Friday Freebie: Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

Congratulations to Carl Scott, winner of last week’s Friday Freebie contest: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson.

This week’s giveaway is Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume. Mary Costello, author of Academy Street, had this to say about Baume’s debut novel: “Powerful, heartbreaking, told with great control. The writing is superb....I had an image of all language standing to attention, eager to serve this writer.” I had more to say about Spill Simmer Falter Wither earlier here at the blog, including the astounding Prologue which blew me away with its stand-at-attention language. Here’s more about the book from the publisher’s jacket copy:

A debut novel already praised as “unbearably poignant and beautifully told” (Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing) 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 not only in our understanding of the world, but also of ourselves.

If you’d like a chance at winning Spill Simmer Falter Wither, simply email your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line. Please include your mailing address in the body of the e-mail. One entry per person, please. Despite its name, the Friday Freebie runs all week long and remains open to entries until midnight on March 3, at which time I’ll draw the winning name. I’ll announce the lucky reader on March 4.  If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week newsletter, simply add the words “Sign me up for the newsletter” in the body of your email. Your email address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book).

Want to double your odds of winning?  Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter. Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.