Reviews

Pod by Laline Paull

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mchyczij's review against another edition

2.0

I was quite intrigued by the premise of “Pod” as an AVID ocean lover who could dive every day if she could. Perhaps this is why I was so disappointed by this book. The cruelty of every character was so confusing to me? Was I supposed to like anyone in this book? The humanization of the dolphins infuriated me, because they’re not human, they’re animals. They were described in a way where their evil acts of rape, abuse, slavery were a dark dark thing (as they are in human life) as opposed to the different dynamics of the animal kingdom. This made me hate each character, and I was never relieved of that feeling in this dark dark novel. I’m not against dark themes, but these did not work for me. I found myself tuning out half way through the book.

My BIGGEST complaint was the amount of characters however. Yes, their storylines converged as I expected them to, but it was NOT worth it. I was confused, annoyed, and bored throughout.

Disappointing!

leari's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Enter the vast underwater world, where fascination and fear, violence and harmony, safety and danger exist side by side, and humans are always near.
Pod primarily follows a spinner dolphin named Ea, who will explore new places, meet new sea creatures, and confront her fears and weaknesses over the course of the story. On top of that, the book includes various other points of view, such as of a wrasse, a whale, or other dolphins, which enrich the plot, enhance the atmosphere, and introduce even more themes, like procreation, music, hierarchy. Over time, the reader will see how these perspectives are interconnected.

It was not easy to get into the story at first, but once I got used to the setting, the characters, and the unfamiliar vocabulary, I started to enjoy the book... If you can even call it 'enjoyable', since so many dark and ugly things were happening. Pod reminds me a lot of the author's other book, The Bees, which also felt like a gripping, dystopian, fantasy book from the perspective of animals.

I loved learning more about dolphins, remora and wrasses, which were brilliantly incorporated into the actual plot. The story was highly emotional with a lot of violent and sad scenes. For instance, there is a lot of rape going on and new aquaintances could die at any moment. The different characters also have to deal with loneliness, trauma, transformation, and human exploitation in some way. These themes shed a light on the way we treat our oceans and the lives in it, but also on how we treat others. It is such an important message that I wish everyone would heed.