THIS WEEK’S NEW BOOKS REVIEWED | FEATURE
LLYFR DU CYMRU FYDD / THE BLACK BOOK OF THE NEW WALES
Llywelyn ap Gwilym (Y Lolfa)
Who wouldn’t want to live in a utopia? Who wouldn’t want to inhabit Llywelyn ap Gwilym’s The New Wales – a land in which every citizen is given an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI), where food and shelter are plentiful and everyone is given free broadband? These are the sort of questions I was asking myself while reading this brief, and very accessible, bilingual pamphlet on national reform.
Almost every section I read I agreed with (renewable energy, pacifism, cultural identity), until I read that in The New Wales every school will be free but all aspects of education will be taught solely through the medium of Welsh, something I disagree with. And so it struck me who won’t want to live in The New Wales: capitalists! Nor socialists, for that matter. This utopian Wales is perfect for me, except for the one language snag – but for anyone who doesn’t like the dissolution of privatisation, or the adoption of true proportional representation, The Black Book will be a tough read.
So how to bring along all the maligned masses when not all of your policies will be universally embraced? Llywelyn ap Gwilym does an excellent job of establishing the growing groundswell behind new national ideals. By referencing other excellent modern writers (Stephanie Kelton, Erik Olin Wright) and quoting historically well-respected individuals (Maya Angelou, Malcolm X) he positions The Black Book as one of many contemporary treaties in a long line of revolutionary texts that all lead toward the inevitable. And it did make me want to read more, from others.
But for most readers, the criticism – well dealt with in the Afterword – will be that this is a ‘why’ book that barely begins to deal with the ‘how’. There is not a single statistic mentioned, other than the number of Chartists that marched in 1839; figures and sums are not included. The Black Book is unapologetically utopian and idealistic, focussed on dreaming big, seeing the potential in our little country and believing it can be reached, surpassed.
For some, The New Wales described here could be the dystopia so prevalent in modern YA fiction. (In fact, some of the local-level policy creation ideas reminded me of the 1984-type management by the masses in Nick Harkaway’s Gnomon.) But for me The Black Book Of The New Wales is a big dream that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Here, in the old Wales, the current Wales, is where we may ask, ‘how’? Or some may ask, ‘when’?
Price: £4.99. Info: here
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES
LIFE SUPPORT
Jim Down (Viking)
A doctor in an ICU ward on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic gives an insightful, fast-paced narrative into what life was like as the pandemic unfolded. Life on the wards, writes Jim Down, was already hectic, but nothing had prepared them for this; Life Support, his diary, provides an insight into how a crisis of this scale is dealt with.
Firstly is the immediacy of the problem of fighting COVID and how this affected those staff on the ward. The donning of PPE is recounted, and the challenges this posed; the book also provides many accounts of patients’ personal stories. These are heartrending and real, bringing home the frustrations and struggles suffered by many, including family members who looked on in desperation. Yet this is peppered with hope as victories, too, are recorded.
Down shares the impact COVID has had on his life, with gruelling shifts as the pace hots up and cases rise. It brings home the reality of learning on the job, faced with an unknown disease that required an all-hands-on-deck approach every day. A well-written and detailed account of the tough challenges faced by frontline healthcare teams during Coronavirus’ first wave.
Price: £14.99. Info: here
words EMILY EDWARDS
MISPLACED PERSONS
Susan Beale (John Murray)
It’s 18 years since the Yardley family settled in Brussels, but suspicions and secrets provide the catalyst for the disintegration of the family unit in this timely novel. Misplaced Persons is crafted from the viewpoint of three members of the family: British-born Neil, who has recently left the family home after having an affair with a colleague; his wife Marcy who has provided the sanctuary of their home to a Syrian refugee Nizar; and teenager Alec who is struggling with home and school life.
You may think this synopsis sounds like a familiar storyline, but it’s difficult to convey the complexities of each character and how well the themes of identity, race, terrorism and motherhood are explored within each person’s account. Along with the family dynamic, the Brussels location also plays a pivotal role, drawing upon the culture and identity of both the European country and the family at a time when so much is going on in the world, and exploring how they fit within the dynamics of society.
Having been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award in 2016 for previous novel The Good Guy, Beale has delivered a thought-provoking and powerful followup. The journey to the outcome of the novel became surprising at times, going in a different direction to that initially anticipated. Superbly written, this is a significant and poignant story that will resonate with many people at different stages of their lives.
Price: £16.99. Info: here
RHIANON HOLLEY
THIN PLACES
Kerri ni Dochartaigh (Canongate)
Kerri ni Dochartaigh [pictured, top – credit Mannus Kenny], the daughter of a Catholic mother and a Protestant father, witnessed and suffered from brutal acts of violence while growing up in Londonderry during the Troubles of the 1980s and 90s. At a young age, she witnessed a member of the security forces getting shot on the street. On another occasion, a petrol bomb was thrown through a window of their house as her family were sleeping. A feral cat, which Dochartaigh had homed, scratched her face to wake her up as smoke and flames engulfed her family home.
It was a close shave for Dochartaigh and her family, who managed to escape and relocate to what they hoped would be a safer area to live in; but violence reared its ugly head again, as a close friend of hers was found murdered. As soon as she could leave Northern Ireland after graduating, Dochartaigh headed for Edinburgh and then Bristol – “desperate,” she writes, “to strip away all the layers of trauma that a childhood of devastating violence had left in its wake”. “Highlands and islands, forests and woods” became a “form of refuge” for her.
It has not been an easy road to recovery for Dochartaigh by any means, but she found solace in nature, whether it being the fields or fauna that surround her. Thin Places is as much about the healing power of nature as it is about the Troubles, a book in which beauty and ugliness sit side by side – often on the same page. There are parallels between Dochartaigh and the butterflies she observes as being “bathed in resilience.” Thin Places is a heartbreaking and beautifully written account of conquering trauma.
Price: £11.99. Info: here
words DAVID NOBAKHT
TRANSCENDENT KINGDOM
Yaa Gyasi (Viking)
Following the success of Yaa Gyasi’s acclaimed debut novel Homegoing, this emotive novel delves into the lives of a Ghanaian family living in Alabama, and has recently been longlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction 2021. Its protagonist Gifty is introduced as she is studying neuroscience at Stanford University: now in her 20s, she deftly recalls the journey that has led her on this path following the death of her gifted basketball playing brother, Nana, to addiction and the impact this has on her and her mother.
As Gifty attempts to find solutions within her work, in particular the behaviour of mice in relation to addiction, the contrasting elements between science and religion are explored. An extremely emotional tale, raising important questions with regards to cultural and religious differences, a succinct and lyrical narrative is plotted with vivid scenes: setting out characters’ vision and the differences in dealing with their difficult and traumatic experiences.
It’s often speculated how difficult it can be for authors to write their second novel, especially following a highly praised work. Gyasi, however, has made it appear simple with this moving tale of love, loss and faith. An important book on how the past can influence the future, and although at times heartbreaking, ultimately this is a powerful book of hope.
Price: £14.99. Info: here
words RHIANON HOLLEY