Spill Simmer Falter Wither

April 11, 2016
A solitary misfit opens up to his one-eyed dog in this debut novel. Ray describes himself as old (he's 57), shabbily dressed, and sketchily bearded, pitching and clomping when he walks. He first sees the dog in an animal shelter advertisement: a grisly photo of a mangled canine face. The kennel keeper says the dog attacks other dogs; its scars suggest it was used for badger hunting. Ray is familiar with abuse: his father, understanding Ray is "not right-minded," raised him in confined isolation. Ray reads, drives, and knows he's not a regular person. Following his father's death, he remains in his father's house alone until he adopts the dog he calls One Eye. When One Eye attacks another dog, incurring the owner's wrath, Ray takes One Eye on the road, traveling from one Irish village to another, sleeping in the car. By the time they return home, they have spent a year together, and their friendship is fixed. Baume's storytelling can be indirect. She never mentions Ray's name, only that he's named for a sunbeam or a sand shark. Nor does she specify Ray's impairment. As a narrator, he shows observation skills, appreciation for landscape, and awareness of fear and sadness. For One Eye, he's full of empathy. Baume's debut is notable for its rhythmic language, sensory imagery (especially visuals and smells), and second-person narrative directed at an animal. She is brutal detailing brutality, lyrical contemplating land and sea, and at her best evoking the connection between man and dog.

January 1, 2016

A chance sighting of a flyer in a shop window in an Irish village leads a solitary man to a connection--probably the first one of his life--with a dog at the local pound. The nameless narrator leads a lonely life, isolated by his disabilities and his late father's indifference. Now in his 50s and still alone, he is struck by the picture of a dog missing an eye. Adopting the canine now named "One Eye," the man begins to step outside the narrow confines of his life, taking long walks and drives with his new companion. On one of these outings, a brief, accidental encounter with another dog and owner propels the two friends on a long meandering odyssey around the country as the man finally realizes the depths of his feelings for his first and only true friend. VERDICT This haunting debut novel by an award-winning Irish short story writer will appeal to readers who don't mind a little darkness in their dog stories. The detailed and almost poetic descriptions of the natural world as the seasons change add an element of enchantment to this lovely story. [See Prepub Alert, 9/28/15; this title was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2015.--Ed.]--Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.