About the Author

Claire-Louise Bennett grew up in Wiltshire and moved to Ireland after graduating from Roehampton University. Her fiction and essays have appeared in a number of publications including The White Review, The Stinging Fly, Harper’s Magazine, and the New Yorker. She was awarded the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize in 2013. Pond was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2016. Bennett’s second book, Checkout 19, was published in the UK in 2021.

Reviews

‘Wielding a wry but implacable logic, Claire-Louise Bennett dives under the surface of “ordinary” experiences and things to reveal their supreme and giddy illogic. Like Gail Scott and Lydia Davis before her, she writes an impeccable affect-less prose that almost magically arrives at something extraordinary.’ 
— Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick

‘This is an extraordinary collection of short stories – profoundly original though not eccentric, sharp and tender, funny and deeply engaging. A very new sort of writing, Bennett pushes the boundaries of the short story out into new territory: part prose fiction, part stream of consciousness, often truly poetry and always an acute, satisfying, delicate, honest meditation on both the joys and frustrations of a life fully lived in solitude. Take it slowly, because it is worth it, and be impressed and joyful.’
— Sara Maitland, author of A Book of Silence

‘Claire-Louise Bennett is a major writer to be discovered and treasured.’
— Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home

‘Bennett’s language is an ornate and long-winded riposte to all those pared-back minimalists, and I love it.’
 — Jon McGregor, Guardian

‘This is a truly stunning debut, beautifully written and profoundly witty.’
— Andrew Gallix, Guardian

‘Claire-Louise Bennett sets the conventions of literary fiction ablaze in this ferociously intelligent and funny debut. Don't be fooled by Pond’s small size. It contains multitudes.’
— Jenny Offill, author of Weather

‘As brilliant a debut and as distinct a voice as we’ve heard in years – this is a real writer with the real goods.’
— Kevin Barry, author of City of Bohane

‘A touch of William Gaddis. A touch of Lydia Davis. A touch of Samuel Beckett. A touch of Edna O’Brien. And yet Claire-Louise Bennett’s Pond feels entirely unique. Quiet and luxurious all at once, this will be one of the most sensational debuts of the year.’
— Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin