A review by teslanfields
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Beautiful poetic prose about a man, Ray, with his adopted, one-eyed dog, One Eye. The story itself doesn't have much plot or even character development, but is instead advanced by the real-time journey and description of the scenery and its exploration. It is divided into four parts each corresponding with a season and is set along the coast and countryside of Ireland. 

Ray, an aging man in his 50s, finds an adoption flier for a grizzled wiry-furred dog missing one eye, and on a whim decides to adopt him and bring him to his Father's house where he lives alone. Ray is lonely and different, though it is never explained how he is different. One-Eye isn't much to look at and isn't very friendly to strangers-humans and animals alike. The avoidant and withdrawn nature are the very characteristics that seem to draw the two misfits together. Eventually a hostile situation occurs, making Ray to feel like he and One-Eye must flee his home, driving the Irish roads as nomads for the next several months. 

The narrative is told in second person as Ray shares about his life and muses about the happenings around them to his furry companion. Overtime, Ray begins to reveal more truths about who he is and what has led up to their current state. 

The novel shares in themes of man versus animal, animal versus man, and both versus civilization and the wild. All begin to merge, blur, and then focus again, making it difficult to distinguish what separates those of us that walk on two legs versus those of us that explore the world on four legs.