Gold

One of those books that's not really about plot (there are essentially two events) but rather about character and atmosphere and getting to know other people ... and perhaps the limits of our ability ever to do that. Lovely writing, slow, gently building up our understanding of the characters, and then on the final page, after what feels like catharsis and closure, a single paragraph of four lines that's so subtle in its connotations as to make you go, "Oh no! ... does that mean ...?"
Miyuki, bless you.

This is an odd little book. Nothing much happens, and yet it completely won my heart with its mixture of small-town characters, gentle charm and earthy British flavour. It opens with three friends - short Mr Hughes, tall Mr Hughes and Mr Puw - chatting idly in their local pub. Septic Barry is sitting across the room with his band, and Mr Edwards is pulling pints behind the bar. All is as it should be. And then a Japanese-looking girl walks in, orders a pint and sits down in the corner. "Welcome back," everyone says. But who is she? Every year she arrives in this little Welsh coastal town and stays for a fortnight, alone, walking and drinking and reading. Why is she here? The book meanders through each day of her stay, adding little by show more little to the rich tapestry of the town and the people in it as their stories unfold, and reaching deeper into Miyuki's life back home. It's funny and delightful, quirky and beautiful, and I loved every moment! show less

Dan Rhodes wrote a couple of really good short story collections (Anthropology: And a Hundred Other Stories and Don't Tell Me The Truth About Love), and then a novel (Timoleon Vieta Come Home), which showed first a lot of promise, and then, in Timoleon Vieta, the realisation of that promise.

He then went a bit bizarre, and wrote The Little White Car, a sort of surrealist chicklit novel based around the death of Princess Diana, which he published under the name of Danuta de Rhodes. I still haven't quite worked out what the point of it was...whether it was some complicated commentary on something or other, or whether it was just an attempt to appeal to a different market and make shedloads of cash. However, The Little White Car left me a show more little nonplussed, to say the least.

So, a new Rhodes novel, written under his own name ... I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Gold, thankfully is a return to the older-style Rhodes, and very good it is too (thus I continue to fail in my quest to find a book I can be bitchy about).

Miyuki Woodward is a Welsh woman in her early 30s who, for a fortnight every winter, takes a holiday by herself in a nondescript Welsh coastal village. She and her partner have fallen into the habit of each taking a separate holiday every year, the better to appreciate each other for the rest of the year. For her part, Miyuki has returned to the village often enough that she now forms a small part of the place's day to day activities. Every year she pitches up, goes for long walks, reads books, eats junk food, wanders into the pub every evening and drinks pints in the company of the locals, a crew of unchanging stalwarts content to let time gently pass by.

This year though, Miyuki is taken by a whim to do something different, and unwittingly catalyses a chain of events amongst the locals.

The strength of this novel is in the ordinary, and how even that can be extraordinary. The prose is relatively simple, and the plot slight, but Rhodes uses it deceptively well to add depth to his characters, all of whom, even the most incidental, take on a life of their own as Miyuki breezes through their existences. As Miyuki's actions take effect, there's a gentle tidal wave of affirmation and hope that builds through the novel ... only for a final sting all the more brutal for what has come before it.

It's not quite as strong as Timoleon Vieta but it's a quietly powerful book that finds much to celebrate about the day to day. show less

A 30-year-old half-Asian who vacations alone on the coast of Wales and spends her days wandering around in the cold, downing beers at the pub, chewing her nails, and reading a book a day? Is this book about me? Not that I’ve ever vacationed, alone or otherwise, on the coast of Wales, but this charming little novel made me want to. Bad.

This is a lovely, charming book, and a very quick read. It tells the story of Miyuki, a half Japanese, half Welsh woman, who holidays on her own in the same small Welsh village every year. Nothing in the village ever changes, and not an awful lot ever happens. This being the case, there is a bit of repetition in the book, but this is characteristic of the people and place, and does not detract at all.

However, on this particular holiday, Miyuki decides to get creative with some gold paint, and this leads to a chain of events, which become a big talking point in the village. While this is ostensibly the foundation of the plot, in truth the book is more about a journey of discovery for Miyuki and the assembled cast of characters. Along the show more way, we as readers learn about Miyuki, her background, her relationships and her insecurities.

For me, the book did not live up to the claim on the cover, of being hilarious, but it was amusing in places, and poignant in other places, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the kind of book which I like to curl up with on a cold Sunday afternoon (and that is in fact exactly what I did)!, and which makes you smile. I was also unprepared for the surprise ending, which was (deliberately I’m sure) ambiguous.

Overall, I would highly recommend this quirky little gem. show less

A lightly surreal tale told through the eyes of a young woman who returns to a Welsh seaside town year after year to read, observe, 'fit in, get away, muse, and on this year do something that sets of a series of notable events in a town where normally noted events include chatter on alligators and septic tanks. Rhodes manages to pack a surprising amount of pathos into this slim, smartly written tome, where the repetition of the ordinary is interrupted temporarily and leads to revelation.

A gently humorous novel about Miyuki and her annual trip to the same Welsh seaside village out of season, where she walks, reads, and drinks beer for a fortnight before going home refreshed to her lover.
Out of season the village is sleepy and night after night the same small group of people frequent the pub - Short Mr Hughes, Tall Mr Hughes, Mr Puw and Septic Barry among them. Miyuki who's been going back for quite a few years, easily slips into place - until she feels herself compelled to do something that pushes else everyone into action.
The characters are all strongly drawn, and with that touch as in "The last of the summer wine", you can't dislike any of them with all their little obsessions and peccadilloes. As Miyuki's fortnight show more holiday goes on, we gradually find out more about her and them and grow to love them all which makes the twist at the end all the more of a surprise.
Highly recommended. show less