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Available
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Publication
Audible Studios (2016), Unabridged MP3; 8h02
Description
"This captivating story follows -- over the course of four seasons -- a misfit man who adopts a misfit dog. It is springtime, and two outcasts -- a man ignored, even shunned by his village, and the one-eyed dog he takes into his quiet, tightly shuttered life -- find each other, by accident or fate, and forge an unlikely connection. As their friendship grows, their small, seaside town suddenly takes note of them, falsely perceiving menace where there is only mishap; the unlikely duo must take to the road. Gorgeously written in poetic and mesmerizing prose, Spill Simmer Falter Wither has already garnered wild support in its native Ireland, where the Irish Times pointed to Baume's "astonishing power with language" and praised it as "a novel bursting with brio, braggadocio and bite." It is also a moving depiction of how -- over the four seasons echoed in the title -- a relationship between fellow damaged creatures can bring them both comfort. One of those rare stories that utterly, completely imagines its way into a life most of us would never see, it transforms us not only in our understanding of the world, but also of ourselves."--… (more)
Media reviews
In many ways, Baume’s book resembles another debut novel, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). Like Ray, Haddon’s protagonist has a single father who’s concealed crucial details of his mother’s death from his son. The unexpected intervention of an
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unassuming dog helps both characters find their way to a better understanding of their families and themselves. But where Curious Incident takes its narrative cues from a logical, rule-bound perspective on an overwhelming reality, Spill Simmer Falter Wither does the opposite. Baume’s novel revels in aesthetic leaps and dives, embracing the poetry of sensory experience in all its baffling beauty from the title onward. Show Less
Ray, a disabled man, adopts One Eye, a rescue dog injured while badger baiting, in this debut novel.
We get to know Ray as he speaks to One Eye: “I’m fifty-seven. Too old for starting over, too young for giving up.” We learn he leaves his lonely home on the coast of Ireland once a week to
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visit the post office and the grocery store. He used to attend Mass, but he hasn’t been lately. He’s a reader and uses the “mobile library.” Ray is alone and both appears and feels different than other people. He tells One Eye, “Sometimes I see the sadness in you, the same sadness that’s in me….My sadness isn’t a way I feel but a thing trapped inside the walls of my flesh, like a smog.” In another passage he explains, “The nasturtiums have it figured out, how survival’s just a matter of filling the gaps between sun up and sun down.” Show Less
This fine debut novel, originally published by the independent Irish publisher Tramp Press, now in a Heinemann paperback edition, and longlisted for this year’s Guardian first book award, is a fascinating portrait of the friendship a man develops with his dog and the companionship he also finds
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in books. (“I longed to be left to my books,” he reminisces. “I wish you could understand when I read to you,” he tells his dog.) The man and dog are both outsiders in a claustrophobic coastal community and both are weighed down by fear and sadness. Show Less
Baume is not one of those storytellers who supply the entire picture. She drops clues and leaves gaps. You deduce that the narrator’s name is Ray, that his late father was Robin. The action begins in coastal east Co Cork, perhaps near the oil refinery at Whitegate, before narrator and dog are
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forced by local misunderstanding or mishap to take to the road as fugitives. Ray includes his phone number in the novel, but I was afraid to ring it. Baume writes him so persuasively that I felt he would answer.
So confident is this extraordinary debut that the reader doesn’t notice how much of it is narrated in the second person. The “you” intensifies a tone of great intimacy and tact. It’s impossible to write about a “you” without revealing whole reservoirs about the “I”, one of fiction’s loveliest paradoxes. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Cariola
Well, this book leaves me a little unsure of just what to say about it. It's an unusual book, to say the least. It opens with a short prologue in which we see an ugly, bloodied dog running in the dark, one eye hanging from its socket. The primary narrator, a 57-year old outsider living alone in his
The writing is quite stunning, almost poetic at times. While there are some moments of humor in the novel, for the most part, I found it sad and depressing. Not the greatest choice for a bedtime read. I can't give it a strong recommendation, but I wouldn't try to persuade anyone not to read it, and I would definitely look into this author's next work.
