A critically acclaimed debut novel praised as "unbearably poignant and beautifully told" (Eimear McBride), this captivating story follows 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 falsely perceives menace where there is only mishap—and the duo must take to the road.

Gorgeously written in poetic and mesmerizing prose, Spill Simmer Falter Wither is one of those rare stories that utterly and completely imagines its way into a life most of us would never see. It transforms us in our understanding not only of the world, but also of ourselves.

Winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature * Winner of the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year Award * Short-listed for the Costa First Novel Award * Long-listed for the Desmond Elliott Prize * Long-listed for the Guardian First Book Award 2015, Readers’ Choice * Long-listed for the Warwick Prize for Writing 2015 * Long-listed for 2015 Edinburgh First Novel Award

“A deeply attuned portrait of the human mind…An unsettling literary surprise of the best sort.”—Atlantic

“This book is like a flame in daylight: beautiful and unexpected.”—Anne Enright

“A man-and-his-dog story like no other.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“[Spill Simmer Falter Wither] hums with its own distinctiveness.”—Guardian (UK)