Gareth Kent offers a perceptive and engaged review of Dai Smith's closing novel in his trilogy of south Wales, The Crossing. Just published in Wales Arts Review.
'While The Crossing can often feel challenging, it is a novel that is equally rewarding. Some readers may struggle to connect all of the novel’s historical threads together due to the shifting narratives and bewildering historical ties. The Crossing, however, reminds us that this is precisely the point: "untangling the threads of lives was, at best, a fraught, uncertain process", and recorded history is, of course, never quite what it seems. The Crossing successfully shifts through the misty miasma of recorded history as a means of grappling with our contemporary malaise. It invites us to take another look at history, and in doing so, challenge our perceptions towards our cultural memory, allowing us to uncover a fuller picture in a way that is not detached from lived experience, which, in turn, functions as a guiding flame towards healing our cultural malaise.'
You can read the full review here.
The Crossing is currently being serialised in the Western Mail and is available to buy via Parthian here.
