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She That Lay Silent-Like Upon Our Shore
' Story telling at its most primal . . . brutal, tender and wildly imaginative' Irish Times
'An act of pure imagination' ANNE ENRIGHT
'Strange and darkly wondrous . . . like a wild and witty outtake from a folkloric Moby-Dick ' PHILIP HOARE
A creature from another world had collided with ours - a reckonin she might properwise be knowt, a great reckonin had washed upon our shores, and I ran twort it.
On a remote island in the northern seas an unnamed boy is exiled from his community and cast into the Wastelands. In his struggle to survive he breaks away from the strictures of his upbringing and aligns himself with the beauty and brutality of the natural world. The Leviathan, a colossal beast that strands itself upon the shore, is the embodiment of everything the boy has yearned for and he vows to protect it with his life. The community's religious leader, the Prelate, proclaims the creature to be the devil incarnate, triggering a physical and philosophical battle that will propel life on the island towards a bloody and inevitable end.
Told in a remarkable narrative voice, She That Lay Silent-like Upon Our Shore is a powerful fable about loyalty, isolation and humanity's complex relationship with nature.
'An act of pure imagination' ANNE ENRIGHT
'Strange and darkly wondrous . . . like a wild and witty outtake from a folkloric Moby-Dick ' PHILIP HOARE
A creature from another world had collided with ours - a reckonin she might properwise be knowt, a great reckonin had washed upon our shores, and I ran twort it.
On a remote island in the northern seas an unnamed boy is exiled from his community and cast into the Wastelands. In his struggle to survive he breaks away from the strictures of his upbringing and aligns himself with the beauty and brutality of the natural world. The Leviathan, a colossal beast that strands itself upon the shore, is the embodiment of everything the boy has yearned for and he vows to protect it with his life. The community's religious leader, the Prelate, proclaims the creature to be the devil incarnate, triggering a physical and philosophical battle that will propel life on the island towards a bloody and inevitable end.
Told in a remarkable narrative voice, She That Lay Silent-like Upon Our Shore is a powerful fable about loyalty, isolation and humanity's complex relationship with nature.
- GenresFiction
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 22, 2023
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84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 11, 2024
Creative, philosophical, funny and magical
August 27, 2023
Feels like a long lost bit of very strange folklore.
August 4, 2023
A brilliant book. As a writer myself, I have to say that I'm in awe at the originality of the vision, the execution, the language, the emotion. It’s heartbreaking and visionary and will stay with me for a very long time. What a debut this is.
There's tragedy here, and sidelong humor, and a good dose of magical realism, but most importantly there's an empathy for the two main protagonists (one human, one cetacean) that builds and builds. For all its radical, sparkling literary effects, the novel is solidly about character and friendship. That, more than anything, is why I couldn't put it down.
There's tragedy here, and sidelong humor, and a good dose of magical realism, but most importantly there's an empathy for the two main protagonists (one human, one cetacean) that builds and builds. For all its radical, sparkling literary effects, the novel is solidly about character and friendship. That, more than anything, is why I couldn't put it down.
January 1, 2025
She That Lay Silent-Like Upon Our Shore
Beautiful. Strange. Memorable. Unique. This small but mighty book is unlike any other book I’ve read. Thunderous and subtle and laugh-out-loud funny and compelling. Just utterly and completely worth it. A superb reading experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beautiful. Strange. Memorable. Unique. This small but mighty book is unlike any other book I’ve read. Thunderous and subtle and laugh-out-loud funny and compelling. Just utterly and completely worth it. A superb reading experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 21, 2023
From the first page of She That Lay Silent-Like Upon Our Shore we bear witness to the communion of a boy and a whale; to a relationship that pits them against a community of religious zealots on an isolated island, to a coming of age story fraught with frustration, loneliness and the gut wrenching horrors of man. There is also impish joy and playful musings, wry observations and tenets to live by.
This is the most tender-hearted, sensitive, savagely beautiful writing and storytelling. It is masterfully creative, and imbues the reader with visceral feelings, raw emotions, and mournful longings for true understanding and real connection.
It is a quiet novel that deserves to be championed.
This is the most tender-hearted, sensitive, savagely beautiful writing and storytelling. It is masterfully creative, and imbues the reader with visceral feelings, raw emotions, and mournful longings for true understanding and real connection.
It is a quiet novel that deserves to be championed.
August 30, 2024
I read this book long enough ago that some of the details have slipped my mind, but what hasn't, and what I doubt ever will, is the sensation, the impact of reading it.
It's a helluva read, unique, with such a distinctive voice. It's compelling, demands your attention, and you sure know you've read it.
An adaptation might be difficult, but reading it I couldn't help but imagine Complicité doing something magical with this.
A nod to the publishers; it's a lovely cover.
It's a helluva read, unique, with such a distinctive voice. It's compelling, demands your attention, and you sure know you've read it.
An adaptation might be difficult, but reading it I couldn't help but imagine Complicité doing something magical with this.
A nod to the publishers; it's a lovely cover.
May 31, 2024
This is an outstanding piece of literature. The story of a boy living on a fictional island, cast out by his community, it is raw and immersive, terrifying and tender. It is written in a dialect all of its own and yet this is an accessible novel.
I loved it and i want to see it get much more attention. Attention it richly deserves.
I loved it and i want to see it get much more attention. Attention it richly deserves.
October 3, 2024
i love the heavy irish accent of the Leviathan (and everything else about this too ofc)
May 7, 2025
A feast of language, something to shout about being a beast of the wilds, the stupor of religious evil, the connection of the world to all of us, and butterflies. Truth be tolt. Strongly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews