote:
"It was like reaching an end that was also a beginning. Like a rapid expansion of matter exploding from a state of nothingness."
Is separated by mere pages from a comically horrific scene involving a meat grinder.
Kind of genius.
A book in which the quote:
"It was like reaching an end that was also a beginning. Like a rapid expansion of matter exploding from a state of nothingness."
Is separated by mere pages from a comically horrific scene involving a meat grinder.
Kind of genius.
February 8, 2020
This book was a joyous read. The story of a man-fish hybrid Is a bit allegorical while being relentlessly realistic in its reflections of and on modern society. Characters encountered are everyday citizens and people on the margins, managing to have relatable grit and humanity but also uniqueness. There are a lot of witty one-liners and side comments that often provide nuanced social commentary, especially regarding themes of hope within alienation, finding one’s place in the world and the pitfalls of how we view and judge our fellow Earth-dwellers (especially as the “other”). I really enjoy Benjamin’s writing and his takes on our world, he’s not afraid to go dark and deep like the sea but always to break the surface again in the struggle up and out toward hope. Great stuff and easy to jump into the flow. And I love a book that can provide soul-panging poignancy of human experience while literally making you laugh out loud.
January 9, 2021
A raucous page turner, this tale is every part humorous and every part literary. Intelligent character development and interesting views, especially from the titular character. Wasn’t expecting the end to be what it was, but I’m glad DeVos included such a packaged, concise conclusion. Unwrap this novel quickly, like you’re cooking fresh salmon from the grocery store.
March 17, 2020
The Human Fish left the ocean with no expectations of what land living would bring. All he knew was he wanted to find his father who was a human. His Mom raised him alone as a trout. He was teased and called Land Bastard. So he leaves the ocean and doesn't tell his Mom who is very nervous of the surface and civilization due to nets and hooks and the danger it brought to fish. So the journey begins for the Human Fish. Finding his father. Woman. Drugs. Jobs. Apartments. Good people. Bad people. The world needs more Human Fish we discover. The cover to this book is really well done. I could see it being a cool poster. This is a fun book and I will checking other titles by DeVos.
March 5, 2020
*review pending*
July 18, 2020
Some bizarro can be hit or miss for me. Not so with Human fish. Just enough strange factor to keep it interesting but not so much to leave me scratching my head. A quick fun read with vibes very similar to heinlein's Stranger in a strange land but with drug trafficking, sex and a dog named Cranberry. Great book Mr Devos, I plan to check out the rest of your stuff as well as the stuff you put out at Apocalypse Party.
May 10, 2020
3.5 stars
Human Fish is a fun, quick read that somehow reminds me of Ponyo meets Narcos. But more than that, it's a story about a half-fish, half-human trying to discover who they are and where they fit in this crazy world on Earth. And this is a journey all humans can relate to, even if some of us aren't half-fish.
Human Fish is a fun, quick read that somehow reminds me of Ponyo meets Narcos. But more than that, it's a story about a half-fish, half-human trying to discover who they are and where they fit in this crazy world on Earth. And this is a journey all humans can relate to, even if some of us aren't half-fish.
April 10, 2020
A strong 4.5* // Full book review available on Slow Culture. Excerpt below:
We’re all the Human Fish, or at least have been. All along its journey of initiation, this main character is endearing without even trying. His own existence suffices. Tossed from adventure to adventure, with or without his will, empathy is the prevailing feeling.
Despite his apparent naivety, the Human Fish has remarkable adaptability skills in the modern world where he evolves. Benjamin DeVos portrays a pure, wholesome, unadulterated character, and this raises the question of its own credibility. Our humble answer is: the world is in such need of tender characters that credibility isn’t an issue at all. The main character isn’t too good to be true, because he experiences the real the realest way. The realest way, global warming included.
We’re all the Human Fish, or at least have been. All along its journey of initiation, this main character is endearing without even trying. His own existence suffices. Tossed from adventure to adventure, with or without his will, empathy is the prevailing feeling.
Despite his apparent naivety, the Human Fish has remarkable adaptability skills in the modern world where he evolves. Benjamin DeVos portrays a pure, wholesome, unadulterated character, and this raises the question of its own credibility. Our humble answer is: the world is in such need of tender characters that credibility isn’t an issue at all. The main character isn’t too good to be true, because he experiences the real the realest way. The realest way, global warming included.
May 7, 2021
A short romp through the dark initiation of a human fish. A hopeful tale for all the human fish out there.
July 8, 2025
So bizarre, so funny, so horrifically violent for a second there. Also beautiful and optimistic in a Whitmanny absurdist we-contain-multitudes sort of way. Really great.
April 10, 2020
I loved it! Benjamin’s books are always a little out there while being very relatable and fun to read.
February 16, 2021
Human Fish by Benjamin DeVos, is a wonderful addition to his ever-spanning bookshelf. Here we find a critical look of humans through an outsider perspective. It is Nature observing Humans. It is at times hilarious, and others frightening. For those fans of Ben's previous work, they will not want to miss this one.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews