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Teethmarks on My Tongue
The gunning down of her mother in a Richmond street sets young Helen Stockton Defoe on a journey of self-discovery. A physical feature she had first noticed when she was nine years old has made her feel apart and she has quietly capitalized on the privilege, never mind the aura, which surrounds her. She lives in her head and fills her thoughts and days with science, horses and art. The more intently she begins to observe her remote, detached father, the more she learns about her place within the rarefied world she inhabits. Just when it appears she is at last becoming closer to him, it all falls apart as he coldly undermines her abiding passions, which causes her to question the identity she has created. Her rebellion leads her to Europe on a disturbing path dominated by chance and an evolving self-realization. As a result of these experiences she gains an ability to feel deeply, something from which she had always felt somehow excluded.
This most unusual coming-of-age novel with its impressive characterization, humor and vivid sense of place takes its clever, if barely street-wise and increasingly obsessive, teenaged narrator on a physical as well as psychological journey towards an astute, hard fought, and deserved, maturity.
"
This most unusual coming-of-age novel with its impressive characterization, humor and vivid sense of place takes its clever, if barely street-wise and increasingly obsessive, teenaged narrator on a physical as well as psychological journey towards an astute, hard fought, and deserved, maturity.
"
- GenresFiction
395 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
7 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Eileen Battersby
5 books8 followersEileen Battersby (b 1958) was the chief literary critic of The Irish Times. Born in California, Eileen Battersby was a graduate of University College Dublin. An Irish Times staff arts journalist and literary reviewer, she has won the National Arts Journalist of the Year award four times and was National Critic of the Year in 2012. Second Readings: From Beckett to Black Beauty was published in 2009. Ordinary Dogs – A Story of Two Lives was published by Faber in 2011. Teethmarks on My Tongue, her first novel, is published by Dalkey Archive.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 17, 2019
Narrated by the precocious, yet strangely unworldly Helen, this coming of age story starts (literally) with a bang – and a shockingly unexpected tragedy. This shock and and her upbringing with coldly controlling parents has taught her to hide her feelings - and lacking the emotional intelligence to connect with other people, she seeks companionship with horses and follows intellectual pursuits such as astronomy. Helen's story of her struggle for self-determination is one that many troubled adolescents can relate to - and readers of all age be moved by, with plenty of material for reader group discussions.
Excerpt:
After Mother though I could sense that people were waiting for me to have a breakdown, it just hadn’t happened and even I was beginning to wonder why not. Was there something wrong with me? The best way of explaining it is to imagine a plane being kept in a holding zone, not being able to land until the way is clear and somehow the space never does become free. Leaving it stuck up there in the sky.
Reviewed for Whichbook.net
Excerpt:
After Mother though I could sense that people were waiting for me to have a breakdown, it just hadn’t happened and even I was beginning to wonder why not. Was there something wrong with me? The best way of explaining it is to imagine a plane being kept in a holding zone, not being able to land until the way is clear and somehow the space never does become free. Leaving it stuck up there in the sky.
Reviewed for Whichbook.net
January 19, 2019
Something of the hero's journey, a coming-of-age story of a young woman, an only child from a wealthy Southern family, Helen, who in the opening pages witnesses her mother's death on television, shot by a mentally ill lover. They live on a property in Richmond, Virginia, she spends her time around horses, at school or immersing herself in the science of astronomy, the solar system.
Father and daughter seem unmoved by the death, a lack of something they share, which makes it bizarre reading, somewhat removed from reality, is it ironic?
In Part 2, now 18, she leaves for Europe, her father, a vet has sold a horse she was becoming attached to, reminding her that he was never hers, she lives among all, yet owns nothing, so she goes to Paris. Looks at paintings, has one ghastly experience and is rescued by her own foolishness and forthrightness. A dog she rescues and a job, so the dog can live more easily.
Part 3 she is working on a farm in the Loire valley, with Hector, the stray she picked up in Paris, riding horses, trying to figure out the characters who live there, blind to the relationships between people, mistaking the daughter for a lazy maid, slightly aloof. We too are blind to these connections, limited to seeing through her dual coloured eyes only.
It's a voyage through late youth, and through France, Germany, that analyses yet lacks emotional depth, things happen which surprise the reader because the character doesn't seem to experience emotion except around animals, so the human connections are stilted, surprising, she figures things out rather than feels them.
