FURY OF PAST TIME | A LIFE OF GWYN THOMAS

TITLE - FURY OF PAST TIME | A LIFE OF GWYN THOMAS

WRITTEN BY - DARYL LEEWORTHY 

GENRE - WELSH WRITERS/ BIOGRAPHY 

PUBLISHED BY - PARTHIAN BOOKS 

PUBLICATION DATE - OCTOBER 2022 

Gwyn Thomas once admitted that whilst his novels were full of the love of people, they were not full of the love of life, an effect of the nihilistic worldview inherited from his mother. It was this cynicism, albeit with a strain of dark humour running through it, that coloured his life as a coruscating writer and celebrated raconteur. 

In the most in-depth biography of Gwyn Thomas yet published, Daryl Leeworthy makes use of letters and documents, many published for the first time, to deliver an unprecedented portrait of a complex and often contradictory man. Fiercely political (at least in his heart) with communist leanings, Gwyn Thomas was an angry young man who experienced the “split-personality” due to the dwindling use of the Welsh language in his hometown and own home, in a sense growing up as both Welsh and English.

Affected at a young age by the early death of his mother which gave Thomas a cynical, often bleak worldview which informed his written work. Ill-health, both physical and mental, and the widespread unemployment and decline of his native South Wales also marked his writing. But the humour that would see him become a popular mainstay of ‘70s television never wavered. He drifted through a multitude of jobs, most of which drove him to various kinds of utter despair, before settling into married life and teaching in Barry.

Thomas’ skilful and lyrical way with words bursts from the page thanks to the many, sometimes lengthy, quotes from Gwyn’s letters and books, and his voice is clear and resonant throughout. There is also a wealth of welcome information about the many foreign editions of Gwyn’s novels, and his vast influence in Europe and the USA in general, although he was banned in Ireland. The longest chapter in the book is devoted to Thomas’ famed television and radio appearances, the media in which he made his biggest and best remembered impact. There is also deep insight into his mostly successful yet chequered life as a playwright. 

Part biography and part savage, excoriating political and social history of South Wales and the wider world in the mid-20th century, Daryl Leeworthy makes a bold attempt at capturing Gwyn Thomas the man, but, through no fault of the author, he remains somewhat elusive. Nevertheless, this is an excellent and readable book, and as thorough a biography of the towering man of Welsh letters as we’re ever likely to get.

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THE BLUE BOOK OF NEBO

TITLE - THE BLUE BOOK OF NEBO

WRITTEN BY - MANON STEFFAN ROS 

PUBLISHED BY - FIREFLY PRESS 

PUBLICATION DATE - FEBRUARY 6TH, 2022 

A post-apocalyptic novel set in the year 2026, “The Blue Book of Nebo” tells the story of Dylan, his mother, Rowenna, and baby Mona who eke out a living in the isolated village of Nebo in north-west Wales, learning new skills, and returning to the old ways of living. They are surviving in the aftermath of a catastrophe that Rowenna names “The End”, when the electricity went off for good following a nuclear war, and life changed forever. Despite the close relationship between them, the mother/son dynamic changes as Dylan must look after the family unit. Both of them have secrets, and these secrets are revealed as they record their thoughts and memories in a found notebook - the Blue Book of Nebo. Dylan writes about “now” and his mother writes about the “olden days and The End”. They agree not to read what the other writes…”in case”, but Dylan doesn’t know what that means. The story unfolds in Dylan and his mother’s entries in the Blue Book. 

Dylan is too young to fully remember the time before and just after The End and things like computers and mobile phones which his mother took for granted; he measures distances in “steps” as this is a measurement directly related to his daily experience of getting from A to B. Dylan’s “voice” is simple and unfussy, strongly evoking a life of hardship and necessity. But he is intelligent, resourceful and mature beyond his years, and he eventually realises that he “fits” into this new life. 

Rowena’s sections speak of the breakdown of society and panic buying in supermarkets, which resonates strongly with our current times. Rowenna is remarkably resourceful when The End comes, but she is permanently affected by it; she has been hardened and her sections are quite heartbreaking to read as we learn the truth about what happened to her after The End. 

Translated from the original Welsh-language edition, which was awarded Welsh Book of the Year in 2019, this book resonates with me as a native of that country, and many Welsh books are mentioned in the story; there is also a subtext about the loss of the Welsh language. Dylan loves to read and books are almost like characters in this story. The writing throughout is spare, concise and affecting. This is described as a YA novel, but the story transcends that rather restrictive tag by being quite harrowing in parts, and can be enjoyed by an older audience. Terrific and memorable in any language, with a profound ending, “The Blue Book of Nebo” is an absolute triumph.

 

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