Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful
Summary
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Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful by Deborah Kay Davies
Set in the eastern valleys of south Wales from 1970 onwards, this book relates the history of Grace and Tamar, their volatile childhood, disruptive coming-of-age and dubious maturity.
Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful, By Deborah Kay Davies (Rated 4/ 5 ) Reviewed by Brandon Robshaw The Independent Sunday, 16 November 2008 Deborah Kay Davies has achieved something rare: a collection of short stories wherein each story is complete in its own right (many were competition winners, or radio broadcasts) but which also work together as a novella-length sequenceThe connecting thread is the two sisters Grace and Tamar: this is a study of a lifelong sibling rivalry, or rather, sister rivalry, since though they do have a brother he is not important enough even to merit a name. In fact, the male characters are shadowy and undeveloped in all these stories. Grotesque and violent incidents abound: Tamar is nearly killed as a toddler when Grace pushes her out of a tree; later in life, Tamar nearly drowns Grace in retaliation for the latter's sexual exhibitionism on the beach. Tamar likes to put baby snails up her nose; one disappears and never comes back. One story features sexual intercourse with a basset hound. Sometimes, indeed, the reader is led to wonder whether the events really happened or whether they are fantasies. Davies's first book was a volume of poetry and her gift for imagery is is evident here: eating a scallop is described as like eating a virgin mermaid's buttock.
A girl from the eastern valleys of South Wales (Pontypool), she failed her Eleven Plus and went to Secondary Modern School. She faced the challenges many valleys children encounter, and mentally filed them away for her writing. Since her youth, she earned a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from Cardiff University and has published a collection of poetry, Things You Think I Don't Know, as well as numerous stories in various publications. She is a three-time winner in the Rhys Davies competition. The only year she didn't win was the year she didn't enter - because her partner was a judge.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781905762903 |
| ISBN 10 | 1905762909 |
| Title | Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful |
| Author | Deborah Kay Davies |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Parthian Books |
| Year published | 2009-07-09 |
| Number of pages | 165 |
| Prizes | Winner of Wales Book of the Year: English Language Award 2009 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |