Set against the backdrop of a canal boat, the story explores Bev and Mouse's journey of remembering amidst past lives and unfinished business. Their adventure emphasizes the themes of temporariness and impermanence, focusing on the beauty found in life's small, often overlooked moments. As they navigate between their past and future hopes, they uncover new meanings in their experiences, reflecting on the imperfect and incomplete nature of existence.
A rare story about Suzanne, a human and Gertrude, a donkey “I write because there are things I can’t sing. There are ways of writing that can’t be sung. I write because I watch,” says Jeb Loy Nichols, an internationally acclaimed musician and artist, about his literary art. In this unforgettable novel, Suzanne has arranged her life to suit her solitariness, living quietly on her untended hill farm. Her days are a word-shy negotiation, caught between indifference and uncertainty. Into this world comes Gertrude, a wandering donkey. Together they form an unlikely alliance; each protecting the solitude of the other. Suzanne and Gertrude is a tale of intermittent griefs and wonderments. How do we live, not just with each other, but with memories, with impermanence, with the inevitable melancholy of being? Suzanne and Gertrude is a spare novel with a profound impact.