Opening Night
Ireland

Opening Night

by Sara Baume

Friendship Memoir Essays 2026

Summary

After the isolation of the pandemic, Irish writer and artist Sara Baume discovers a painting at a small exhibition in West Cork that captivates her. Its creator, Mollie Douthit, is an American artist living alone in a remote coastal cabin. The two women form an unexpected friendship, finding common ground in their artistic practices, love of nature, solitary habits, and complicated relationships with other people. They establish a monthly ritual of sharing soup and swimming in the Atlantic, while Mollie prepares a new exhibition inspired by memories of her childhood.

As their friendship deepens, Baume begins writing about Mollie’s paintings, exploring whether words can capture the elusive, dreamlike quality of visual art. But life soon disrupts their quiet routines, bringing loss, pain, and uncertainty. Blending memoir, art criticism, and intimate reflection, Opening Night examines how friendship shapes our understanding of ourselves, our memories, and the world around us. It is a thoughtful meditation on creativity, solitude, and the surprising connections that make life meaningful.

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About the author
Sara Baume
Sara Baume

Sara Baume is an Irish novelist and visual artist born in England in 1984 and raised in County Cork, Ireland. She studied fine art before completing a master’s degree in creative writing at Trinity College Dublin. Her debut novel, Spill Simmer Falter Wither (2015), won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Her second novel, A Line Made by Walking (2017), was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize, while her nonfiction book Handiwork (2020) was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize. Baume’s writing is celebrated for its lyrical prose, close observation of the natural world, and exploration of solitude, human relationships, and the rhythms of everyday life. Her third novel, Seven Steeples (2022), was shortlisted for both the Goldsmiths Prize and the International Dylan Thomas Prize. In 2023, she was named one of Granta magazine’s Best of Young British Novelists. She lives in West Cork, where she continues to work as a writer and visual artist.

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Details
Published
2026
Author
Sara Baume