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A review by bookwoods
A Line Made by Walking by Sara Baume
4.0
I’ve been guilty of suspicion towards stream of consciousness as a writing style, but A Line Made by Walking by Sara Baume was a positive surprise, even though it took me a while to adjust to the chaotic skipping from one subject to another and the lack of plot. What kept me going was the premise: this is a novel about a young Irish artist called Frankie who struggles with mental health and decides to isolate herself (appropriate in the current situation) in her late grandmother’s cottage.
Art is central, reoccurring theme. Frankie used to love drawing before trying to make a career out of it, and now she feels utterly lost. But despite struggling to draw, Frankie starts a project of taking pictures of dead animals, this being related to how she feels like she’s slowly dying herself (trigger warning for depression). Frankie also challenges herself by trying to remember real works corresponding to whatever subject comes up in her thoughts, and briefly explains them. I found these exercises to really widen my conception of art and the mentioned pieces are referenced in the back of the book.
“Art is the only thing I am able for. And yet here I am. All day every day. Doing nothing. Feeling worse.”
Being inside Frankie’s thoughts was distressing and despite finding her a fascinating character, I couldn’t help but feel, unfairly, annoyed at her. She’s very privileged yet keeps laying on carpets with unfocused thoughts. Although maybe that just means Baume does a good job at illustrating mental illness, the best I’ve come across even.
“What is it about crying? As if my bod believes that squeezing all its salt out might somehow quell the sadness. As if sadness is a parasite which suckles on sodium chloride.”
A Line Made by Walking wasn’t what I expected it to be. With essentially no plot you get deeply immersed into Frankie’s mind and the small insights scattered throughout. It wasn’t always fun, but it did feel real.
Art is central, reoccurring theme. Frankie used to love drawing before trying to make a career out of it, and now she feels utterly lost. But despite struggling to draw, Frankie starts a project of taking pictures of dead animals, this being related to how she feels like she’s slowly dying herself (trigger warning for depression). Frankie also challenges herself by trying to remember real works corresponding to whatever subject comes up in her thoughts, and briefly explains them. I found these exercises to really widen my conception of art and the mentioned pieces are referenced in the back of the book.
“Art is the only thing I am able for. And yet here I am. All day every day. Doing nothing. Feeling worse.”
Being inside Frankie’s thoughts was distressing and despite finding her a fascinating character, I couldn’t help but feel, unfairly, annoyed at her. She’s very privileged yet keeps laying on carpets with unfocused thoughts. Although maybe that just means Baume does a good job at illustrating mental illness, the best I’ve come across even.
“What is it about crying? As if my bod believes that squeezing all its salt out might somehow quell the sadness. As if sadness is a parasite which suckles on sodium chloride.”
A Line Made by Walking wasn’t what I expected it to be. With essentially no plot you get deeply immersed into Frankie’s mind and the small insights scattered throughout. It wasn’t always fun, but it did feel real.