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14th February, 2024

Books to read this Valentine’s Day

Photograph of Things Found on the Mountain laid out on a blanket with a lit candle and a small bottle of wine

Love can come in many forms, so in honour of Valentine’s Day, we’re highlighting a range of books which consider love in different ways. Shop here on our website or visit your local bookshop.

Things Found on the Mountain by Diana Powell

This cover shows an image of a young woman, facing away, looking out over the rolling hills of the black mountains. The text reads: Things Found on the Mountain. Diana Powell.

Farmer’s daughter Beth is a child of nature, utterly at one with the rugged landscape of the Black Mountains on which she tends her family’s sheep. But change is coming. The modern world arrives with the construction of a reservoir in a neighbouring valley. Part of the mountain is taken away to build the dam; there are people, machinery, noise. Then the farms are emptied of their young men by the First World War, including Beth’s beloved brother Daniel, who goes missing in action. Her mother turns to religion, her father falls silent. Beth takes to the mountain, and a solitude interrupted by the arrival of a colony of artists led by the charismatic Eric Gill. She finds solace in Gill’s apprentice, Gabriel. But when the colony decides to move on, Beth is faced with a terrible choice: can she leave the Mountain to be with the one she loves?

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Miriam, Daniel and Me by Euron Griffith

This cover shows a black and white image of a woman in profile. She has cropped hair and is wearing a 1960s style hat. The text reads: Miriam, Daniel and Me. Euron Griffith.

“When he smiled it really did feel as if the chilly Caernarfonshire wind had stopped for a few seconds and as if the place had suddenly got warmer.”

When Miriam fell in love with Padraig life seemed simple. But soon she discovered that love is a treacherous business. Everything changed when she met Daniel. She was taken down an unexpected path which would dictate and dominate the rest of her life.

Spanning three generations of a North Wales family in a Welsh-speaking community, Miriam, Daniel and Me is an absorbing and compelling story of family discord, political turmoil, poetry, jealousy… and football.

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You’ll Never Be Anyone Else by Rachael Clyne

This cover shows a colourful painting of a person lying on a chair, perhaps in a therapist’s office, talking to another figure who sits on a chair beside them. The text reads: You’ll Never Be Anyone Else. Rachael Clyne.

Rachael Clyne’s You’ll Never Be Anyone Else presents a direct and assured voice, demanding that we think carefully about what it takes to reconcile being different. She advises the reader to ‘Stop drinking the poison / labelled “Hate me.” / It’s that simple. I didn’t say easy.’ Clyne also has an alter-ego “Girl Golem” reminiscent of a superhero but based on the mythical man made from clay and spells to protect Jewish people from persecution. Through this empowering persona, Clyne opens up an exploration of Jewish and lesbian identity. Surveying attitudes in the present day and in the past, these poems explore migrant heritage, sexual identity, domestic violence and ageing. Treating even dark subjects with playful wit and colourful imagery, Clyne is a distinctive voice with a powerful message about self-acceptance.

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Return to Hendre Ddu by Siân James

This cover shows a photograph of a young woman dressed in 1920s style clothing looking over her shoulder towards the camera. The text reads: Return to Hendre Ddu, Sian James

When injured war hero Tom Evans returns from the slaughter of France in 1917, the west Wales family farm of Hendre Ddu seems the perfect place to find peace.

But life has moved on. Tom’s sister, Catrin, is married and pregnant; his father, Josi, remarried. Tom, too, looks for love, but domestic life runs anything but smoothly. Still struggling to face up to the horrors of war, the son who has been so critical of his father’s affair must now come to terms with his own passion.

Return to Hendre Ddu is a tumultuous sequel to Siân James’ classic novel A Small Country. Once again Siân James’ talent for character and dialogue weaves an intriguing tale of early twentieth century family life in rural Wales.

