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AMY ARNOLD

SLIP OF A FISHAmy ArnoldPublished by And Other Stories

‘An original, ambitious novel.’ GuardianMy debut novel, Slip of a Fish, is narrated by Ash, a complex character who collects words, climbs trees and swims in a deserted lake with her beloved seven-year-old daughter, Charlie. Bemused and overwhelmed by everyday life, Ash has a rich and singular interior world. She is relentless in her efforts to make sense of her relationships past and present.

Over the course of a presciently hot summer, Charlie begins to pull away from Ash and Ash’s naive attempts to reconnect with Charlie end in failure. Ash does something truly unforgivable and their relationship is damaged beyond repair. Ill-equipped to handle this loss, Ash retreats further into her head and her life begins to slip out of her hold.

When I wrote Slip of a Fish I was really interested in the way people miscommunicate – almost as modus operandi. I wanted to see if I could capture a sense of how our understanding and use of language can isolate us from other people as much as it can bring us together.

I didn’t know how far this idea would take me, but it wasn’t long before I realised that I had to let Ash do this unforgivable thing. It was difficult to write, and I wasn’t sure whether I’d be too angry with her to go on writing. But I’d already got to know Ash well and wasn’t about to give up on her. I suppose Slip of a Fish asks the same question of all of us. Can we empathise with someone, even when we don’t condone their actions?

Questions and Prompts for Discussion

1) Ash inhabits a very singular mental world, she refuses medical attention and remains disengaged with most people. The novel suggests no underlying pathology for Ash’s behaviour. To what extent do you think not knowing what is ‘wrong’ with Ash affects your ability to relate to her?

2) We hear quite a lot about Ash’s neighbours – Joan and the family who live at number five. How does Ash perceive them? What does this tell you about the way Ash does or doesn’t understand the world around her?

3) There are very few physical descriptions of any of the important characters in Slip of a Fish. Why do you think this is?

4) How do Ash and Abbott feel about each other? Has it always been this way?

5) Discuss how and why the style of writing shifts as the narrative progresses.

6) Slip of a Fish tells us very little about Ash’s background (her parents and her relationship with Kate). Perhaps it asks more questions than it answers. To what extent do you think this opens the novel up to interpretation?

7) Why do you think language and poetry are important to Ash?

8) Ash does something unforgivable. Were you able to empathise with her? Why or why not?

9) There are constant references to water throughout the novel. Why water and not any other element?

Recommended Further Reading

Beside the Sea, Véronique Olmi, translated by Adriana Hunter (Peirene Press)Aliss at the Fire, Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls (Dalkey Archive Press)The Faster I Walk, the Smaller I Am, Kjersti A. Skomsvold, translated by Kerri A. Pierce (Dalkey Archive Press)A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, Eimear McBride (Faber and Faber)Die, My Love, Ariana Harwicz, translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff (Charco Press)To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf (Vintage Classics)If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor (Fourth Estate) Notes on a Scandal, Zoë Heller (Penguin)

READ REGIONAL 2019

DISCOVER BRILLIANT

NORTHERN WRITERS

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