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R.I.P. Scoot
Dashiell Hammett’s
Red Harvest
and Mark Haddon’s
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
meet
The Big Lebowski
in this literary mystery that asks us to examine what stories, real or fiction, become the metaphors we use for working through our own challenges and uncertainties.
Twentysomething Austin lives alone in a crumbling office-turned-studio apartment of a former mops, brushes and brooms factory in Toronto. After a deformed and lice-ridden cat turns up at his door, then abruptly dies three weeks later, Austin begins to find frightening coincidences connecting him to a squatter living in his local Walmart, a botanical garden in Missouri, a shipping route from Greece, a muralist in Japan, the world of an online dystopia and more. As the obsession with piecing together the mystery surrounding his dead pet, and the reward the cat is potentially worth, takes over, Austin confronts his financial and family issues, his self-imposed isolation and his abandoned sense of direction. He discovers what purpose this mystery might actually serve in helping him cope with, and potentially recover, all that he’s really lost.
In the end, RIP Scoot is as much a story about an anomalous dead cat as it is a rich, conscientious depiction of grief, complicated relationships and the choices that occur when fighting change is no longer an option.
Twentysomething Austin lives alone in a crumbling office-turned-studio apartment of a former mops, brushes and brooms factory in Toronto. After a deformed and lice-ridden cat turns up at his door, then abruptly dies three weeks later, Austin begins to find frightening coincidences connecting him to a squatter living in his local Walmart, a botanical garden in Missouri, a shipping route from Greece, a muralist in Japan, the world of an online dystopia and more. As the obsession with piecing together the mystery surrounding his dead pet, and the reward the cat is potentially worth, takes over, Austin confronts his financial and family issues, his self-imposed isolation and his abandoned sense of direction. He discovers what purpose this mystery might actually serve in helping him cope with, and potentially recover, all that he’s really lost.
In the end, RIP Scoot is as much a story about an anomalous dead cat as it is a rich, conscientious depiction of grief, complicated relationships and the choices that occur when fighting change is no longer an option.
210 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 4, 2026
Austin’s life changes when Scoot, an eyeless, three-and-a-half-pawed stray cat, comes into his life. It changes again three weeks later when Scoot dies. Grappling with the loss of his new feline friend, Austin is shocked when he comes across a painting on social media that looks just like Scoot. But Austin lives in Toronto, and the artist is in Japan. Did they both know the same cat? If so, how? Trying to solve the mystery, he finds himself diving deep into what appears to him to be a massive conspiracy. But figuring this out might put his closest relationships at risk.
This book was super quirky! Austin is a loveable weirdo and it’s fun to see how the people around him relate to him. I enjoyed all the strange little details in this book, and as a Torontonian, I loved this depiction of my city. This book shows the ways that grief can take a toll on us, and yet the story ultimately manages to be hopeful and upbeat. I for sure want to read more by this author!
This book was super quirky! Austin is a loveable weirdo and it’s fun to see how the people around him relate to him. I enjoyed all the strange little details in this book, and as a Torontonian, I loved this depiction of my city. This book shows the ways that grief can take a toll on us, and yet the story ultimately manages to be hopeful and upbeat. I for sure want to read more by this author!
April 20, 2025
The old gentleman in the apartment across from mine does not have curtains but he does have a giant American flag pinned to his kitchen wall and a pink glow-in-the-dark skeleton hanging on his bedroom wall, and just as I was finishing the last chapter, he walked out onto his balcony and began playing the accordion for the very first time, serenading our entire stretch of street with the most melancholic melody, and providing a perfect summary of this novel in an instant.
April 10, 2025
A deformed cat mysteriously arrives at Austin's doorstep. He decides to keep it, names the cat Scoot, cares for Scoot for three weeks, until the cat suddenly dies.
