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Fish!
How does the government react when confronted with a vast influx of displaced people fleeing the horror of war? It's a dilemma that tests both resources and humanitarian commitment to the limit, but in the end will it be compassion or self-interest that prevails?
When a previously unsuspected race of Merfolk start to appear on our shores seeking respite, seeking safety, seeking asylum, how will humanity respond?
Ida Keogh, the 2021 winner of the BSFA Award for best short fiction and the British Fantasy Award for best short fiction, creates an all too believable tomorrow, one that never shies away from major issues. In a gripping tale told from multiple viewpoints, the reader is shown the full gamut of human reactions; by holding us close to each narrator, the author tells a story of grand scale in a very intimate, personal way.
FISH! is a tale of intolerance and exploitation, but also of compassion and sympathy, of rigid official policy offset by the warmth of human empathy. It is a story of prejudice and hatred, but also of understanding and love. A big story in a small book, above all this is a story of wonder.
When a previously unsuspected race of Merfolk start to appear on our shores seeking respite, seeking safety, seeking asylum, how will humanity respond?
Ida Keogh, the 2021 winner of the BSFA Award for best short fiction and the British Fantasy Award for best short fiction, creates an all too believable tomorrow, one that never shies away from major issues. In a gripping tale told from multiple viewpoints, the reader is shown the full gamut of human reactions; by holding us close to each narrator, the author tells a story of grand scale in a very intimate, personal way.
FISH! is a tale of intolerance and exploitation, but also of compassion and sympathy, of rigid official policy offset by the warmth of human empathy. It is a story of prejudice and hatred, but also of understanding and love. A big story in a small book, above all this is a story of wonder.
- GenresFantasy
94 pages, Paperback
Published December 7, 2021
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 24, 2022
This book I will be thinking about for a while - you see it is not a conventional story as such. There are characters and a central storyline that runs throughout the novella.
However instead of a sequential storyline (and yes I know there are books out there which could have this description applied to them as well) you have a series of scenes, some of them interconnected others more random (and used to paint a "bigger picture").
As such it felt like you "experienced" what is going on rather than following along with the events. It made for a very interesting read even if it felt like there whole stories "behind" what I was reading I wanted to learn more about.
This is a very poignant novella considering what is going on in the world - and I guess makes reading it all the more striking.
This is a story I would love to see re-visited and some of the personal stories expanded upon as some felt rather rushed.
However instead of a sequential storyline (and yes I know there are books out there which could have this description applied to them as well) you have a series of scenes, some of them interconnected others more random (and used to paint a "bigger picture").
As such it felt like you "experienced" what is going on rather than following along with the events. It made for a very interesting read even if it felt like there whole stories "behind" what I was reading I wanted to learn more about.
This is a very poignant novella considering what is going on in the world - and I guess makes reading it all the more striking.
This is a story I would love to see re-visited and some of the personal stories expanded upon as some felt rather rushed.
December 8, 2023
Okay, I really enjoyed that book. It was a nice short one, but it was so easy to read and I enjoyed every second of it. I was worried at first about reading a proper book again after using my Kindle all year, but it was such an easy font to read that even with my Dyslexia I was reading quickly.
The way the characters are portrayed is amazing, with me feeling genuine happiness or anger at some points despite the chapters only being 4-5 pages each.
I would highly recommend this book as a quick read if you're between books and just need a bit of a break, or if you need something a little easier to read.
The way the characters are portrayed is amazing, with me feeling genuine happiness or anger at some points despite the chapters only being 4-5 pages each.
I would highly recommend this book as a quick read if you're between books and just need a bit of a break, or if you need something a little easier to read.
January 7, 2022
Ida Keogh's debut novella, Fish!, is set in a near future where wars beneath the ocean have displaced vast numbers of merfolk from their traditional homes in the deep trenches to the shallower European continental shelf, and in particular the waters around Britain. The novella has a mosaic structure, with multiple narrators identified only by role ("the reporter", "the artist", "the journalist"); it builds a many-faceted picture of how human and merfolk societies interact and influence each other over a decade or so, but also allows us to follow a handful of individual stories through the narratives of those they interact with.
I thought this was an incredibly accomplished debut - each of the voices is clearly distinct from the others, and the balance between the bigger picture and the individual stories is perfect. The echoes of current issues in society (not just around immigration and the treatment of refugees; Keogh's merfolk are genderfluid, so gender issues and queerness also come up) are very much present without ever feeling like they're being hammered home. Keogh won both the BSFA and BFA short fiction awards last year for her story 'Infinite Tea at the Demara Café'; I definitely think she's one to watch.
I thought this was an incredibly accomplished debut - each of the voices is clearly distinct from the others, and the balance between the bigger picture and the individual stories is perfect. The echoes of current issues in society (not just around immigration and the treatment of refugees; Keogh's merfolk are genderfluid, so gender issues and queerness also come up) are very much present without ever feeling like they're being hammered home. Keogh won both the BSFA and BFA short fiction awards last year for her story 'Infinite Tea at the Demara Café'; I definitely think she's one to watch.
April 27, 2022
A previously unsuspected race of merfolk, displaced from their deep-sea homes by a brutal war, start to appear on our shores seeking respite, seeking safety, seeking asylum. How will humanity respond? It is the question explored from multiple viewpoints, which explore and reveal human reactions, from intolerance and exploitation, to compassion and sympathy. Written with captivating prose that leaps off the page and invites you in:
“In the mauve and ochre sunset, the higher I climbed up the yacht’s rigging the gentler the waves seemed, like ripples on a pond caressed by a fall of cherry blossom. It invited me to plunge deep into its liquid embrace and float, insensate and at peace.”
It begins with the story of the reporter, who, following a chance and strange encounter, draws us into this watery world. I’ve never felt so close to merfolk, hearing from chance encounters like these, from the perspective of merfolk themselves, and from a scientist (Zara) able to highlight the unique biology – handy in light of the fact that ‘we have mermaids’. I particularly enjoyed these texts offering plausible science to introduce and explain the fantastical, which is quickly and perfectly integrated into the mundane with startling effect.
It was a thought-provoking and enjoyable read, unique and inventive with a sharp lens used to view snapshots of life. As the world is reflected, current political clashes and the hostile environment of refugees in the world as we know it is explored. It is a revealing and insightful account of prejudice and hatred, understanding and love, all contained in what is ultimately a small book.
“In the mauve and ochre sunset, the higher I climbed up the yacht’s rigging the gentler the waves seemed, like ripples on a pond caressed by a fall of cherry blossom. It invited me to plunge deep into its liquid embrace and float, insensate and at peace.”
It begins with the story of the reporter, who, following a chance and strange encounter, draws us into this watery world. I’ve never felt so close to merfolk, hearing from chance encounters like these, from the perspective of merfolk themselves, and from a scientist (Zara) able to highlight the unique biology – handy in light of the fact that ‘we have mermaids’. I particularly enjoyed these texts offering plausible science to introduce and explain the fantastical, which is quickly and perfectly integrated into the mundane with startling effect.
It was a thought-provoking and enjoyable read, unique and inventive with a sharp lens used to view snapshots of life. As the world is reflected, current political clashes and the hostile environment of refugees in the world as we know it is explored. It is a revealing and insightful account of prejudice and hatred, understanding and love, all contained in what is ultimately a small book.
April 10, 2024
This is intelligently written science fiction at its finest.
Ida has taken a great idea, a mermaid refugee crisis, and combined it with an intriguing menu of story telling via multiple short perspectives. Each of these perspectives sounds radically different in both voice and tone. It's hard to know if that is more impressive than the 19 different viewpoints themselves. This mixes both positive and negative viewpoints which shows a wonderful understanding of humanity.
We get to see taxi drivers who hate change, policeman chasing down blackmarket sex, and, of course, people trying to profit from them via music and art.
Everything was so well thought out, even down to the economics of it. One POV lamented the reduced fish stock and tourism of hosting refugee camps, equaling higher council tax and unhappy locals. It even touched on taxi legislation. On oceanic refugee benefits. Discrimination at work. Sex workers. Legalising marriage.
This novella really did an insane amount in such a small wordcount, yet stayed entertaining throughout.
This is genuinely a wonderful novella.
Ida has taken a great idea, a mermaid refugee crisis, and combined it with an intriguing menu of story telling via multiple short perspectives. Each of these perspectives sounds radically different in both voice and tone. It's hard to know if that is more impressive than the 19 different viewpoints themselves. This mixes both positive and negative viewpoints which shows a wonderful understanding of humanity.
We get to see taxi drivers who hate change, policeman chasing down blackmarket sex, and, of course, people trying to profit from them via music and art.
Everything was so well thought out, even down to the economics of it. One POV lamented the reduced fish stock and tourism of hosting refugee camps, equaling higher council tax and unhappy locals. It even touched on taxi legislation. On oceanic refugee benefits. Discrimination at work. Sex workers. Legalising marriage.
This novella really did an insane amount in such a small wordcount, yet stayed entertaining throughout.
This is genuinely a wonderful novella.
August 5, 2022
A mosaic novella that drifts between different voices to tell a tale that is fantastical yet – thanks to the attention paid to detail – made to feel very real. Each voice is distinct and Keogh’s prose is strong. Parts of the story serve as a series allegories concerning our contemporary world, and this is done in a way that is thoughtful, nuanced, and not at all ham-fisted. There is much to enjoy here. Recommended!
February 10, 2022
A gloriously smart novella exploring merfolk arriving in the U.K. but very much talking about how this country treats those seeking shelter here. Multiple viewpoints capture the soul of the U.K. in the 2020s - brilliant
Full review https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
February 21, 2022
A thought provoking and enjoyable read.
August 8, 2023
Wish it had been longer. Bit of a non-ending.
February 21, 2022
Ida’s imaginative, clean prose sparkles as it wrestles with a difficult concept.
The interweaving short stories, each approaching the idea of a merfolk refugee crisis from a varied angle, strike home with ruthless reference to the real world around us.
I found myself wanting to get back to this book desperately between chapters.
When it ended I had more questions than answers, and I suspect that was entirely the author’s intent.
The interweaving short stories, each approaching the idea of a merfolk refugee crisis from a varied angle, strike home with ruthless reference to the real world around us.
I found myself wanting to get back to this book desperately between chapters.
When it ended I had more questions than answers, and I suspect that was entirely the author’s intent.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews