This unique volume offers readers twenty-five of the finest short stories by Welsh writers of this century. Ten of these are translations from Welsh--most of them commissioned especially for this book--and include works by E. Tegla Davies, Islywn Ffowc Elis, Bobi Jones, John Gwilym Jones, Kate Roberts, D.J. Williams, and Islwyn Williams. Among the Anglo-Welsh writers represented--whose creative language is English--are Rhys Davies, Caradoc Evans, Geraint Goodwin, Richard Hughs, Glyn Johns, Gwyn Jones, Alun Lewis, Dylan Thomas, and Gwyn Thomas. Most of the stories revolve around Welsh characters and their country, but the anthology also includes a number of stories with other settings, such as California, India, Canada, and England. The result is a balanced, revealing, and highly readable collection, introduced by a lively account of the subject in both Welsh and English. Classic Welsh Short Stories makes one of the richest literary traditions available to all readers of English.

A tight, close-up little drama with rural characters, including slow Sianco who keeps his terrier under his jumper at all times . Their farmhouse is Graig-ddu ( Black Rock ); The orchard came right up behind the house, making it dark and damp; the wallpaper s original light blue a distant memory, since by now it was blackened by smoke. , no rural idyll but Lewis eye for detail gives us pleasure amidst the squalor and unpleasantness (as those who romanticise rural existence might see it). Her eye is an eye for humour too; As she put the teapot on the table, Jack pulled off his hat and gave it to the pot to wear while it brewed the tea . Staccato chapters envision the repetitive uncomfortable moments of these isolated farming siblings life, frying bacon and potatoes, slaughtering turkeys or training sheepdogs. But there is a drama unfolding here about marriage and property as in the best Jane Austen. One commentator (Diarmuid Johnson) sees the story of the three siblings in their hillside farm as a metaphor for the whole Welsh-speaking rural life under threat from both socio-economic change and cultural and linguistic encroachment from English-speakers. If this is the case then the tragedy it outlines is of a population marginalised by the very isolation (and poverty) that has enabled it to preserve the Welsh language. Visiting the churchyard to lay a Christmas wreath on Mami s grave, Martha the daughter of the family notes There were never any flowers except her flowers on the graves: the three of them were the only family left. And of the three, poor old Shanco is slow-witted and dependent, Jack is a miser, lured by the pragmatic glamour of the English-speaking midlander Judy who would transform Graig-ddu into an acculturated dude ranch. Martha is the only one as tradition or rather memory-bearer of her clan in a position to combat elder brother Jac s nihilistic vision: There s nothing here, Martha. It s all finished. We re all finished. The story of this long slow retreat of an old way on the Welsh hills is expressed in the poignancy of Martha s patrilocal dilemma: if she marries her patient admirer Gwynfor she must move from the old farmstead, leave it to Jack and Judy and Judy s wasteful horses and crass petty-bourgeois Anglo ways. Lewis masterfully builds up a sense of foreboding in this tight family scenario, of irreconcilable, deep-seated long-lived conflict. We only sense that something must happen, that some spark will detonate the gunpowder. Less obviously there are mysterious elements in the narrative huge threatening crows for one that provide an essential depth, the space for the unresolved and unknown that real writing needs. Inter alia there is plenty about animals here too, including an amusing account of a sheepdog s intense jealousy and protectiveness for his master; Glen would also walk between Jack and Gwen.... When they started going out, Glen would bark at her and refuse to settle until she was on her way. After six months or so the dog would let them hold hands but he would walk between them under their clasped hands. He would also sit between them on the settle. All in all a graphic and beautifully-described portrayal of farm life and place, a real confrontation with a particular kind of existence.

Colloquial Welsh provides a step-by-step course in Welsh as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Welsh in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Key features include: • progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills • structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar • an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises • realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios • useful vocabulary lists throughout the text • additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Welsh will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Welsh. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.

A WWII-era Welsh barmaid begins a secret relationship with a German POW in this “beautiful” novel by the author of A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself (Ann Patchett). Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Set in the stunning landscape of North Wales just after D-Day, this critically acclaimed debut novel traces the intersection of disparate lives in wartime. When a prisoner-of-war camp is established near her village, seventeen-year-old barmaid Esther Evans finds herself strangely drawn to the camp and its forlorn captives. She is exploring the camp boundary when an astonishing thing occurs: A young German corporal calls out to her from behind the fence. From that moment on, the two begin an unlikely—and perilous—romance. Meanwhile, a German-Jewish interrogator travels to Wales to investigate Britain’s most notorious Nazi prisoner, Rudolf Hess. In this richly drawn and thought-provoking “tour de force,” all will come to question the meaning of love, family, loyalty, and national identity (The New Yorker). “If you loved The English Patient, there’s probably a place in your heart for The Welsh Girl.” —USA Today “Davies’s characters are marvelously nuanced.” —Los Angeles Times “Beautifully conjures a place and its people, in an extraordinary time . . . A rare gem.” —Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs “This first novel by Davies, author of two highly praised short story collections, has been anticipated—and, with its wonderfully drawn characters, it has been worth the wait.” —Booklist, starred review

Hugless Douglas in on a hunt for the perfect bear hug! Hugless Douglas is a huggable, lovable young brown bear who wakes up one morning in need of a hug. He goes to try and find one but none of them seem quite right.

Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, is up to his old tricks with his new work of transgressive short fiction. Irvine Welsh's first short-story collection since his debut work The Acid House presents five extraordinary stories, which remind us that he is a master of the short form, a brilliant storyteller, and—unarguably—one of today's funniest and most subversive writers. In "Rattlesnakes" three young Americans, lost in the desert, are accosted by two armed Mexicans. A Korean chef and a Chicago socialite find themselves connected through the disappearance of a pooch named Toto in "The D.O.G.S. of Lincoln Park." And in the title story, Mickey Baker—an ex-pat English bar owner living on the Costa Brava—tries to keep all of his balls in the air: maintaining his barmaid's weight at the sexual maximum, attending to the youthful Persephone, and dodging his ex-wife and Spanish gangsters. In typically Welshian fashion, the characters and settings are anything but typical. These stories will make you laugh and gasp.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.