The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone

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Set in this atmospheric town, Catrin Bone is 16 and lives with her reclusive / Agoraphobic mother, Mary. Knowing only what she has been told her entire life, Catrin starts to wonder what is truth and what is fiction. The Unbroken Beauty of Rosalind Bone tells the story of a small village and the secrets of the people who live within it. Cwmcysgod is located in the Welsh valleys and the story is set in 2001. It begins with the tearaway Clements brothers setting fires that lead to consequences not just for them but for all those surrounding them. There are some really fascinating characters in this book, ones who shape the story and bring the village to life. There's the local shopkeeper, Mrs Williams, who sees everything that happens, Dai Bevel, a village stalwart with lots to hide, and Mary herself, who never leaves the house and who dwells on the past. Pain, both physical and emotional, weaves through the lives of the villagers in Cwmcysgod. As the sins of the past approach, they are forced to confront their actions and face the consequences. I found the writing very atmospheric and moody, and was drawn in to the dreariness. It was an engaging read for a such a short book. Despite finding parts a little predictable, I did enjoy how it all came together.

Meanwhile, the Clements brothers are causing trouble fuelled by their desperate bid to escape poverty. Whilst old Dai Bevel, continuing to baffle locals through his strangeness, dreams of a girl he used to know. Tensions begin to rise as these characters come together and finally unearth the secrets from the past. The writing was SO beautiful, so descriptive, I could picture everything and everyone so vividly, down to the lines on their faces.This story is about jealousy, pain, grief, love and everything else woman have had to endure throughout the ages. Small Things Like These meets Under Milk Wood - this slim but devastating novel captures an entire village, an entire world, and the many ways in which a woman can be trapped. A real gem.' RUTH GILLIGAN, author of The Butchers

This Novella was quite strange. It’s extremely slow and in my opinion too wordy. You know like really long flowery paragraphs that could of got the message over much simpler and less complicated? I hate having to stop reading to think “what was that I have just read” and deciphering it.To be frank, the ending was a tiny bit rushed. I wish [SPOILER ALERT!] we could have witnessed the mending of years of incomprehension and of being apart and the rebuilding of the relationship between the two sisters.[/SPOILER ALERT]