"Checkout 19" by Claire Louise Bennet is a mesmerizing exploration into the intricacies of solitude and the extraordinary within the ordinary.

Set in a mundane checkout line in a small-town supermarket, the novel unfolds as a tapestry of the seemingly unremarkable lives of the people waiting. Bennett's keen observational skills transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, revealing the profound humanity that exists in the most commonplace scenarios.

The novel's strength lies in Bennett's ability to breathe life into her characters. Each person waiting in line becomes a vessel for the universal struggles and triumphs that define the human experience. The narrative weaves effortlessly between characters, providing a kaleidoscopic view of their inner worlds.

Bennett's exploration of solitude is particularly poignant. The checkout line becomes a metaphorical crossroads where the solitude of each individual converges, offering a glimpse into the quiet battles and victories that shape their lives. Through her characters, Bennett captures the resilience and vulnerability that coexist in the human spirit.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I loved the idea of this book and the opening chapter sparked my interest, talking about reading and books! However after that I was just lost . The literary writing style was just too much with long paragraphs and too many references . Although I did like some of the content i just found reading it a bit of a chore , sadly not for me

I was a huge huge fan of Pond but Checkout 19 didn’t quite hang together for me. The writing is exceptional and the themes appealed but I didn’t find the structure as compelling and found a few of the sections let the narrative down.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book as I haven’t seen many reviews. It’s not a conventional structure or format yet I found the writing engaging and thought provoking. I didn’t find it easy to read at times. Overall, I loved the theme of literature and how writing shapes someone.

The style of this book makes it stand out and I think it was a brave route to go down.

It is well written and relatable when she talks about reading and how we interact with books.

Really enjoyable and interesting read.

Tricky this one as you want to applaud and encourage fresh approaches to writing an new ideas but also a need to feed back when that writing struggles to engage.

In Checkout 19, we have an endless stream of consciousness where the writer takes us on a meandering tour of pivotal moments in their life that has shaped them. Only this isn't a novel that focuses on seismic shakeups but rather the tiny moments we remember - why do we remember these idiosyncratic moments? why is it these that we remember as being painful, hurtful or luscious?

It's an interesting premise but i don't feel that I'm ever engaged fully enough to really figure out what is interesting about these series of little moments In particular, observations on periods, sex, and the changing female body isn't exactly revolutionary, and its not tackled in a new way here either.

yet I am glad that I finished this book as it undeniably got better in the last third or so where the internal monologue started to have more shape and bite.

I wanted to like Checkout 19 a lot more than I actually did. Bennett is clearly a talented writer and in many ways I’m pleased that this novel has garnered such critical praise, I’m just disappointed that I didn’t ‘get’ it. I usually love experimental literary fiction with little to no plot (!) but I couldn’t seem to get to grips with this one. I have read a lot of the authors and works referenced but, aside from listing them, the novel rarely provided any further insight to warrant these lists’ inclusion. Every time I did start to feel more engrossed, the Tarquin Superbus sections completely took me out again (I would have much preferred these sections to have been edited out but I’m probably in the minority there). Overall, I have still awarded this book three stars because I can appreciate Bennett’s turn of phrase, but for whatever reason, this novel sadly left me cold.

At the beginning I thought I was going to hate this book - too many references to things read (with the implication that you "should" read them... or was that just me?) That being said, this IS a book for readers and I felt privileged to have read most of the books referenced, with a little frisson of pleasure at the mention of Brighton and Ann Quinn. Claire Louise-Bennett's flights of fancy into her own imagined narratives (as opposed to the more realistic descriptions of her life (or her imagined life!), were wonderful and completely engrossing. I ultimately found this a hugely enjoyable and strangely comforting pandemic read.

It's always an exciting feeling when the prose of a book feels fresh and new and you don't have any idea which way it will go. As was the case here with Checkout 19. I didn't know anything about it prior to reading, which also added to that feeling.

Absolutely stream of consciousness, rather than plot driven book, we encounter a female narrator and her take on how books have shaped her, her experiences, some imaginings and personal themes. I found it both engrossing and a tad confusing.

I appreciate you might have to be in the right mood to read this, so would say - abandon any preconceptions and just go with the flow, let yourself get caught up in it!

Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett

Brilliant writing, often challenging in both form and content. I didn't know what to make of it at first and think this is one of those novels that would work better as a physical book so you could flick back and forth, revisiting sentences/passages and getting things straight in your mind. Compelling and original - highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I'm afraid that this book is not for me. I have found the style of writing too difficult to get into. I have read very few of the words but skimmed over looking for some plot. That's clearly not the point of this book but I just don't get it. I have abandoned reading it. Sorry.

as from the other reviews I have seen, this book appears to fall in the category of love or loathe. Although I am of Bennett's imagined target age and demographic as a reader, this book didn't work for me, i DNF'd at 20 percent. I enjoyed glimmers of her writing, when she managed to create real moments of clarity amongst whimsical passages of story telling, unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep me reading on. I know this book will be loved by many of my reading friends, so will be sure to highlight to them as it releases.

Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett is unusual, intriguing and compulsive; I feel the need to reread it immediately!

I really enjoyed reading it, but at the same time I feel that I am more than likely missing out on some underlying meaning and / or symbolism.

The narrator begins by telling us about an incident at school and her teacher Mr Burton, then later of her life at University in London and her relationships with a couple of her boyfriends but mostly Dale. We also learn about a fictional character that she created and wrote about, Tarquin Superbus. As we learn more about Tarquin, Bennett also informs us about the narrator's major inspiration and influences: Anaïs Nin and Ann Quin.

There isn't a strong storyline with a traditional start, middle and end though plenty happens along the way and it does finish with an event. I suspect it will delight some and disappoint others.

I found this a very difficult book to read. It’s not a novel, more a series of interlinked essays illuminating certain events and happenings in the character’s life. The overriding theme was her love of literature and how it had shaped her. I enjoyed the first 2 chapters but the 3rd was basically many lists of different books she had read, deviating off on to a riff about one of them as she went. This was intercut with a short story she had written, yet never quite finished. From here on the book became more and more a stream of consciousness, exhausting to read at times. I never felt I got to know the woman either, you go glimpses but somehow she slid away. There is no doubt Claire-Louise Bennett writes beautifully and there was much to enjoy in Checkout 19 but ultimately I found it too frustrating to really absorb it properly.
Thank you to #penguinrandom and #netgalley for inviting me to review this ARC

In Checkout 19 Claire-Louise Bennett’s uses autofiction, fiction and essay (auto-fic-say?) to write about living, being a woman, reading and ultimately, writing. Written as a stream of consciousness, this is a work without narrative as such. There are episodes from author/ narrator’s life, a short story written some time ago and revisited, a sort of essay/s about reading and literature. At times, it’s wonderfully inventive as well as incisive, at others, Bennett spins off into endless digressions, deviation and repetition. I enjoyed some of it and found a lot to admire, especially the parts about reading and literature.

But this is a work about writing, becoming a writer and above all, “writing freely and expressively and fearlessly”. At one point, Bennett asks “Is there anything worse that can befall a young woman than to be robbed of impulse?” To me, Checkout 19 felt too impulsive, as if it was going round and round in endless circles, like the ouroboros, the snake eating its tail that symbolises the cycle of life, death and renewal that Bennett refers to on a couple of occasions. In the end, I found Checkout 19 to be too much about the process, as if this cycle isn’t quite complete and I’d be interested to see where Bennett goes next. Three and a half stars.

My thanks to Vintage, Jonathan Cape and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Checkout 19.

This unconventional ‘novel’ can be seen as the author’s recollections of growing up via literature. It defies genre categorisation - being a combination of linked anecdotes, autofiction and stream of consciousness - described as being reminiscent of Irish writers such as Joyce. Or perhaps the better definition of the writing style is that of an internal monologue, as the dense prose is peppered with digressive reflections and insights into the mundane realities of life, and it is free of narrative arc or plot structure.
This intimate style of writing can become mesmerising, needing a lot of concentration on the reader’s part, but it makes for a strong emotional resonance in return. In fact, I reckon it’s the nearest thing to getting inside another person’s mind, which I find fascinating.

oh dear - this really was not for me. I did not get very far as it is written in the form of streaming babble - a bit like listening to my son after he has had a few beers and wants to tell me about the world. There appeared to be no plot or hope that something of consequence was going to happen so I gave up.

This sounded so promising, and I did like elements of some of the sections (the section on periods was excellent) but I'm afraid I just didn't get this overall. The glimmers of brilliance weren't enough to pull this together as a whole in my view -- much too experimental and stream of consciousness-esque for this reader.

Roddy Doyle says of Checkout 19 "It is wonderful....I am not sure why, and that makes it all the more wonderful"

Given Roddy Doyle is one of my favourite authors, I was looking forward to reading this novel and, having finished with I couldn't agree with him more. To say you are unsure why a book is so wonderful does not make for a great review so please forgive me for this one - it won't happen again.

This, for me, is a book about literature - books about books would ordinarily be somewhat off-putting however here Bennett takes us on a personal journey with her unique prose and I didn't want it to end. She writes in almost a stream of consciousness style which can be challenging to read but skill is so adept you can't help be taken along.

Bennett covers topics such as periods, relationships, family amongst others and even as a 38 year old male I couldn't help but be drawn in.

This is the type of novel which represents the best of literary fiction but will also be one of the reasons why so many people don't enjoy it given the lack of a clear, definable plot.

I would encourage everyone to read this when it is released.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.