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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Earlier this year I read the 2015 Giller Prize-winning Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis and I thought that may well put me off reading anything about fictional canines ever again. And then I picked up Sara Baume’s Spill Simmer Falter Wither — which had been sitting on my bedside table since February — and I had to reassess my prejudice against dogs in literature, for in this beautifully written debut novel we follow the up-and-down relationship between one man and his dog, and it is truly an impressive achievement.
Split into four seasons — the spill, simmer, falter, wither of the title — the book charts a year in the life of 57-year-old Ray, a social misfit, who buys a rescue dog — “a vicious little bugger” but a “good ratter, alright” — with one eye whom he dubs, appropriately, “One Eye”.
Initially, Ray and One Eye take their time getting used to one another, but as the weeks and months unfurl a strange kind of companionship ensues, and Ray, alone in the world for the first time after the recent death of his father, begins to find the courage to explore beyond the small, closeted domain he has inhabited his whole lonely life.
But Ray’s cautious baby steps into new territory beyond his local village brings him into conflict with other people, and when One Eye displays the viciousness which had once made him useful for badger baiting, Ray panics and goes on the run, taking his beloved dog with him…
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
Split into four seasons — the spill, simmer, falter, wither of the title — the book charts a year in the life of 57-year-old Ray, a social misfit, who buys a rescue dog — “a vicious little bugger” but a “good ratter, alright” — with one eye whom he dubs, appropriately, “One Eye”.
Initially, Ray and One Eye take their time getting used to one another, but as the weeks and months unfurl a strange kind of companionship ensues, and Ray, alone in the world for the first time after the recent death of his father, begins to find the courage to explore beyond the small, closeted domain he has inhabited his whole lonely life.
But Ray’s cautious baby steps into new territory beyond his local village brings him into conflict with other people, and when One Eye displays the viciousness which had once made him useful for badger baiting, Ray panics and goes on the run, taking his beloved dog with him…
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
Couldn’t finish it. Just too repetitive and off putting. Gave up after 60 pages, my cut off limit. Too many other books out there I want to read.
For some reason, this book put me in mind of another book that I read long ago and didn't like. That book was The Confederacy of Dunces. I have no idea if there are any parallels in the stories or characters. I can't really remember the other book. But this book is about a sad character's sad life.
So why did I stick with it until the end? The author had an interesting voice and the technique of storytelling was intriguing. And once I'd committed a certain amount of time to it, I wanted to include it on my 2022 reading challenge!
So why did I stick with it until the end? The author had an interesting voice and the technique of storytelling was intriguing. And once I'd committed a certain amount of time to it, I wanted to include it on my 2022 reading challenge!
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
I loved the poetry of the writing and the voice of Ray. Perhaps I should have expected a sad finish. I will miss the stories of Ray and OneEye.
beautifully written, makes you want to read parts over again to enjoy the juiciness of her language.
wonderfully emotional.
wonderfully emotional.
Loved this unusual story about Ray, an outcast in his coastal Irish town who adopts a dog he names One Eye. Each section of the book follows a season of their lives together as Ray explores all the difficulties he has run into during his 57 years while also describing the beauty of all the nature he sees along the way. Beautiful writing makes this worth the read.
Just couldn't make it through, just too boring for my taste.
Extraordinary… there really is no other way to describe "Spill Simmer Falter Wither", the debut novel of the Irish author Sara Baume, one of those rare well polished diamonds, a little miracle, a book that stands out in so many ways.
The cover story might lead one to think that one is about to read yet one more story about an older man, 57-year old Ray, and the dog, Oneeye, that he one day decided to adopt to have some company in his so lonely life. One might expect yet another description about the strange friendship between humans and animals and the extent to which they understand each other. In this case, one will be fooled, deceived, even disappointed maybe.
"Spill Simmer Falter Wither" (referring to the four seasons) is much, much more than that. True, the relationship between Ray and Oneeye is the baseline of the story, but that's where all comparison with similar books end.
What the book is really about is a devastating portrait of loneliness. Without giving away a part of the plot, it can be said that Ray is an outcast of society. He never went to school, has never dated, never got married, lived with his dad until his dad passed away and never worked. Ray, being regarded as the village idiot, is being ignored by his neighbours, and seeks companionship by adopting Oneeye. Oneye, a dog with a history of violent owners, has scars of his own (he has only one eye left), and can easily be regarded as an "unwanted" as well. Thus starts the journey of the two together.