On realising she may be loved, or in love with Mathieu:
The title strange, and finally appears near the end and may be a metaphor for the author writing a book, since she was more renowned for her criticism than her creativity. In the novel it is 'Wanderer above the sea of Fog', a painting by Caspar David Friedrich she seeks, the German Romantic painter of loneliness; she follows a trail of his works from Paris to Hamburg to Berlin.
When she begins to reminisce on the paintings she takes us to see, we realise how well informed and sensitive she is to finding in art, even if lacking it in life. When she finally locates the painting, she wonders, as we do:
It's a novel that makes you think because of what it is missing and nowhere is that more alarming than by it's surprising ending, as she reaches the end of this phase of her journey, as much in her head, if not more, than when she began.
In this respect, it's almost the anti-thesis of the hero's journey, an anti-myth, suggesting that sometimes humans don't learn from their experiences, don't evolve, they become more entrenched in their own way of being, of perceiving and then life comes along and slaps them.
Father and daughter seem unmoved by the death, a lack of something they share, which makes it bizarre reading, somewhat removed from reality, is it ironic?
In Part 2, now 18, she leaves for Europe, her father, a vet has sold a horse she was becoming attached to, reminding her that he was never hers, she lives among all, yet owns nothing, so she goes to Paris. Looks at paintings, has one ghastly experience and is rescued by her own foolishness and forthrightness. A dog she rescues and a job, so the dog can live more easily.
Mother always maintained that my "gray matter" as she called it would compensate for my physical shortcomings, my peculiar eyes ... I am sure she had never meant to hurt my feelings and instead had given me a kind of confidence; no a resilience. That is what I had in abundance, , resilience, very useful when balancing my standard issue face and ill matched eyes, and, hoepfully the dreams Father had belittled but which I would salvage.
Part 3 she is working on a farm in the Loire valley, with Hector, the stray she picked up in Paris, riding horses, trying to figure out the characters who live there, blind to the relationships between people, mistaking the daughter for a lazy maid, slightly aloof. We too are blind to these connections, limited to seeing through her dual coloured eyes only.
It's a voyage through late youth, and through France, Germany, that analyses yet lacks emotional depth, things happen which surprise the reader because the character doesn't seem to experience emotion except around animals, so the human connections are stilted, surprising, she figures things out rather than feels them.
On realising she may be loved, or in love with Mathieu:
Delightful as it all was, a part of me still felt wary. It's in my nature, always was; the doubts along with my stupid habit of putting everything said or done of any significance under the imaginary microscope in my mind.
The title strange, and finally appears near the end and may be a metaphor for the author writing a book, since she was more renowned for her criticism than her creativity. In the novel it is 'Wanderer above the sea of Fog', a painting by Caspar David Friedrich she seeks, the German Romantic painter of loneliness; she follows a trail of his works from Paris to Hamburg to Berlin.
"Had I missed out on seeing the picture I would have sobbed, bitten down hard, teethmarks on my tongue, and then would have devised an alternative plan"
When she begins to reminisce on the paintings she takes us to see, we realise how well informed and sensitive she is to finding in art, even if lacking it in life. When she finally locates the painting, she wonders, as we do:
What was going through the mind of the wanderer as he gazed out over the abyss? His life, his future … eternity, or was he just realizing how far he had climbed?
It's a novel that makes you think because of what it is missing and nowhere is that more alarming than by it's surprising ending, as she reaches the end of this phase of her journey, as much in her head, if not more, than when she began.
In this respect, it's almost the anti-thesis of the hero's journey, an anti-myth, suggesting that sometimes humans don't learn from their experiences, don't evolve, they become more entrenched in their own way of being, of perceiving and then life comes along and slaps them.
September 27, 2017
I liked this book! The story is indeed the coming of age of Helen, and the story takes us through her journey of self-awareness, social awareness, and sexual development. Eileen Battersby gathers up quite a bunch of characters to deliver this story as Helen's encounter with each character is described with vividness, sometimes with sadness, and often with humour! I especially like the way art was brought into the story, and I found myself checking the works of the various artists as I read through this story, making it all the more interesting.
Helen's character is one of innocence, and self-absorption, but she is portrayed as a very resourceful individual, and manages to get herself out of some rather sticky situations. Her reserved character is well understood from her upbringing by a rather dysfunctional family, and it is indeed when we read about her mother and father, we understand where the title of the book came from.
