Given that Sam Savage’sdebut novel Firmin wasabout a literature-loving rat,I wasn’t sure what to expectwith his second, The Cry of theSloth. A loving tribute tothose two and three-toed?A moving soliloquy on theorder Xenarthra?

Thankfully, Sloth insteadfollows the life of Andy Whittaker, misunderstoodcurmudgeon and editor of Soap:A Journal of the Arts. We get to know Andythrough a series of notes and letters sent tothe people who drift in and out of his world:His ex-wife Jolie, old flame Anita, any numberof rent-dodging tenants and a series ofhopeless and helpless aspiring writers.

Whatstarts as comic soon turns poignant however,as the story grows ever more heartbreaking.Main character Andy combines elderlyfrailty with an ever increasing madness, butwho is he really, once you strip away oldwounds? The Cry of the Sloth deserves multiplereadings, as many of its nuances are missedthe first time around. Even on the first read,however, Savage shows a meditative, humanisticcompassion for Andy, a man we mightotherwise label lost on life’s journey.