So begins Austin's journey, to discover who Scoot was, where he came from, how he got here, etc :)
I got easily caught up in the puzzle of the novel. Austin's obsession with uncovering the history/mystery of Scoot and the ways in which the animal seemingly had ties to Walmart squatters, outsider artists, elderly Greek men, Japanese YouTubers, the terminally ill, tapioca, weird cookies, gentrification, quickly became my own. RIP Scoot is such an entertaining read because the randomness of the world the story takes place in can at times feel like a bit of a clusterfuck (spoiler alert: all clusters wrap up satisfyingly in the end), but, similarly to Austin, I was wholly invested in trying to make sense of it all, find meaning in the many pieces; it was a pure joy to watch everything come together.
The book is funny, weird, poignant, silly, beautiful, and entertaining. Naturalistically absurd. Sentimental and unsentimental, confusing and to-the-point, all those good real-life contradictions. It explores themes of loss--not just of a cat, but how a person can lose their grasp on reality, family, time, opportunity, a home, a city, a history. There are big ideas in this relatively small, simple tale, and they’re explored through unique, fast-paced, unpretentious prose. Correlations between Austin and Scoot are handled with care, subtly, at times poetically (but not in a lame way), demonstrating how the two creatures are linked, gaining understanding of how to dwell less on what’s been lost, and instead treasure what’s there. It’s all very relatable and moving stuff lol.
'It was here that I paused to imagine Scoot pausing to clean the nook behind his ear with the functional paw for five minutes, or maybe longer. I used to think he did that to place me in a trance. Because there wasn't much there, only about a millimetre of fuzz that had grown in after a week had passed without lice eating away at it anymore. Now, though, I think that he was proud of that growth and was happy to once again have something in that spot to clean. He wanted to take his time. He wanted to nurture it. Who knows how long the spot had been bald for?'
I love this book. Good job, Sara Flemington.
So begins Austin's journey, to discover who Scoot was, where he came from, how he got here, etc :)
I got easily caught up in the puzzle of the novel. Austin's obsession with uncovering the history/mystery of Scoot and the ways in which the animal seemingly had ties to Walmart squatters, outsider artists, elderly Greek men, Japanese YouTubers, the terminally ill, tapioca, weird cookies, gentrification, quickly became my own. RIP Scoot is such an entertaining read because the randomness of the world the story takes place in can at times feel like a bit of a clusterfuck (spoiler alert: all clusters wrap up satisfyingly in the end), but, similarly to Austin, I was wholly invested in trying to make sense of it all, find meaning in the many pieces; it was a pure joy to watch everything come together.
The book is funny, weird, poignant, silly, beautiful, and entertaining. Naturalistically absurd. Sentimental and unsentimental, confusing and to-the-point, all those good real-life contradictions. It explores themes of loss--not just of a cat, but how a person can lose their grasp on reality, family, time, opportunity, a home, a city, a history. There are big ideas in this relatively small, simple tale, and they’re explored through unique, fast-paced, unpretentious prose. Correlations between Austin and Scoot are handled with care, subtly, at times poetically (but not in a lame way), demonstrating how the two creatures are linked, gaining understanding of how to dwell less on what’s been lost, and instead treasure what’s there. It’s all very relatable and moving stuff lol.
'It was here that I paused to imagine Scoot pausing to clean the nook behind his ear with the functional paw for five minutes, or maybe longer. I used to think he did that to place me in a trance. Because there wasn't much there, only about a millimetre of fuzz that had grown in after a week had passed without lice eating away at it anymore. Now, though, I think that he was proud of that growth and was happy to once again have something in that spot to clean. He wanted to take his time. He wanted to nurture it. Who knows how long the spot had been bald for?'
I love this book. Good job, Sara Flemington.
June 18, 2025
If I told you that an unpredictable, surprising and convoluted mystery – comprised of characters like a ninety-year-old Greek man; a kaftan-slash-sportswear-clad squatter; an ASMR-producing Japanese artist; a university student named Matilda; a girl named Sarah, recently fired from Walmart by a manager who may or may not be sleeping with the kaftan-wearing squatter; a three-and-a-half-pawed blind cat, and a grief-filled protagonist on the verge of eviction – existed, would you read it?
Because you should.
What if I said there were orchids and fax machines; an abandoned fish in a bowl; a white glass cat pendant; the Missouri Botanical Gardens; a tapioca-cup-bell; a destructive hockey stick; a didgeridoo; a broken guitar, and feet that taste like hot dogs?
And then what if I said they were all tethered together somehow into a sublime mind-igniting narrative journey written from the perspective of Austin, a guy who says he doesn’t do crack, but who looks like a guy who does crack, who’s living in an iconic Mops, Brushes and Brooms Factory that will soon be leveled and suffocated by another condo development?
Sara Flemington has generously given us a piece of her writerly mind (and perhaps an actual piece of Austin’s mind) in this post-mortem search for a dead cat. In the end, I’m not sure where Austin goes from here, but I feel glad that at least I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to live in what feels like the pre-apocalypse, with most of the world telling everyone to calm down and eat a sandwich, while a few people try desperately to piece this shit together.
Because you should.
What if I said there were orchids and fax machines; an abandoned fish in a bowl; a white glass cat pendant; the Missouri Botanical Gardens; a tapioca-cup-bell; a destructive hockey stick; a didgeridoo; a broken guitar, and feet that taste like hot dogs?
And then what if I said they were all tethered together somehow into a sublime mind-igniting narrative journey written from the perspective of Austin, a guy who says he doesn’t do crack, but who looks like a guy who does crack, who’s living in an iconic Mops, Brushes and Brooms Factory that will soon be leveled and suffocated by another condo development?
Sara Flemington has generously given us a piece of her writerly mind (and perhaps an actual piece of Austin’s mind) in this post-mortem search for a dead cat. In the end, I’m not sure where Austin goes from here, but I feel glad that at least I’m not the only one trying to figure out how to live in what feels like the pre-apocalypse, with most of the world telling everyone to calm down and eat a sandwich, while a few people try desperately to piece this shit together.
February 9, 2026
Sara Flemington’s R.I.P Scoot is a powerhouse of a novel. Fall in love with Scoot, yes, but what you will really fall in love is the quirkiness and beauty of Flemington’s solid writing. A true talent, she litters the page with wit and sharply written dialogue, spunky characters marvellously rendered, coercing readers to fall instantly in love with every aspect of the narrative. The story of Scoot is a thoughtful and original take on companionship and the beauty of relationships far and near as well as the lengths a person is willing to go in order to feel wanted and loved. Vividly written and thoroughly explored, Flemington solidifies her place as a brave and new literary talent. A love story, and a mystery tale, Flemington gracefully weaves in between genres and showcases her versatility with each turning of the page, and although I have been following her for years, and always knew how amazing she was, now I know for sure what lies ahead of her: a bright future and a long and prosperous career. Can’t wait to read more. Lots of love, Sara. Pile it high and deep!
May 7, 2025
Austin is living in the office of a former mop factory when an eyeless, lice-ridden street cat adopts him. Then it dies. Then shit starts to get weird. R.I.P. Scoot has a sense of humour so dry it’d snap if you stepped on it. So I don’t recommend doing that. But I do recommend the book. Very much. It’s strangely compelling.
April 16, 2025
I read her debut novel, Egg Island, a few years ago (apparently 2022). It was actually a pretty charming read.
Based on that I was excited to read this one. Sadly it didn’t work out so well…
The further I got into this one, the more I kept telling myself that this was a cheap knock-off to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night. I was not at all surprised to see that the publishers blurb was referencing that title when I came here to post.
Based on that I was excited to read this one. Sadly it didn’t work out so well…
The further I got into this one, the more I kept telling myself that this was a cheap knock-off to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night. I was not at all surprised to see that the publishers blurb was referencing that title when I came here to post.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews