Daily Bookshot: From the Valleys

From the Valleys, originally uploaded by Robert Burdock.

As I seem to be in a mood for talking ‘Welsh literature’, I thought for today’s ‘bookshot’ I’d feature a couple of titles from the Welsh valleys which were recently added to my reading pile.

The first, Soothing Music for Stray Cats by debut-novelist Jayne Joso, is from Welsh publisher Alcemi, and it looks pretty darn interesting (and not just because of its fab cover (the work of Japanese artist Hiroki Godengi)). Here’s a portion of the blurb:

Mark’s best friend Jim just jumped from the twentieth floor, forcing him to reassess the way he’s been living. This contemporary rites of passage novel is a calm, cool, and well-controlled fiction debut flooded with warmth and humanity. With the reflection of "The Catcher in the Rye" and the depth of Anne Enright’s "The Gathering", it captures the moment following disaster where things can swing either way. Music and literature save Mark as he faces the question: is it ever right to intervene in others’ lives? Themes include friendship; class; compassion; altruism and intervention; trust and innocence; belonging.

Well that’s quite an eclectic and potentially explosive mix of themes isn’t it? My kind of story at first sight, but we’ll see. For now though, find out more about Soothing Music for Stray Cats on the publisher’s website, and/or on author Jayne Joso’s own website.

The second title comes from the small Welsh press – Planet, and it’s a short story collection called The Breathing, by Mary-Ann Constantine. Consisting of eleven short stories which form together as a whole, the blurb is succinct, enigmatic and wholly enticing:

These stories manage to be both stunning and subtle. From the unforgettable silence of ‘Noise’ to the rapt evocation of the past in ‘The Elephant at Tregaron’, Mary-Ann Constantine portrays a world in which nothing feels safe. The intensity of the writing draws the disparate plots into an imaginative whole. The Breathing has a delicacy of touch which belies the darkness of its themes. This is an exhilarating first collection.

At this point I guess I should be passing on my worldly wisdom all about Welsh literature, but to be perfectly honest I’m not that familiar with it. That said, I read Caradog Prichard’s ‘One Moonlit Night (Canongate) earlier in the year, and I enjoyed it immensely. So I’m well aware there’s real talent hiding in the Welsh valleys (even though Prichard wrote his novel in London )) and hopefully these two titles will only help to confirm that. I’ll be sure to let you know!