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father's house in a small Irish town, leaving only to cash his monthly check at the post office and to pick up groceries in a local shop. We soon learn that there are rats on the roof, rats in the attic, and when he sees a flyer posted for this same ugly dog, he adopts it, hoping it will rid the house of rats. From that point on, the focus of the novel is the growing relationship between man and dog. While it may sound like an inner dialogue, It takes the form of the man talking to Oneeye, the dog, spilling his every thought, plan, feeling, and secret. Through this one-sided conversation, we learn how the man (whose name we deduce is Ray) came to be such an oddball loner and how, in time, he comes to realize that his life is only worth living because of Oneeye. The dog, unfortunately, has a killer instinct that can't be tamed, and after several encounters with local dogs, a warden arrives at the door. Knowing that his dog will likely be confiscated and his secrets perhaps uncovered, they go on the run, travelling through Ireland and living in Ray's somewhat unreliable car.The writing is quite stunning, almost poetic at times. While there are some moments of humor in the novel, for the most part, I found it sad and depressing. Not the greatest choice for a bedtime read. I can't give it a strong recommendation, but I wouldn't try to persuade anyone not to read it, and I would definitely look into this author's next work.
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LibraryThing member psutto
The book is told as an ongoing 'conversation' between a man and his dog One eye.
You find me on a Tuesday, on my Tuesday trip to town. A note sellotaped to the inside of the jumble-shop window: COMPASSIONATE & TOLERANT OWNER. A PERSON WITHOUT OTHER PETS & WITHOUT CHILDREN UNDER FOUR.
The book
Initially, I wasn't sure if I'd get on with the style but I soon settled into Baume's rhythm and couldn't wait to get back to the book on the few occasions I had to put it down.
I'd highly recommend this book
You find me on a Tuesday, on my Tuesday trip to town. A note sellotaped to the inside of the jumble-shop window: COMPASSIONATE & TOLERANT OWNER. A PERSON WITHOUT OTHER PETS & WITHOUT CHILDREN UNDER FOUR.
The book
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explores the friendship of man and beast, with both being outcasts and misfits. It is often lyrical and beautifully developed. It is literary but not self-consciously though, I've read reviews that say it is plotless, which is a little unfair. There is a sense of forlorn loneliness that runs through the novel and it could have been maudlin if mishandled. But Baume has a deft touch and it is therefore touchingly melancholy. But it is still a pleasurable read as Baume's imagery and poetic prose is a delight.Initially, I wasn't sure if I'd get on with the style but I soon settled into Baume's rhythm and couldn't wait to get back to the book on the few occasions I had to put it down.
I'd highly recommend this book
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LibraryThing member ErickaS
This book will tear your heart.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither is described in a lot of reviews as being about a relationship between a man and his dog.
That is not what this book is about at all.
Ray's relationship with OneEye is only a part of the story. For a while I thought the dog may be entirely
This book is about loneliness. It's about abandonment. It's about craving parental approval and coming back for more disappointment. And it does not offer redemption.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither is a mondegreen for spring, summer, fall, winter, and the book covers one year in Ray's life, after the death of his father and his new relationship with OneEye. They live together in Ray's house until an incident compels Ray to pack up his small car and take to life on the road with his only companion.
Baume's writing is poetry. It's subtle, terse, often sparse, but each detail is full of meaning. There is a heavy sense of place, and Ray's place in the universe, or lack thereof, comes through in his interactions with the people he encounters and his vicarious freedom through OneEye. At first everything seems happy-go-lucky, but slowly and indirectly Ray's sadness and rage begin to show. If you take up this book, give it the time it deserves. Don't read this on the beach, or at the playground, or in five-minute snippets. Every word is there for a reason, and if you're hurried, you will miss something of devastating importance.
This book is eerie and beautiful. There is a disquieting sense of foreboding that carries through the story, with a culmination that will leave you breathless.
My review is also posted on my blog: flyleafunfurled.com
Spill Simmer Falter Wither is described in a lot of reviews as being about a relationship between a man and his dog.
That is not what this book is about at all.
Ray's relationship with OneEye is only a part of the story. For a while I thought the dog may be entirely
Show More
imaginary. This book is about loneliness. It's about abandonment. It's about craving parental approval and coming back for more disappointment. And it does not offer redemption.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither is a mondegreen for spring, summer, fall, winter, and the book covers one year in Ray's life, after the death of his father and his new relationship with OneEye. They live together in Ray's house until an incident compels Ray to pack up his small car and take to life on the road with his only companion.
Baume's writing is poetry. It's subtle, terse, often sparse, but each detail is full of meaning. There is a heavy sense of place, and Ray's place in the universe, or lack thereof, comes through in his interactions with the people he encounters and his vicarious freedom through OneEye. At first everything seems happy-go-lucky, but slowly and indirectly Ray's sadness and rage begin to show. If you take up this book, give it the time it deserves. Don't read this on the beach, or at the playground, or in five-minute snippets. Every word is there for a reason, and if you're hurried, you will miss something of devastating importance.
