A very ambitious debut novel. The premise here is interesting. However, the plot is convoluted and confusing and only truly definitively explained (too point blankly?) on the final page.

Great idea and the synopsis sounded great. I don't know what happened but the writing style seemed convoluted and a bit boring. It was lost in the descriptions and I just didn't care to continue sadly. Thanks for the copy of the book.

DNF. I really wanted to like this but found this hard to follow. I also couldn't help but wonder if Deafness was used as a plot device here without fair representation of the community but I didn't get far enough into the book to find out.

I love the concept of the book. My husband is fluent in ASL we have attended many deaf events so I am familiar with the culture and was intrigued by the description. Unfortunately, it really fell flat. The writing was supposed to be poetic I think but it was meandering at parts but abrupt and others. Every time I finished a chunk of the book I instantly forgot what was happening when I tried to pick it up again.

I was very excited to read this title, but unfortunately I fear some things were lost in translation here. This wasn't particularly engaging, not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I felt rather lukewarm towards Aquarium - I think the lyrical writing style was absolutely beautiful, and I enjoyed the concept of the book a lot. At times, the pacing of the narrative felt a little off and it was hard to follow the story. Since this is a translated story, I'm not sure if that's an inherent issue of the writing, or if parts of it simply got lost in translation.
I thought the writing was absolutely beautiful, but it sadly did lack a little bit in terms of storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Aquarium tells the story of twin girls kept isolated from the rest of the world by their parents. The premise is what initially lead me to request this book. Lili, Dori, and their parents are deaf and live separated from the hearing world. Lili and Dori's parents work hard to keep their children safe, believing that the hearing world would have harmful influences on their children. Although the story was interesting, it's definitely not an easy read, filled with emotional subjects and finding your own identity which could lead to severing family ties. The characters were unique, but where I really had trouble was with the writing. I wasn't able to stay engaged with the book and it took me much longer than expected to complete. I don't think this would be an issue for everyone, it's just not my preferred style.

2/5 stars.

Two sisters both deaf living in a cult like atmosphere til the real world intrudes .A unique lyrically written novel drew me right in to their world .I read this book slowly I was totally absorbed into the girls& their families world.A book that stays with you.#netgalley #fsg

Thank you NetGalley and Farrah, Straus and Giroux for the ARC copy of this book and giving me the opportunity to review it.

Sisters Lili and Dori Ackerman are deaf. Their parents—beautiful, despondent Anna; fearsome and admired Alex—are deaf too. Alex, a scrap-metal collector and sometime prophet, opposes any attempts to integrate with the world of the hearing; to escape its destructive influence, the girls are educated at home. Deafness is no disability, their father says, but an alternative way of life, preferable by far to that of the strident, hypocritical hearing.

Lili and Dori grow up semi-feral, living in a world they have created together. Lili writes down everything that happens, just the facts. And Dori, the reader, follows her. On the block where the girls spend their childhood, the family is united against a hostile and alien world. They watch the hearing like they would fish in an aquarium.

But when the outside world intrudes, the cracks that begin to form will span the rest of their lives. Separated from the family that ingrained in them a sense of uniqueness and alienation, Lili and Dori must relearn how to live, and how to tell their own stories.


“You can read whatever you want but I only write the truth,” she signed. “Nothing but the truth.”

The subject of this novel grabbed my attention and it quickly went on my to be read list. The writing in the book itself is intricately beautiful. It is not a fast paced tale, but rather one that coaxes your interest with a delicate weaving a character development and plot. It is at times hard to follow and the flashbacks make it difficult to always understand where the reader is in the timeline of the story. It is a translated story and I wonder if some of the punch got lost in the translation except that the writing itself is a beautiful example of the written word. I give the book a solid three stars.

It's been a few days since I finished this book and it also took me a week to get through it, and still I honestly can't remember much about it! What I remember: it's about two sisters, who are deaf, and are brought up in a commune/secluded environment, and the reader follow their struggles through adolescence and to adulthood. I'm pretty sure it's told in flashbacks?

I also enjoyed the language, it had a nice flow to it, very poetic like which I think was a good fit for the flashback format.

The premise is intriguing: two deaf sisters isolated from the rest of the world. Lili and Dori are deaf as are their parents. Their father, Alex is adamant that he keeps his family shielded from the hearing population, so the girls remain at home, relegated to their one block in front of their house. Lili is the historian in the sister duo, writing down the facts of their daily lives and Dori is the reader, the follower. But the girls can’t forever be protected from the rest of the world and soon enough, the outside hearing world begins to infiltrate, forcing the girls to confront everything they know to be true. This is a book about identity and free thinking, it’s a book about family and the effects of isolation. While the premise certainly felt fresh, I found that I wasn’t able to connect as deeply with the two main characters in an engaging way. Perhaps this was part of the isolation the author wanted the reader to feel, mirroring the isolation that the girls both feel in their particular situation. A fascinating idea that grabbed me, but didn’t quite hold on as fiercely as I would have liked.

This is a very unique novel; the plot is original, as are the characters. The narrative moves through time and switches between the two sisters, who are the main characters. I found this book intriguing and enjoyed how fresh it feels, but I had a difficult time staying consistently engaged with the voice; at times, the book felt difficult to access, and I wasn't always sure what the stakes were. I think that's mostly a personal preference, rather than a failing on the writer's part, so I would recommend this book, though it isn't quite right for me.

“Girls know things. Even the deaf ones. Vibrations pass through the earth. Winds blow.”

Aquarium is the story of sisters Lili and Dori Ackerman, who are raised in almost cult-like seclusion by their parents. The Ackerman family are all deaf, and when their family is forced apart Lili and Dori begin to encounter the hearing world that they’d before only watched, like fish in an aquarium.

Aquarium is not a particularly easy read. The writing is beautiful and complicated, at times more poetic than narrative. I really, really enjoyed the first three quarters of the book, but felt like it fizzled out for the conclusion. The pacing is also a bit weird, with some chapters being only a page or two and others taking a good hour or two to get through. Overall, Aquarium gets 3 stars from me!