Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

Spill Simmer Falter Wither

Sara Baume

Take a journey around Ireland with 'unnamed man' and One-Eye, his rescued hunting dog. This isn't an adventure of a lifetime - more a matter of survival. While the book is easy to read, I found the subject matter of loneliness, sadness and death difficult and upsetting. Don't read this book if you're not 'in a good place'. Whilst haunting and bleak, the book did contain elements of hope and kindness and love to another living being.

Extract
Once my father was gone, I expected that someone would come for me. I expected them to lock me up somewhere I wouldn't be able to impede the busy-bodies, the regular people. I expected to be institutionalised. I mistook the shrieking gulls for sirens and locked myself inside the bathroom to hide from flashing lights. But nobody came.
I summoned every last dot of valour I could scratch from my soul, I swallowed a shot glass of rescue remedy and went to the social welfare office. I filled out forms and ticked boxes. I found that continued survival came down to a simple matter of form-filling, a basic proficiency in the ticking of boxes and because I managed never to miss a box or make an illiterate mark on the bottom most line instead of signing my name, nobody came.
And here I am still, and here you are.
Parallels
  • Travels with Charley : In Search of America by John Steinbeck
  • Forrest Gump by Winston Groome
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Violence