Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

When I created this blog it of course was for the purpose for reviewing fiction titles. I have decided, however, that occasionally I will throw in a non-fiction title that reads like fiction. The first of these books is The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Bailey due out in August by Algonquin. This petite read (only 208 pages) took me about four to five hours to read and frankly, I probably know way more about snails than I need to know now.


I first picked this book up out of the box that the publisher's representative sent me because of the title. I was expecting something slightly quirky or funny, what I discovered led me to look at certain aspects of my personal life differently. In the book, the author has been confined to her bed due to a mysterious illness that took several years and many doctors to diagnose. This resonated deeply as my mother is dealing with a similar experience. It is odd when you live with someone who is ill for so long, that often the illness becomes a seperate entity and you always feel as if there is a houseguest that you can never get rid of.

During her confinement, the author's friend deliver's a snail to her and she starts living vicariously through the small mollusk. She watches as it explores the limited habitat and beyond and starts comparing her life to it's limited world. Her friends and family visit less and her body provides no respite. The only calming influence she has found is in the strange little creature that happily munches on portobello mushrooms and eggshells. As an author, she begins researching everything she can about snails and sees similarities and differences with her own life.

My mother has been sick three quarters of my life and at times, I admit, I have not been the most sympathetic daughter. It was harder when I was younger (those pesky teenage years) to not be able to go on school trips or go out with friends because I had to stay home to help take care of her. What I did learn from this experience at an early age though, is that life can be complicated and messy. I also learned that I will make the most of my life and be grateful for what I have been given and the health I have.