![]() No matter what pace we’re living at, our time is so precious. It made me think about how fragile our lives really are, and how they can be completely upended by unseen forces. Bailey has been struck by a debilitating illness, one for which there is no clear diagnosis, and which affects her to some degree for twenty years. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating takes place over the course of a year. ![]() Ironically, as she begins to recover and gain more energy, Bailey feels herself losing the patience needed to watch her snail closely. Her snail moves a few inches per minute but sometimes she’s surprised by how quickly the time passes while she’s watching it.Īt other times, like when she has to wait weeks or months to get a doctor’s appointment, it seems like the snail moves much faster than humans. She watches it closely, observing its movements, learning its habits, noting its likes and dislikes. The snail occupies the center of her attention. She has so much time but no energy to fill it. Her days, her whole calendar, are empty now. She feels more isolated, withdrawn from the world. ![]() Bailey’s illness forces her to abandon her previous active, engaged, energetic life. The book proceeds at – forgive me – a snail’s pace. ![]() ![]() Instead, I found the parts of the book concerning time to be the most interesting. I’m not really interested in snails and this book didn’t change that despite loads of information about how snails eat, move, perceive and reproduce, and what they use all that yucky slime for. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, New York, 2010 ![]()
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