Spill Simmer Falter Wither

By: Sara Baume

Narrated by: John Keating

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

A debut novel already praised as "unbearably poignant and beautifully told" (Eimear McBride), 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 in our understanding not only of the world but also of ourselves.

Cover image by Helen Fay.

©2015 Sara Baume, first US edition. First published in the Republic of Ireland by Tramp Press in 2015. First published by William Heinemann in 2015. First published in Great Britain by Windmill Books in 2015 (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for 2015
Long-listed for The Guardian First Book Award 2015, A Readers' Choice
Long-listed for 2015 Edinburgh First Novel Award

"John Keating's melodious narration emphasizes the poetic nature of Baume's language… Keating's treatment of Baume's quiet humor will tickle listeners' funny bones amid the darker struggles of a misunderstood pair of exiles." ( AudioFile)

"This book is like a flame in daylight: beautiful and unexpected. It packs a big effect for something that seems so slight, and almost hard to see." (Anne Enright)

"Unbearably poignant and beautifully told." (Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing)

Poetic novel

The narrator draws us slowly but surely into the mind(s) of two misfits both of whom you come to love for reasons that are hard to define. The performance was stellar. The author avoids sentimentality and brings the story to a conclusion which is satisfying and coherent. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend to all.

Lovely

Profoundly beautiful. Terribly sad. Beautifully performed. Astonishingly human.
I highly recommend this book, if only to help you find your compassion.

Disturbing life

Liked the writing
". The narrator
". Many things about the book
Didn't like the ending!
Realistic but depressing

A taste of Ireland

Would you listen to Spill Simmer Falter Wither again? Why?

Yes, the language was loverly. All the observations were acute and the descriptions and metaphors surprising. It was very 'Irish' in its feel.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Spill Simmer Falter Wither?

The cadence of the three repetitions used throughout the book. "Smoking, smoking, smoking...." etc.

What does John Keating bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Oh his voice was wonderful!

If you could take any character from Spill Simmer Falter Wither out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Ha, there is only one and I felt compassion for him. He was sad, limited but wonderfully complex.

Any additional comments?

Thank you!

A very interesting read.

I had some difficulty getting started and feeling my way to the perspective of this story. I stopped and started it twice. It is not a tale that takes you by the hand and leads you to the end. You really have to make a decision to go with the man; almost, to climb into his skin, to understand why he makes the choices he does.

At first, I didn't know if I could do it. As some of his past life becomes revealed, I found myself falling in deeper with his understanding of his world.

It is a profound look, from the inside, of the world of a person that was raised ALL of his life, alone. He is isolated by some sort of deformation that is never given a name, the death of a mother he never knew and a father that felt he needed to be hidden away.

His life takes on new meaning to him when he adopts a dog that is destined to be put down. The man makes some changes to his life for a time and you want to hope that it will all be better for him.

Now, you must read it for yourself to see all that is revealed and all that comes to pass.

I gave this 5 stars all the way around because it is so well read by Keating. I don't know if I would have fallen into this story without him. And without him, I would never have seen this story for the 5 star tale, by Baume, that it is.

Ruined by the singsong reading

This is a sweet story and probably would have been nice but it was extremely difficult to get feeling or meeting from the narrators repetitive singsong voice. Every line is treated the same, read the same with no more or less inflection. It's a shame

Wow! Not sure now I feel about this amazing book

What did you love best about Spill Simmer Falter Wither?

Two marginalized souls find and love each other.

What did you like best about this story?

The introspection. I will be thinking about this story for a very long time.

What does John Keating bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His performance was lyrical, lyrical, lyrical.

Still calling One Eye...calling, calling, calling.

Would you listen to Spill Simmer Falter Wither again? Why?

Yes, because of the prose, the flow, and John Keating's voice.

What other book might you compare Spill Simmer Falter Wither to and why?

None. This book is unique.

What does John Keating bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The lilt of the Irish. Sometimes hard to follow, always surprising.

Who was the most memorable character of Spill Simmer Falter Wither and why?

One Eye, the dog, so fierce, always.

Any additional comments?

With a few odd words, the picture of a life.

Humdrum

Any additional comments?

I kept hoping this book would go somewhere but it was basically a series of mundane detailed observations of one man's small world as he talked to himself and a dog. This is not a quote, but for me this captures the tone of the book if you imagine it spoken in an Irish/English accent - Do you remember how the tide rose and made the sand wet? Aye, very wet sand indeed, and a few hours later would you believe it but the tide went out and the sand became dry. After 9 hours of such accounts I was glad to move on to another book.

Wow

Anyone who loves dogs . will just love this book
I will certainly read this at least one more time. You will have a smile
On your face as you read this