Bonds of Attachment (University of Wales Press - Land of the Living) - Softcover

Humphreys, Emyr

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0708316255 ISBN 13: 9780708316252

Publisher: University of Wales Press, 2001

Synopsis

There are, of course, bonds of attachment underlying all the novels in the "Land of the Living" sequence. In this final volume, they bind together the voices of the dead poet, John Cilydd More, and his youngest son Peredur in a twin-track narrative. Their words reflect the splendours and the miseries of a century of wars and relentless progress. Peredur defies both his mother's hostility and his two brothers' lack of concern to seek out the truth of his father's death and to take part in a protest against the 1969 Investiture that goes violently wrong. Only at the very end when the central figure of the series herself, Amy Parry, is facing death does there seem hope of reconciliation.

About this title

About the Author:

A highly acclaimed novelist, Emyr Humphreys has won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Hawthornden Prize.  He has published books of poetry, and his Collected Poems appeared in 1999.  He is a productive and greatly respected television dramatist and has produced works of non-fiction in both English and Welsh.  His recent novel, The Gift of a Daughter, was awarded the Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year Prize in 1999.

Review:

“The supreme interpreter of Welsh life in English.” –R. S. Thomas

(R.S. Thomas)

“For a native work of comparable scope invention and authority ... one has probably to go back . . . to the Mabinogion cycle itself.” –M. Wynn Thomas

(M. Wynn Thomas)

“With the appearance of the seventh novel, Bonds of Attachment, later this year, it will be possible to see the septet [Land of the Living] as one of the finest achievements of Welsh writing in English . . . Already it is clear that Emyr Humphreys is our greatest living novelist.” –Western Mail

(Western Mail)

“Emyr Humphreys's long and prolific writing career must now warrant him the title of Wales's number one novelist and place him amongst the greatest of those who have ever attempted to interpret life in Wales through prose . . . Bonds of Attachment is a rewarding read  . . . the Land of the Living series, when read in its entirety, must surely be one of the most extensive, ambitious and richly rewarding works of Anglo-Welsh writing.” --www.gwales.com (www.gwales.com)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Wales Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0708316255
• ISBN 13: 9780708316252
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448