Credit: Image courtesy of publisher
2 min read
Stylist’s book of the week is Common Decency by Susannah Dickey. It tells the story of two young women, Lily and Siobhán, who live in the same apartment block in Belfast, and are both dealing with loneliness in very different ways.
She had actually met Siobhán three times already. The first time, she had approached her from behind. Siobhán was standing in the doorway of the building, looking out. Lily had at that point already lurked for too long in the stairwell, having watched Siobhán’s head bob down and around each landing, not wanting to risk the awkwardness of Siobhán turning around, spotting Lily looming above her like a buzzard over some carrion, of them having to exchange small talk from different vantage points. In the foyer, there was nowhere to go but forward, so she proceeded quietly, and then they were side by side, watching the December rain and the cars and the sporadic people, stationary and mobile. Siobhán’s head came up to Lily’s chin, and Lily tried to draw her arms into her torso to seem smaller.
‘It’s raining,’ Lily said, and Siobhán said, ‘Not even the rain has such small hands.’ She laughed brusquely, then drew her scarf over her head – it was thin, silky, maroon – and walked out. Her tan-coloured ankle boots had wide openings and no zips, and Lily wondered if they would fill with water, like novelty flowerpots.
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