This book is eerie and beautiful. There is a disquieting sense of foreboding that carries through the story, with a culmination that will leave you breathless.
My review is also posted on my blog: flyleafunfurled.com
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
Spill Simmer Falter Wither is the debut novel by Irish author Sara Baume and what an impressive debut it is! She uses language to convey images in ways that are both beautiful and surprising. We know for example the name of the narrator is Ray only because he says it ‘is the same word as for sun
One day, he spots a sign in a shop window looking for ‘Compassionate & Tolerant’ people to adopt abused dogs. Looking for a ratter, Ray adopts One Eye, a terrier who lost one of his eyes to a badger and who is as ostracized, as mistrustful and as lonely as Ray. The man at the kennel warns Ray that the dog is ‘a vicious little bugger’ but he soon becomes a source of joy for Ray, his companion, his only friend, and the ‘you’ to whom Ray tells his story. But when One Eye’s hatred for other dogs causes him to attack a Shih Tzu, Ray abandons his home and village and he takes One Eye on a trip across the country in his old car.
But don’t look for any happy endings here. This is not one of those uplifting stories where somehow man saves dog and then dog saves man and, through their mutual heroics, they win the love and respect of the other villagers who have hitherto vilified them. Despite the strong bond forged between these two lonely souls, the world does not become a friendlier, safer place for the pair. This is a much more honest story, lyrical in its prose, occasionally humorous, wise, and heartrending. This is the kind of book that will make you smile and break your heart and stay with you long after the last goodbye.
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beams, as for winged and boneless sharks’. Ray is 57 and a lonely man, seen as strange by others, feared and mistrusted. On the surface, he seems slow, odd, unintelligent but, in his own head, he sees the world in intimate detail. His father, who has always seemed at best, indifferent to him, has died, leaving him a house and little else.One day, he spots a sign in a shop window looking for ‘Compassionate & Tolerant’ people to adopt abused dogs. Looking for a ratter, Ray adopts One Eye, a terrier who lost one of his eyes to a badger and who is as ostracized, as mistrustful and as lonely as Ray. The man at the kennel warns Ray that the dog is ‘a vicious little bugger’ but he soon becomes a source of joy for Ray, his companion, his only friend, and the ‘you’ to whom Ray tells his story. But when One Eye’s hatred for other dogs causes him to attack a Shih Tzu, Ray abandons his home and village and he takes One Eye on a trip across the country in his old car.
But don’t look for any happy endings here. This is not one of those uplifting stories where somehow man saves dog and then dog saves man and, through their mutual heroics, they win the love and respect of the other villagers who have hitherto vilified them. Despite the strong bond forged between these two lonely souls, the world does not become a friendlier, safer place for the pair. This is a much more honest story, lyrical in its prose, occasionally humorous, wise, and heartrending. This is the kind of book that will make you smile and break your heart and stay with you long after the last goodbye.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
"I'm fifty-seven. Too old for starting over, too young for giving up." So the narrator of this beautifully written book describes himself. And those twelve words speak volumes about the Irish man called Ray (although he never explicitly gives his name he says his name is the same word as for sun
Ray is living alone in his father's house in a small seaside village, his father having died a year or so previously. He sees an ad for a disfigured terrier available from a shelter and decides to adopt him. The dog lost an eye, probably while hunting badgers, and he has other knicks and scars. Ray calls him ONEEYE. He's a ferocious little dog, willing to take on anything from rodents to birds to large dogs. Ray is practically his polar opposite; he has hardly ventured outside of the village in his entire life; he never attended school; he never held a job.He doesn't remember anything about a mother and he never had the courage to ask his father about her. When his father died Ray learned how to get a social allowance and manage his meagre needs. Then ONEEYE came into his life and he had to take him out for walks and drives. The two of them fit quite well together but their carefully constructed life comes crashing down when ONEEYE attacks another dog on a walk. The pound official who comes to Ray's door is put off for a day and that gives Ray and ONEEYE a chance to make their escape. They spend the rest of the summer and fall driving around the country, sleeping and eating in the car. Although Ray had no formal education he is well-read (I was immediately on his side when he took Silas Marner out of the bookmobile to read again) and knows birds and flowers and animals and crops. He talks to ONEEYE continuously about what they see outside of the car and ONEEYE cocks his head to listen attentively. There is much to love about this story and much to think about.
Here's one example of the gorgeous writing in this book:
Last night, the in-between leaves dropped altogether and at once, as though a herd of nocturnal giraffes came sweeping through, stretching their prodigious necks into the treetops, stripping the branches bare and then scattering the stripped leaves over their footprints so no one will know who to blame. This morning, now freed, the stripped leaves skip and soar and shapeshift. They scuttle like pygmy shrews, flutter like common chaffinches. They spread across the road and contort into letters of the alphabet, miniature whirlwinds, religious apparitions." What a terrific description of the autumnal leaf drop.
I think this would make a great book discussion at a book club.
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beams, and for winged and boneless sharks). Before the book is over he does start anew and therein lies the tale.Ray is living alone in his father's house in a small seaside village, his father having died a year or so previously. He sees an ad for a disfigured terrier available from a shelter and decides to adopt him. The dog lost an eye, probably while hunting badgers, and he has other knicks and scars. Ray calls him ONEEYE. He's a ferocious little dog, willing to take on anything from rodents to birds to large dogs. Ray is practically his polar opposite; he has hardly ventured outside of the village in his entire life; he never attended school; he never held a job.He doesn't remember anything about a mother and he never had the courage to ask his father about her. When his father died Ray learned how to get a social allowance and manage his meagre needs. Then ONEEYE came into his life and he had to take him out for walks and drives. The two of them fit quite well together but their carefully constructed life comes crashing down when ONEEYE attacks another dog on a walk. The pound official who comes to Ray's door is put off for a day and that gives Ray and ONEEYE a chance to make their escape. They spend the rest of the summer and fall driving around the country, sleeping and eating in the car. Although Ray had no formal education he is well-read (I was immediately on his side when he took Silas Marner out of the bookmobile to read again) and knows birds and flowers and animals and crops. He talks to ONEEYE continuously about what they see outside of the car and ONEEYE cocks his head to listen attentively. There is much to love about this story and much to think about.
Here's one example of the gorgeous writing in this book:
Last night, the in-between leaves dropped altogether and at once, as though a herd of nocturnal giraffes came sweeping through, stretching their prodigious necks into the treetops, stripping the branches bare and then scattering the stripped leaves over their footprints so no one will know who to blame. This morning, now freed, the stripped leaves skip and soar and shapeshift. They scuttle like pygmy shrews, flutter like common chaffinches. They spread across the road and contort into letters of the alphabet, miniature whirlwinds, religious apparitions." What a terrific description of the autumnal leaf drop.
I think this would make a great book discussion at a book club.
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LibraryThing member aine.fin
Desperately sad, vivid, memorable. Beautiful but heat-breaking portrait on the impact a dog can have on a life.
LibraryThing member maximeg
You find me on a Tuesday, on my Tuesday trip to town. A note sellotaped to the inside of the jumble-shop window: COMPASSIONATE & TOLERANT OWNER. A PERSON WITHOUT OTHER PETS & WITHOUT CHILDREN UNDER FOUR.
I found this book very absorbing and atmospheric sad and i have never read a book like it such a
I found this book very absorbing and atmospheric sad and i have never read a book like it such a
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different read i can understand why it was a costa award winner the ending i had to read the last page about 3 times to understand but i do recommend this book Show Less
LibraryThing member TimBazzett
SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER is Irish writer Sara Baume's first book, but she writes with a sureness that speaks of a real dedication to her craft. It is a novel that will be difficult to classify. The edition I read is the British one, from Windmill Books, but it was first published by Tramp Press,
How to describe this strange novel? Magical? Maybe. Moving? Absolutely. Humorous? Yes, that too. Sad? Yes again. Wise. Well, yes again. It's just such a different kind of story. It's told by Ray, fifty-seven, a kind of orphan in that he never knew his mother. Grotesquely misshapen, huge, ugly and ungainly, Ray describes his manner of walking thusly: "I pitch, I clump, I flail." Mostly neglected by his cold-mannered father, who told people that his son was "not right," Ray was teased and abused as a child and never attended school. Yet he learned to read, with some help from a neighbor woman he knew simply as "Aunt," and displays an inquiring mind and an attention to nature and small things that is simply amazing. He has taught himself the names of birds, insects, plants and flowers. A horticulturist would love the countless references to the local flora around the village where Ray has spent his whole life.
And there is a dog. And although dog lover readers will love this dog and the immediate attachment that springs up between the lonely man and the damaged beast, I would never label this a "dog book." The dog's name is One Eye, or ONEEYE, as his bone-shaped identification tag reads, and he bears the scars of "badger baiting," an ancient and brutal sport that still exists in some parts of the world.