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Kidnap Fury of the Smoking Lovers by Peter Benson

This cover shows an abstract painting of a fiery sun shining red, yellow and orange rays. The text reads: Kidnap Fury of the Smoking Lovers, Peter Benson

Twenty years old Fargo Hawkins dropped out of school and now works as a gardener for Harry Swaine, an abusive butcher with a chain of shops on the south coast of England. After witnessing a fight between Harry and Anne (his wife) Fargo steals a car and together he, Anne and a dog called Radar go on the run. They have £9,653, a bag of apples, a penknife and three bottles of wine. An incandescent Harry, a firm of private detectives and their emotions chase them across the country.

After a series of close calls, near misses and other adventures, Anne and Fargo pitch up at a caravan site in North Wales, where they find work and lie low. But a man as possessive as Harry is not to be denied. As their journey draws to a close, Fargo and Anne find themselves at the cottage of late poet R.S. Thomas. But what will become of Harry?

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In Orbit by Glyn Edwards

This cover shows a sepia-toned watercolour illustration by Galileo depicting the 6 phases of the moon. The text reads: In Orbit. Glyn Edwards.

In Orbit is a deeply moving account of love, longing, and loss. On receiving news of a beloved teacher’s death, a man struggles with the loss of a relationship sustained by deep admiration and unrequited love. Memories of their shared journey are separated in three orbits where the man’s past, present, and future are punctuated by intense grief.

In Orbit not only grieves the loss of the teacher, but also toxic standards for boys and men. Beyond human connection, sustenance is found in the moon, the stars, the sky, and nature. The discovery of a badger’s track or the treasure of a bird egg reminds us how small our trajectories are in the context of the more-than-human: an answer perhaps to the grieving process.

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Masque by Bethany W Pope

Masque by Bethany W Pope

Masque is not the story you think you know. Promising and beautiful young singer Christine is ambitious to reach new heights of excellence amid the gilt trappings of the Palais Garnier. But despite being devoted to her art, she finds herself caught between the twin evils of her dangerous and enigmatic singing master and her impetuous patron Raoul’s ‘romantic’ vision of her as a bourgeois wife. Her own desire to follow her operatic career becomes her guiding light, but none of them can control the directions in which their passions lead them. Sumptuously gothic and full of psychological insight, Masque evokes a gilded era of decadence and sensuality where love, rage and murder meet, with explosive results.

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The Turpentine Tree by Lynne Hjelmgaard

This cover shows a vibrant painting of a tree in the background. In the foreground are rocks with bright orange sand and brightly coloured grass in between them. The text reads: The Turpentine Tree, Lynne Hjelmgaard.

In her new collection The Turpentine Tree Lynne Hjelmgaardemploys strong, sensuous imagery to explore displacement, solitude and the search for connection. The tree of the title poem is an enduring symbol of memory, fragile but persistent against the passage of time. Drawing on her own memories from a life uprooted by time spent at sea, widowhood, and loss, Hjelmgaard conjures vivid portraits of family, friends and loved ones, including her late partner Dannie Abse.

Celebrating universal themes of love, loss and letting go, this tender collection is a reminder of how it feels to be alive. An essential addition to Lynne Hjelmgaard’s compelling body of work.

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This cover shows a vibrant painting of a tree in the background. In the foreground are rocks with bright orange sand and brightly coloured grass in between them. The text reads: The Turpentine Tree, Lynne Hjelmgaard.

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This cover shows an image of a young woman, facing away, looking out over the rolling hills of the black mountains. The text reads: Things Found on the Mountain. Diana Powell.

things found on the mountain

Diana Powell

Buy now
This cover shows a colourful painting of a person lying on a chair, perhaps in a therapist’s office, talking to another figure who sits on a chair beside them. The text reads: You’ll Never Be Anyone Else. Rachael Clyne.

You’ll Never Be Anyone Else

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This cover shows a sepia-toned watercolour illustration by Galileo depicting the 6 phases of the moon. The text reads: In Orbit. Glyn Edwards.

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This cover shows an abstract painting of a fiery sun shining red, yellow and orange rays. The text reads: Kidnap Fury of the Smoking Lovers, Peter Benson

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Masque by Bethany W Pope

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