Overview
Waking up early to check the cattle, Gareth notices one of the calving cows is missing and sets off to find her before the sun gets too strong. What follows is a search through memory and anxiety about losing what he has as Gareth walks the land looking for the missing cow. Increasingly, the narrative is disturbed by arresting and often brutal imagery as things chip away at Gareth's patience and the need to find the cow becomes more pressing. The day unfolds, and the cow's behaviour emerges as a metaphor for the relationship between Gareth and his wife Kate as they stumble on desperately in their changing care for each other. Only the reader is aware of the tragedy that awaits the family a few days down the line, throwing the story into shadow with a terrible poignancy.
Synopsis
Waking up early to check the cattle, Gareth notices one of the calving cows is missing and sets off to find her before the sun gets too strong. What follows is a search through memory and anxiety about losing what he has as Gareth walks the land looking for the missing cow. Increasingly, the narrative is disturbed by arresting and often brutal imagery as things chip away at Gareth's patience and the need to find the cow becomes more pressing. The day unfolds, and the cow's behaviour emerges as a metaphor for the relationship between Gareth and his wife Kate as they stumble on desperately in their changing care for each other. Only the reader is aware of the tragedy that awaits the family a few days down the line, throwing the story into shadow with a terrible poignancy.
J.G. Matthews - Library Journal
Jones's first novel takes place over the course of a hot summer day on a cattle farm somewhere in rural Wales. From a simple plot-Gareth, a farmer, searches for a missing calving cow-a series of interactions and accidents emerges to shape the lives of the farmer's family, his neighbors, and the domestic animals and wildlife coexisting in this landscape steeped in history. As in William Faulkner's most moving work, Jones seemingly surveys the whole of existence by describing the humblest details of life on this postage-stamp of unnamed Welsh soil: the sound of machinery in the distance, the flight of damselflies, digging a grave in hard ground. The relentless heat and drought express the thirsts-literal, emotional, and spiritual-that oppress this landscape and its inhabitants. In this wounded place, tragedy is persistent and immanent. Jones suggests, however, that redemption, fulfillment, and peace, though infrequent as a summer rain, are as inevitable as the sunrise. Winner of the 2007 Betty Trask Award, this is a powerful and highly recommended debut.
Editorials
Library Journal
Jones's first novel takes place over the course of a hot summer day on a cattle farm somewhere in rural Wales. From a simple plot-Gareth, a farmer, searches for a missing calving cow-a series of interactions and accidents emerges to shape the lives of the farmer's family, his neighbors, and the domestic animals and wildlife coexisting in this landscape steeped in history. As in William Faulkner's most moving work, Jones seemingly surveys the whole of existence by describing the humblest details of life on this postage-stamp of unnamed Welsh soil: the sound of machinery in the distance, the flight of damselflies, digging a grave in hard ground. The relentless heat and drought express the thirsts-literal, emotional, and spiritual-that oppress this landscape and its inhabitants. In this wounded place, tragedy is persistent and immanent. Jones suggests, however, that redemption, fulfillment, and peace, though infrequent as a summer rain, are as inevitable as the sunrise. Winner of the 2007 Betty Trask Award, this is a powerful and highly recommended debut.
—J.G. Matthews