"See how community is only a good thing when you're part of it".
Of course, the relationship between Ray and Oneeye is key, no doubt about that. Baume succeeds extremely well in describing the tiny steps that are being taken, one at a time, by Ray, to gain Oneeyes trust, and the tiny signs of Oneeye, that this trust is being gained. It's a slow process that includes also doubts, anger and disappointment, which are found in any friendship at some point. Yet by the end of the book, their bond is so strong, and you realise they both need each other to stay alive.
"I am afraid, I think more than anything, of losing you".
"What did I use to do all day without you? Already I can't remember.”
Yet what makes this story so original, so different from other stories is the narrative perspective. Ray addresses Oneeye and tries to explain the world around them for the dog. As if Ray is seeing the world through Oneeye's eye, with attention for the smallest details. The result? A wonderful novel, yes, but not one about a man and a dog, yet one about the Irish countryside, the changing of the seasons, the silence and coldness of loneliness and the happiness to be found in small moments, all described by numerous adjectives, which at no point in time seem to be superfluous and with the necessary amount of humour at appropriate times. Every sentence in the book is a wonderful, colourful, precise description of Ray's world, and it is precisely this detailed information that forms the strength of the book.
"The field is otherwise empty, fallowing, and the billboard looks so out of place, like some alien creature that had been dropped there and abandoned. It says something like: MAKE WAY FOR A WHOLE NEW YOU. But it took me fifty-seven years to become this me, I think, and I just don't have the stamina to make so many mistakes all over again"
This, together with the storyline, which I cannot elaborate on without giving the story away.
One of the best books I have read in a long, long time!
The cover story might lead one to think that one is about to read yet one more story about an older man, 57-year old Ray, and the dog, Oneeye, that he one day decided to adopt to have some company in his so lonely life. One might expect yet another description about the strange friendship between humans and animals and the extent to which they understand each other. In this case, one will be fooled, deceived, even disappointed maybe.
"Spill Simmer Falter Wither" (referring to the four seasons) is much, much more than that. True, the relationship between Ray and Oneeye is the baseline of the story, but that's where all comparison with similar books end.
What the book is really about is a devastating portrait of loneliness. Without giving away a part of the plot, it can be said that Ray is an outcast of society. He never went to school, has never dated, never got married, lived with his dad until his dad passed away and never worked. Ray, being regarded as the village idiot, is being ignored by his neighbours, and seeks companionship by adopting Oneeye. Oneye, a dog with a history of violent owners, has scars of his own (he has only one eye left), and can easily be regarded as an "unwanted" as well. Thus starts the journey of the two together.
"See how community is only a good thing when you're part of it".
Of course, the relationship between Ray and Oneeye is key, no doubt about that. Baume succeeds extremely well in describing the tiny steps that are being taken, one at a time, by Ray, to gain Oneeyes trust, and the tiny signs of Oneeye, that this trust is being gained. It's a slow process that includes also doubts, anger and disappointment, which are found in any friendship at some point. Yet by the end of the book, their bond is so strong, and you realise they both need each other to stay alive.
"I am afraid, I think more than anything, of losing you".
"What did I use to do all day without you? Already I can't remember.”
Yet what makes this story so original, so different from other stories is the narrative perspective. Ray addresses Oneeye and tries to explain the world around them for the dog. As if Ray is seeing the world through Oneeye's eye, with attention for the smallest details. The result? A wonderful novel, yes, but not one about a man and a dog, yet one about the Irish countryside, the changing of the seasons, the silence and coldness of loneliness and the happiness to be found in small moments, all described by numerous adjectives, which at no point in time seem to be superfluous and with the necessary amount of humour at appropriate times. Every sentence in the book is a wonderful, colourful, precise description of Ray's world, and it is precisely this detailed information that forms the strength of the book.
"The field is otherwise empty, fallowing, and the billboard looks so out of place, like some alien creature that had been dropped there and abandoned. It says something like: MAKE WAY FOR A WHOLE NEW YOU. But it took me fifty-seven years to become this me, I think, and I just don't have the stamina to make so many mistakes all over again"
This, together with the storyline, which I cannot elaborate on without giving the story away.
One of the best books I have read in a long, long time!