Ray finds One Eye at an animal shelter, looking for a "good ratter." Their friendship, however, is instant, as Rays soon muses -
"What did I use to do all day without you. I can't remember."
And soon after that (Ray's internal monologue is always addressed to the dog) -
"I find it hard to picture a time when we were simultaneously alive, yet separate. Now you are like a bonus limb. Now you are my third leg, an unlimping leg, and I am the eye you lost."
But don't get the idea this is just a warm-and-fuzzy old man and his dog story. Because it is so much more. Through their quick and ever-deepening bond, Ray is compelled to confront some dark secrets about his father. He talks to One Eye about everything - about how he became the shy, fearful person he is; about his interest in all things, his disenchantment with his Catholic faith. Initially - through the spring and summer - the dog is a source of joy and contentment to Ray, until a couple of ugly encounters with other dogs and their owners. Indeed, the kennel man at the shelter had warned Ray the dog was "a vicious little bugger." Threatened with having to give up the dog, Ray and One Eye take to the road in his old car, wandering the countryside's back roads throughout the fall and into the winter. (In fact, when you look at the book's title, SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER, think seasons.)
Ray's life is sad and empty until One Eye. The dog changes Ray, and changes his life too. But things get complicated, and it's still a cold and unfriendly world. And Ray's sense of sadness returns, as he considers the pointlessness of everyday life.
"Boiling kettles, peeling potatoes, laundering towels, buying milk, changing lightbulbs, rooting wet mats of pubic hair out of the shower's plughole. This is the way people survive ... This is the way life's eaten away, expended by the onerous effort of living itself."
Reading Baume's book brought to mind several films and books from the past - Jackie Gleason's GIGOT, Steinbeck's Lenny (but with an intellect), Art Carney and his cat in HARRY AND TONTO, or I HAVE HEARD YOU CALLING IN THE NIGHT, Thomas Healy's moving memoir of how a Doberman pup named Martin changed his life for the good. I thought too of Michel Tournier's novel, THE OGRE, read more than thirty years ago.
But Sara Baume's story is, in the end, a one-of-a-kind book. Her language sometimes soars to poetic heights, but then might quickly drop down into some scatological doggy humor that anyone who has ever loved a dog will quickly recognize and relate to. SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER is simply terrific. I recommend it whole heartedly. Bravo and kudos to Ms. Baume.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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an Independent Irish Publisher, and has already gained considerable favorable recognition in Europe. An American edition from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will be published in March 2016. How to describe this strange novel? Magical? Maybe. Moving? Absolutely. Humorous? Yes, that too. Sad? Yes again. Wise. Well, yes again. It's just such a different kind of story. It's told by Ray, fifty-seven, a kind of orphan in that he never knew his mother. Grotesquely misshapen, huge, ugly and ungainly, Ray describes his manner of walking thusly: "I pitch, I clump, I flail." Mostly neglected by his cold-mannered father, who told people that his son was "not right," Ray was teased and abused as a child and never attended school. Yet he learned to read, with some help from a neighbor woman he knew simply as "Aunt," and displays an inquiring mind and an attention to nature and small things that is simply amazing. He has taught himself the names of birds, insects, plants and flowers. A horticulturist would love the countless references to the local flora around the village where Ray has spent his whole life.
And there is a dog. And although dog lover readers will love this dog and the immediate attachment that springs up between the lonely man and the damaged beast, I would never label this a "dog book." The dog's name is One Eye, or ONEEYE, as his bone-shaped identification tag reads, and he bears the scars of "badger baiting," an ancient and brutal sport that still exists in some parts of the world.
Ray finds One Eye at an animal shelter, looking for a "good ratter." Their friendship, however, is instant, as Rays soon muses -
"What did I use to do all day without you. I can't remember."
And soon after that (Ray's internal monologue is always addressed to the dog) -
"I find it hard to picture a time when we were simultaneously alive, yet separate. Now you are like a bonus limb. Now you are my third leg, an unlimping leg, and I am the eye you lost."
But don't get the idea this is just a warm-and-fuzzy old man and his dog story. Because it is so much more. Through their quick and ever-deepening bond, Ray is compelled to confront some dark secrets about his father. He talks to One Eye about everything - about how he became the shy, fearful person he is; about his interest in all things, his disenchantment with his Catholic faith. Initially - through the spring and summer - the dog is a source of joy and contentment to Ray, until a couple of ugly encounters with other dogs and their owners. Indeed, the kennel man at the shelter had warned Ray the dog was "a vicious little bugger." Threatened with having to give up the dog, Ray and One Eye take to the road in his old car, wandering the countryside's back roads throughout the fall and into the winter. (In fact, when you look at the book's title, SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER, think seasons.)
Ray's life is sad and empty until One Eye. The dog changes Ray, and changes his life too. But things get complicated, and it's still a cold and unfriendly world. And Ray's sense of sadness returns, as he considers the pointlessness of everyday life.
"Boiling kettles, peeling potatoes, laundering towels, buying milk, changing lightbulbs, rooting wet mats of pubic hair out of the shower's plughole. This is the way people survive ... This is the way life's eaten away, expended by the onerous effort of living itself."
Reading Baume's book brought to mind several films and books from the past - Jackie Gleason's GIGOT, Steinbeck's Lenny (but with an intellect), Art Carney and his cat in HARRY AND TONTO, or I HAVE HEARD YOU CALLING IN THE NIGHT, Thomas Healy's moving memoir of how a Doberman pup named Martin changed his life for the good. I thought too of Michel Tournier's novel, THE OGRE, read more than thirty years ago.
But Sara Baume's story is, in the end, a one-of-a-kind book. Her language sometimes soars to poetic heights, but then might quickly drop down into some scatological doggy humor that anyone who has ever loved a dog will quickly recognize and relate to. SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER is simply terrific. I recommend it whole heartedly. Bravo and kudos to Ms. Baume.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
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LibraryThing member adrianburke
Reading this at night before sleeping. It is virtually plot-free: man gets dodgy dog, dodgy dog bits other dog, man and dog go on the run in a kind of parallel Ireland. Sometimes the prose is a bit opaque. I decided to stop reading it.
LibraryThing member hemlokgang
Marvelously written, poignant and shocking story! So deceptively simple at the outset. A lonely man rescues a lonely dog. The entire novel is comprised of the man's internal monologue and the reader is drawn in oh so slowly as it all unravels. I was moved by the powerful prose of this writer. I
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look forward to reading more of her work. Show Less
LibraryThing member debann6354
I didn't realize how much I loved this book until about 100 pages in. Would interrupt my reading this book with other books but the amazing writing kept bringing me back. The author's vivid descriptions invaded my brain. I eventually loved One Eye as much as Ray. The ending, which I won't reveal,
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makes sense. This book will stay with me or a long time. Show Less
LibraryThing member snail49
I didn't want to read this book as I feared it would be unbearably sad , but it kept popping up all over the place, and when I saw it in a bookshop, I had to buy it. Yes it is deeply sad , but it is also so beautifully written that I read it quickly to the end. It is a beautiful book with the mark
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of tragedy on it. Show Less
LibraryThing member asxz
Started slow but developed into something substantial and melancholy and dark. A tale (tail?) of loneliness and unhappy otherness. Man, weather, nature and the seasons. Hard to recommend but affecting nonetheless.
LibraryThing member jjaylynny
Man and dog. So, you know you're in for heartbreak, but this book serves up the human sadness more than the canine variety. Such damage done to children by life, circumstances and isolation, not to mention by those who should love them.
The language was gorgeous; now that I know the author is
The language was gorgeous; now that I know the author is
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Irish, this book begs to be read aloud or listened to. But though the prose was lush and the story (such as it is) is compelling, I never felt compelled to pick up this book; I never needed it like I need many books I'm reading. Not sure why. But it left me unsatisfied. Melancholy but unsatisfied. Maybe it will stay with me longer than I think. We shall see. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
This is not a happy book, so be forewarned. It is a story or transformation, though and is well-crafted. The narrator, who is never named tells the story in a stream-of-consciousness starting essentially with his acquisition of a mutt from the pound who is badly scarred and has the ferocity that
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goes with his physical wounds. He is looking for a "ratter." The dog is called Oneeye by the narrator because one eye is missing and he seems the most miserable type of dog, yet, the two bond and the dog definitely serves a purpose. The narrator, in his late fifties, could be described as a shut-in -- on many levels. Gradually, with the dog he opens up and is able to tell someone the stories of his meager life. By his own description, he is misshapen -- hump-back? club foot? both? He describes himself as a mountain of a man and his irregular gait seems to hinder his movement. The two have a symbiotic relationship: "Now you are like a bonus limb. Now you are my third leg, an unlimping leg, and I am the eye you lost." (40) He even dreams from the dog's point of view, which is how we get some of the dog's story. We get bits and pieces of the man's life from memories he shares with the dog; it is not a pleasant tale. He was neglected by his father, even though they lived together for 50 years and was kept inside for much of it, not mingling with other (cruel) children or having much interaction with anyone. He gets most of his knowledge from books and much of that centers on flora and fauna, and also birds. He says "I lie down and let life leave its footprints on me." (48) This all takes place in a small village near the sea in Ireland? England? And one day when walking on the beach with Oneeye, the dog attacks another dog and the trouble begins. The narrator is so incapable of dealing with real life and interacting with others that they run away inland rather than face the Animal Authorities who would take the dog away. This journey is cathartic and more of his life comes out, though it comes with a price -- facing reality. The man goes from the attitude of pessimism: " Now everything holds a diaphanous kind of potential. Now everything is so quiet and so nice and I feel ever so faintly less strange, less horrible. It makes me uneasy. It reminds me how I must remember to be distrustful of good fortune." (103) to hope: "I realise that you (dog) were not born with a predetermined capacity for wonder, as I'd believed. I realise that you fed it up yourself from tiny pieces of the world. I realise it's up to me to follow your example and nurture my own wonder, morsel by morsel by morsel." (148) However, he must return home at some point and then the true reality hits him and the reader in the face. The book is a little slow, but the last section picks up. There are pretty turns of phrase and the title refers to both the 4 seasons with the dog (Spill being Spring and onward) and also to the man's slow transformation, freeing him from his past and his overbearing father. The ambiguous ending would be good for book discussion, but the lack of cheer might make it a less popular read. The narrator asks: "Why does everything either starve or drown? Always either too much or too little, always imbalance." (79). If he could find balance (literally and figuratively), there might be hope. Show Less
LibraryThing member LDVoorberg
A sweet yet unusual book. The protagonist narrates the book as though he is talking to his new dog. It's a little weird, at first, but works very well as a POV as you get to know the man and adjust to his style. It's a bit monotonous -- not in a boring way, but as in a level, consistent pitch and
The narrator (I don't think he ever tells us his name) is very solitary, perhaps on the ASD spectrum, but he slowly unreels his story. It's ...unexpected. But there's so much nature and love for his dog, that no matter how you feel about his past there's a serenity in the story. Maybe it's the lack of many strong emotions that makes the book so even-keeled.
It's for people who love dogs, nature, the beach, or just a quirky, well-written book. The author does an excellent job with the writing. The descriptions are apt but not overdone, the social commentary is original and insightful, the story is also original and interesting. There's an endorsement quote on the cover by Anne Enright that calls the book "beautiful and unexpected" and that is exactly what this book is.
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tone kind of way. I had to take a short break from reading this book just for something differently paced. But when I came back, it was all good again. The narrator (I don't think he ever tells us his name) is very solitary, perhaps on the ASD spectrum, but he slowly unreels his story. It's ...unexpected. But there's so much nature and love for his dog, that no matter how you feel about his past there's a serenity in the story. Maybe it's the lack of many strong emotions that makes the book so even-keeled.
It's for people who love dogs, nature, the beach, or just a quirky, well-written book. The author does an excellent job with the writing. The descriptions are apt but not overdone, the social commentary is original and insightful, the story is also original and interesting. There's an endorsement quote on the cover by Anne Enright that calls the book "beautiful and unexpected" and that is exactly what this book is.
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LibraryThing member janerawoof
Connection between a man and his dog--both outcasts. The dog has lost an eye and the man, Ray, has suffered emotional abuse from an unloving father, which has scarred him psychologically. After a misunderstanding, the dog, One Eye and his master take to the road. Then they return and a shattering
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conclusion when they are back home. The ending is open to various interpretations. I saw no "bridge" between the last chapter and Epilog, possibly on purpose? Nearly plotless but outstanding for the author's writing style and vivid prose. Bleak but unforgettable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Castlelass
“My sadness isn’t a way I feel but a thing trapped inside the walls of my flesh, like a smog. It takes the sheen off everything. It rolls the world in soot. It saps the power from my limbs and presses my back into a stoop.”
This is the story of a man and his dog, but unlike many animal-related
The dialogue consists of the man talking to the dog, telling the dog of his life. The reader gradually gains an understanding of the man’s sorrow and anger.
“Now I glance at the side of my own face in the mirror’s foreground, and I wonder have we grown to resemble one another, as we’re supposed to. On the outside, we are still as black and gnarled as nature made us. But on the inside, I feel different somehow. I feel animalised. Now there’s a wildness inside me that kicked off with you.”
The writing is lyrical. The tone is bleak. I would not recommend it for anyone suffering from depression. I admire the writing style and plan to read more of Baume’s work.
This is the story of a man and his dog, but unlike many animal-related
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novels, it is also dark and sad. It is told in present tense in four parts, one per season. The man and dog are outcasts. They have had bad experiences. The man lives alone in a run-down house near the sea. After a traumatic event, they embark on a journey. The dialogue consists of the man talking to the dog, telling the dog of his life. The reader gradually gains an understanding of the man’s sorrow and anger.
“Now I glance at the side of my own face in the mirror’s foreground, and I wonder have we grown to resemble one another, as we’re supposed to. On the outside, we are still as black and gnarled as nature made us. But on the inside, I feel different somehow. I feel animalised. Now there’s a wildness inside me that kicked off with you.”
The writing is lyrical. The tone is bleak. I would not recommend it for anyone suffering from depression. I admire the writing style and plan to read more of Baume’s work.
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LibraryThing member burritapal
I always felt I was not part of this strange cruel world, that I was not part of the strange cruel human race. I identify with the Animals and the plants of this Earth more than with anything else. But I don't have a hunchback and while I have mental illness, I have intelligence. A man who is
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shunned by society and has developmental delay adopts a one-eyed dog, probably a victim of cruelty. The dog becomes his whole life and, when OneEye bites another dog, a woman sics the Animal Control Officer on him. To save OneEye, he leaves his house, and with no one to advocate for him, or look out for him, he spirals down and down. The saddest book ever, and yet the most beautiful book, ever. Show Less
LibraryThing member oldblack
"In certain lights at certain angles...I am an old man. ...I'm fifty-seven. Too old for starting over, too young for giving up...I'm all on my own...Everywhere I go it's as though I'm wearing a spacesuit that buffers me from other people....when I pitch and clump and flail down the street, grown
I relate rather well to this man, Ray. He forms a special relationship with an unattractive and disabled dog that he rescues from imminent euthanasia. I think I understand much of what motivates Ray. We see that his relationship with his father has been critical in determining Ray's relationship with the world. Ray can see his father's impact on his life but he can't escape from it. Great writing, great insight. I'm looking forward to reading more of Sara Baume.
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men step into the drain gully to avoid brushing against my invisible spacesuit"I relate rather well to this man, Ray. He forms a special relationship with an unattractive and disabled dog that he rescues from imminent euthanasia. I think I understand much of what motivates Ray. We see that his relationship with his father has been critical in determining Ray's relationship with the world. Ray can see his father's impact on his life but he can't escape from it. Great writing, great insight. I'm looking forward to reading more of Sara Baume.
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LibraryThing member VanessaCW
A 'road trip' style story about the relationship between Ray, a lonely man whose father has recently died, and One Eye, a stray dog who becomes his best friend. There is no plot as such, although there is a strange twist towards the end and what an ambiguous ending it is, too. I didn't know quite
It's really just a pondering of thoughts as Ray and One Eye are travelling through the countryside. The imagery is very vivid and it's easy to visualise. The writing is lyrical, poetical even. It's meditative and reflective. It's also very melancholy and quite dark.
It's beautifully and eloquently written. It's a thought provoking tale as I am still thinking about it now, strangely enough. However, somehow it didn't really engage me. I found it a little too dreary and sad for my tastes. The road trip seemed endless. I usually love stories which feature animals but this one just wasn't for me.
Many thanks to Lovereading.co.uk for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
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what to make of it!It's really just a pondering of thoughts as Ray and One Eye are travelling through the countryside. The imagery is very vivid and it's easy to visualise. The writing is lyrical, poetical even. It's meditative and reflective. It's also very melancholy and quite dark.
It's beautifully and eloquently written. It's a thought provoking tale as I am still thinking about it now, strangely enough. However, somehow it didn't really engage me. I found it a little too dreary and sad for my tastes. The road trip seemed endless. I usually love stories which feature animals but this one just wasn't for me.
Many thanks to Lovereading.co.uk for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
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LibraryThing member beentsy
This was amazing and beautiful and so, so hard to read. Not the writing, that was flawless. But again, the story and the pain of the protagonist just made me squirm and almost itch with discomfort. Poor bastard. I gotta read something a bit fluffy now and give my psyche a break.
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2017)
Costa Book Awards (Shortlist — First Novel — 2015)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — 2016)
Irish Book Award (Winner — Newcomer — 2015)
Guardian First Book Award (Longlist — 2015)
Warwick Prize for Writing (Longlist — 2015)
Desmond Elliott Prize (Longlist — 2016)
NPR: Books We Love (2016)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015