This is one of the most beautifully written yet most boring books I've ever read. It would be perfect for a rainy day with no plans. It's short, but it's a slow one. It'll take a few cups of tea.

A newly dating couple basically become hermits in the mountains of Ireland and let their house and dogs and life become kind of gross and never clean and love nature and go on walks and swim at night and notice weird things about bugs and cow dung and it's just a very strange book.

All that, but nothing actually happens. No plot. Poetry vibes? Idk.

Beautifully written odd book. It’s not possible for 2 individuals to never experience conflict.
The nature observations were nice, but the lack of story got to me.
And throughout the book I kept asking myself and the book- they didn’t work, so where did they get money to live?

I haven't read it, but this seems to be similar to Baume's earlier novel, "Spill Simmer Falter Wither". Just that here we have 2 introverts, 2 dogs, they never go more than 20 miles from their home, and the book is half as long.
2 Irish city introverts move to a home they rent that is a few miles outside a small vilage on the Atlantic coast of Ireland.
While the description of Nature there is "interesting", it is hardly beautiful. And not like the couple takes advantage of it either (they finally climb the nearby mountain that looms over their home in their 8th year there). There for 8 years by the time the novel suddenly ends, the home and the property is slowly crumbling about them and being overwhelmed by dirt, fur, insects, broken items and brickbrack they pick up at the local resale shop. So it is hardly a "Nature is invigorating" kind of book. It is actually rather depressing and sad (the same 7 meals week after week!). And thank God for the UK dole, because they don't work at all, yet somehow get on.
I have to admit that one of the problems that limited my enjoyment of this book is there are lengthy passages naming the growth all about them - and not knowing what the plants and trees and such are, or what they look like, it is hard to imagine what it is Baume is putting down on the page.
The typography on the page changes now and then as well - spaces and lines between words. Reading it as an ebook (thanks to my local PL) it may not work as effectively in that format. Because it did not seem to add much to the story.
Also, their days are pretty much the same one after another (changing some, like their meals, by season), and it is not like they are doing any great thinking or research. They are just being hardcore introverts, who stay away from other people, and are lucky enough to have found one another.
I do worry about them in the years to come - what happens when a beloved dog dies, a computer (they do have one, and Internet access!) is outdated, the car turns over for the last time?
While being rather dour, it was still a worthwhile read. An unusual couple of characters, in a like setting. I am not sure I will go back and read her earlier, sounds similar, novels (it appears they are all somewhat autobiographical regarding the introverts going off to be on their own, at a distance from others). Twice as long, and half the number of humans, I am unsure I would stay interested in the stories for nearly 300 pp.

Well that was difficult. I didn't give a damn about the characters. The florid writing with detailed descriptions of flora, fauna and detritus was enjoyable but didn't advance the plot. Unless the plot was about decay, full stop. At several points in the book it just felt gross to read descriptions of an incredibly dirty house. Maybe I missed something but this book wasn't for me.

“A refuge, a cult, a church of two; this was their experiment.”
– Sara Baume, Seven Steeples

My Wistfully Short Summary: A couple - self-described “solitary misanthropes” go against conventional expectations and move with their dogs to the Irish countryside, where they embed themselves in nature and make attempts to disappear from society.

My Woefully Brief Take: I loved this book so much. Living in Manhattan these past few challenging years, I can very easily relate to Bell and Sigh’s desire to just get away… in fact, Daniela might be already packed. It doesn’t hurt that they’re getting away to what must feel to most readers, is an idyllic Irish countryside retreat. But this isn’t a simple “city folk find joy in nature” story. This is an intense and complex study of interconnectedness - between two people and with world around them. It is so beautifully written, with remarkable attention to the intricate details and rhythm of their lives together. It’s quite stunning.

Beautiful book. I don’t think they’re getting their security deposit back.

Not my cup of tea.

Took me a moment to appreciate the structure of the novel - similar to a poem at times - but then I thought it was kinda cool.

I also really liked the couple's choices to move away and really just center themselves. Ahh

Beautifully grounded prose. There was an oppressive sense of sadness and loneliness for me throughout the book. It felt as if everything ceased to matter for Bell and Sigh except their routine. As if their routine and the increasing squalor of their home were the only things they could rely on and control. They retreated from family, friends, and society that could harm them to find meaning in each other and the nature surrounding them. Instead of finding meaning, they find security in conformity and a shrinking world until they become one. The idea of conflict and new experiences becoming overwhelming. There seems to be a sense of regret at what they could have and should have done. That if they had chosen a different path, and taken more chances, had more experiences outside of themselves, the world would not have fundamentally changed. They just may be happier in it. Just my thoughts, but I would definitely recommend.