The ending of the story wasn't what I expected especially for the rather resilient and self-reliant Helen whose thoughts we are privy to throughout the story. There are hints that Helen is with child as her appetite increases, and she needs to buy larger clothes, but this isn't obvious, and young Helen doesn't give us any hints that she is pregnant, and perhaps she didn't know herself.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was a rich tapestry of work with very complex characters whose lives become intricately woven together, often fraying and unraveling at the edges. I highly recommend 'Teethmarks on My Tongue' as a good read!
Helen's character is one of innocence, and self-absorption, but she is portrayed as a very resourceful individual, and manages to get herself out of some rather sticky situations. Her reserved character is well understood from her upbringing by a rather dysfunctional family, and it is indeed when we read about her mother and father, we understand where the title of the book came from.
The ending of the story wasn't what I expected especially for the rather resilient and self-reliant Helen whose thoughts we are privy to throughout the story. There are hints that Helen is with child as her appetite increases, and she needs to buy larger clothes, but this isn't obvious, and young Helen doesn't give us any hints that she is pregnant, and perhaps she didn't know herself.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was a rich tapestry of work with very complex characters whose lives become intricately woven together, often fraying and unraveling at the edges. I highly recommend 'Teethmarks on My Tongue' as a good read!
November 20, 2019
I enjoyed the way this story unfolded. Coming-of-age novels are always an inspiring reminder to appreciate life and savor the moment. I really liked Helen, the main character, because I could relate so much with her way of thinking. Trying to please everyone around her, but forgetting that it is important to pay attention to her own needs and desires. The author of this book really tried to play it out as if Helen's depressing journey was going to come to an abrupt end with suicide being the finale to her story. Though I was not expecting her to be pregnant come the end of the novel, I cannot help but think it just does not add up. She does not bring up her age throughout the entire book, we are made to guess, and she does not really talk about losing her virginity or any other sexual encounters she may have with the man who took advantage of her or the lover who died. It was a bit confusing for the reader to piece it together all on our own, but perhaps that is what the author intended, and if that is the case then I would say she did a great job of that. I really enjoyed the overall writing style of this book, the way the words flowed, and I would definitely read something else by this writer. I also enjoyed the way I was personally rooting Helen on during her journey; it's always nice to actually appreciate the protagonist as a person.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2017
Lots of ways to describe this - coming of age, journey of exploration, love stories (including a paean to horses), hero battling with enemies of imagination. The main character is not likeable but she is someone the reader will want to cheer on. Still not sure yet what I feel about it. If you are interested in horses the author is extremely knowledgable.
January 17, 2019
I wanted to love this but it really dragged, quite a depressing story and I found the layout annoying as there aren't really chapters. The story is interesting and the author is very knowledgeable but I just couldn't wait for this to be finished.
August 25, 2019
In the tradition of conventional storying.
October 4, 2020
A beautiful novel. I had no idea what it was about and going along the artistic and maturing journey of Helen, it held many parallels of emotions for me...what a lovely lovely novel.
Inspired and beautiful.
Go raibh mile maith agat!
Inspired and beautiful.
Go raibh mile maith agat!
June 4, 2021
Maybe fir young adults, teenagers. Not fir me.
June 26, 2022
i love helen, the ending was perfect. stunning book, splendidly written.
September 25, 2024
Kinda turned into "literary horse girl has the worst life imaginable" there towards the end...
March 7, 2025
Not a perfect book, but it definitely deserves a wider audience.
April 21, 2022
gorgeous book that’s completely undermined by the nonsensical ending
January 22, 2019
I don't know if you have to be 'horsey' to enjoy this book, but I am, and I think that's why I enjoyed it the more.
I've also been to see Caspar David Friedrich paintings at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin which was a surprise element to this book, but again gave me the connection to enjoy it for 5stars.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the unusual style of narrative writing. I liked Helen as a complex character, and of course my prayers go to the author, rip. (will this book be more widely read/reviewed with her recent tragedy?)
I've also been to see Caspar David Friedrich paintings at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin which was a surprise element to this book, but again gave me the connection to enjoy it for 5stars.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the unusual style of narrative writing. I liked Helen as a complex character, and of course my prayers go to the author, rip. (will this book be more widely read/reviewed with her recent tragedy?)
Read
November 2, 2017This author can write, I have not had this much empathy for the main character in a long time. Almost finished and really don't want this book to end. It is a great combination of art, horses and the human condition. The book had a few slow spots but overall I would read her writing anytime. If you are a lover of horses this book will be especially sweet to you.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews