![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We are introduced to a young woman who has chosen early on in life to be a defender of books, and she doesn’t much care for her peers’ reckless attitude toward them. Fond memories of reading books on summer grass, not so fond memories of books being treated like hostage victims in secondary school. The book begins with childhood reminiscing. For this reason I cannon-balled into her new book, Checkout 19 eagerly looking around for that intellectually soothing place she had brought my mind to before. It was not until the early days of the pandemic that I had the time and space to attempt to construct sentences to such satisfaction. Some sentences I simply re-read over and over – words I had never seen paired together before, each word a polished gem that tumbled after one another so beautifully. Pond welcomed me into an introvert’s fantasy – a quiet house, a quiet life, that allowed the author’s stream of thoughts to flow intricately around the slow movements of rural life. Sometimes I think of Pond when standing at the gas cooker, turning the dial and waiting for the clicking to ignite. As a parent of a seven year-old, escaping into narratives is the only lone holiday I get. I think of Claire Louise Bennett’s previous book Pond as fondly as I would remember a brief, lone holiday. ![]() National Emerging Writer Programme Overview. ![]()
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