Read of the Week: The Life of Rebecca Jones by Angharad Price

Published in 2002, The Life of Rebecca Jones received much interest with readers flocking to Price's uncle's farm where the story was set.

This week's read comes from specialist mentor Katie:

This book is the story of one Welsh family and of the valley that they call home. Though seemingly simple, it has a deceptive depth, distilling much richness through sparse detail.

In places it is a sort of reflective description of the beauty and ruggedness of the valley, and these descriptions become inseparable from the unfolding story of those who live their lives in its shelter.

It is beautiful, powerful, incredibly moving and very slim – 152 pages, although it feels much weightier. As Lloyd Jones who translated the book from the original Welsh describes:

‘A wave can pick you up when you’re standing in the sea and deposit you elsewhere. That’s the feeling I had when I’d finished reading this book; it took my breath away.’