A Line Made by Walking

February 15, 2017
Frankie, a young artist living in Dublin, has a breakdown and goes to live in her recently deceased grandma's bungalow.She starts a project photographing dead animals, setting rules for herself. She eats very little and drinks and rides her grandma's bike and tests herself by trying to recall works of art related to her thoughts. "Today, I leave my bike behind and walk. I crave firmament beneath me. A steadier pace. A lower, slower view....Works about Lower, Slower views, I test myself: Richard Long, A Line Made by Walking, 1967. A short, straight track worn by footsteps back and forth through an expanse of grass." Frankie recalls dozens of works, nearly all modern, helpfully listed at the end of the novel. Her commentaries are little snapshots of her psyche. Of Long, Frankie says, "He specializes in barely-there art. Pieces which take up as little space in the world as possible. And which do as little damage." This aptly describes the way she is living. Baume (Spill Simmer Falter Wither, 2016) also offers glimpses of Frankie's childhood and early adulthood. Through her thoughts and memories, it becomes clear that Frankie's depression and anxiety have always been with her, even when she appeared to be functioning--an all-too-accurate portrayal of mental illness. "I tell myself that so long as I eat and sleep and wash and cycle and talk on the phone every other evening in an emotionally stable tone of voice, on emotionally stable subject matter, then she will not notice how nearly killed I am. But of course she does; she is my mother." Baume writes lovely prose about unimaginable pain. A cleareyed, beautiful rendering of a woman struggling against despair.

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November 1, 2016
Short-listed for the Costa First Novel Award and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, Spill Simmer Falter Wither launched Irish author Baume's writing career with a bang. In this new work, aspiring artist Frankie escapes the city for the countryside home left vacant since her grandmother's death and tries to piece together a life undermined by her fragile mental health and struggles in art school. With a 35,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2017

When her grandmother dies, 25-year-old Frankie, who has been living in Dublin, has a breakdown and moves back in with her parents. Struggling with depression, she then retreats to her late grandmother's vacant house in the country in search of healing. Having "failed" to make a living as an artist in Dublin, Frankie turns to photographing dead animals for her next art project. (Her rule: they can't have died at her hands). Slowly, with the help of her mother's sustaining unconditional love, Frankie comes to accept herself and is able to move on. Baume's (Spill Simmer Falter Wither) symbolism represented through nature--death and rebirth, flight and falling--holds a mirror to Frankies's own experiences and acute observations of life. The narrative is divided into her remembrances of various known artworks, which gives voice to Frankie's thoughts and state of mind, but at times seems disruptive. Verdict Though the protagonist's outlook is sad, and the story low on action, this is relieved by the uplifting descriptions of nature, gorgeous writing, and Frankie's youthful rebellious spirit. Comparable to the work of literary writers such as Anne Enright. [See Prepub Alert, 10/3/16.]--Sonia Reppe, Stickney-Forest View P.L., IL

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2016

Short-listed for the Costa First Novel Award and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, Spill Simmer Falter Wither launched Irish author Baume's writing career with a bang. In this new work, aspiring artist Frankie escapes the city for the countryside home left vacant since her grandmother's death and tries to piece together a life undermined by her fragile mental health and struggles in art school. With a 35,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2017
Frankie is an artist in her midtwenties with depressive tendencies and a generally aimless outlook on the world. She decides to move into her late grandmother's cottage to keep an eye on the house, get some fresh air, and hunt for artistic inspiration while the cottage waits for a buyer. Frankie does a few chores and whizzes around the countryside on a refurbished bicycle, generally lost in her own thoughts. Her latest photography project might not win any awards, but it allows her to view the world around her in new and complex ways. Frankie knows that staying at the cottage won't fix everything, but it might inspire her to start fixing things for herself. Author Baume is an Irish native with a blissfully poetic voice perfectly suited to the novel's pastoral setting. Referencing works of art ranging from paint-daubed Impressionists to experimental performance pieces, she helpfully includes an index of cited works. Baume's second novel is a study in contrasts: high art against natural beauty, a mechanical turbine against the rustic Irish landscape, inner turmoil against outward appearances. Fans of Colum McCann and Richard Russo will adore this masterful and meditative novel that doesn't emphasize plot over atmosphere.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)