Looking for the perfect gift for those who love fiction?
Here are a few suggestions.
Lace by Catrin Kean (Honno Press)
In the early 1900s in Wicklow, Ireland, the lives of six-year-old Mary and her siblings are torn apart when their father dies leaving the family penniless. Mary’s mother is forced to travel to Dublin to find work. She places her children in an orphanage for a short stay, which turns into years. Many years later Mary settles in Cardiff with her Welsh/Bajan husband Louis. But the birth of the baby dredges up long hidden memories that Mary must confront. The sequel to the prizewinning novel Salt.
Earthly Creatures – Stevie Davies (Honno Press)
For all her life, idealistic 20-year-old bookworm Magdalena Arber has been split down the middle: veering wildly between fidelity to indoctrinated Nazi beliefs, and her father’s humanist values. Then comes the summons – the Nazi War Labour Service is conscripting her into a teaching position in East Prussia. Magda is elated. It’s a release from the cosy cage of childhood, and a chance to form young minds. A riveting, epic historical novel set in 1940’s Germany.
Anna and the Angel – Eleanor Williams (Parthian)
A secretive, tentative and increasingly affectionate correspondence between two strangers begins. Edna and Anna are both mothers, both lonely in different ways. When Anna’s son Tobias turns up at Edna’s house in Newport, en route to somewhere else altogether, it seems to be an act of pure serendipitous coincidence. A contemporary feminist adaptation of a timeless story from the Old Testament, transforming the apocryphal tale from the Book of Tobit.
Festival of the Ghost – João Morais (Parthian)
Set in contemporary Cardiff, this diverse, pacey, high-concept time-warp crime novella explores themes of violence, ritual and alternative realities, while it seeks to honour the victims of serial killers and challenge the way that some have become part of the tourism industry.
Crazy Truth – Gemma June Howell (Seren)
In 1984, Girlo Wolf is born into a world of pickets and poverty. Life on The Rock is precious, but growing-up is far from easy. A gut-punching tribute to the reality of life in post-industrial south Wales, Gemma June Howell’s debut novel is an authentic portrayal of the intergenerational struggles of working-class communities and one woman’s journey to empowerment.
Wonderboy and The Life & Times of Drewford Alabama – Jamie Morrison (Seren)
From the moment Andrew ‘Pop’ Morrison, a.k.a Wonderboy, heard the mesmerising beats of a drumkit through a classroom window, he knew he was born to be a drummer. Pop and his band hit the big-time and the one-way path to stardom is a wild ride. When his partying lifestyle takes a dramatic turn, Pop is forced back to square one. An electric story about finding yourself and following your dreams.
Available now from your local bookshop.
