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 Twenty Thousand Saints
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Twenty Thousand Saints

By Fflur Dafydd
Published by Alcemi
ISBN 978 0 955527227
Category Mystery
October 2009

Synopsis

Archaeologist Deian seeks on Bardsey reasons for his mother’s disappearance. During one August week his life collides with that of his former inmate and best friend; a closet heretic nun; a prize-hungry filmmaker, and the writer that has her eye on him. A mystery about finds, losses, privacy and intrusion.

Author's Biography

Fflur Dafydd, 31, is the author of four novels. She is the Oxfam Hay Emerging Writer of the Year, 09 and winner of Wales’ top prizes for fiction: the Prose Medal (06) and the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize for Fiction (09). She lectures in Creative Writing at Swansea University.

Reviews

Oxfam Hay Emerging Writer of the Year, 09; Prospect Pick of 08; MsLexia Woman to Watch, 09

 The most compelling novel I’ve read in years; a love story, a thriller, and a profound meditation on language and identity. Peter Florence, Guardian Hay Festival 

A wild, exhilarating read. Catherine Taylor, The Guardian

**** Four Star Review: [Fflur] Dafydd is a magical writer and an acute observer of human nature. Diva

Wry, engaging and perceptive...  a beautifully-rendered story of multiple forms of... excavation – spiritual, linguistic, filmic and sexual. Owen Sheers

Brilliant... one of the best reads for decades. Peter Finch

Warm, witty, intelligent, perceptive and beautifully crafted. [Dafydd] has the precision of a thriller writer while always in full command of her disparate characters. The Western Mail

Luminous... [written] with a poet's eye…  on the eternal questions of love, loss, communication, passion and what it is to be alive. Dai Blatchford, Swansea Life

Dark, comedic thriller that explores intense bonds between people and their loved ones... a gripping read. Abi Rhodes, The Spokesman journal

 Â£9.99  PAPERBACK

 

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Reader Comments

Brilliant!
A most extraordinary talent.
This is the novel with everything - romance, secrets, profound questions about life on the cultural and geographical edge - but it's all packed into a slim, elegant volume: the reader is trusted to do some of the intellectual work rather than overloaded with explication. This is why it stands out - it's an adult's novel addressed to intelligent adults.
Ardderchog! Excellent!
A book with lots of depth and dealing with hidden and taboo issues. Well done Fflur.
The characters are fascinating in this book - the hermit nun, the forlorn archaeologist, not to mention the writer who can't write and the documentary maker who keeps missing the most important scenes...a weird, wonderful, gripping read. Pob hwyl i chwi.
The novel revealed a world I knew nothing about. I recommend it to everybody.
Nice one Fflur!
Great read!
very good
I love this book. I couldn't put it down and now I really want to visit Bardsey Island!
Excellent book,fantastic read and didn't want to put it down! Waiting for the next novel with great antiscipation.
Beautiful book from some rare Welsh talent!
Wych - Excellent read.
Another fantastic read from Fflur. Diolch
Excellent Read.
mesmerising book beautifully written and a real page turner. refuse to lend my copy to anyone because you should buy a copy for yourself!
Fflur is incredible! And lovely too. Full stop.
A wonderfully witty and thought-provoking novel: wry and poetic, some memorable characters, gets away from the cliches.
Incrediblecrazyfantasticstylishawesome book!
A real page turner, with serious points to make about language and identity - an author to watch in the future, can't wait for the next book!
THE best new read this year - No Doubt. Fantastic work, and beautifully written by the very talented author, Fflur Dafydd. If you don't already own a copy - buy it now. If you already own it ... buy it again!! :o)
Fantastic book about a magical place.
Twenty Thousand Saints is a great read!
Fflur Dafydd is one of the most talented people i know. Im so proud of her!! Pob hwyl i ti calon. ;) xx
I first read this novel in the original Welsh after it won the Prose Medal at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The reworked English version is even more compelling. Fflur Dafydd is a magician with words in both Welsh and English.
you've heard the music, now read the novels... Are there no ends to Fflur Dafydd's talents? Can't wait for the next one... I really hope TTS wins to promote the book and author further, but also to promote a small but super publishing house. Shows you dont need to be one of the big boys to produce wonderful writing
a super book, this. Do read it. Even my dad--the ultimate critic--loved it.
a beautifully written, different, tale with constant developments and humour to keep pages turning and interest high.
Interesting? No, fascinating. Funny? No, hilarious. Scary? No, terrifying. Well written ? No, masterfully written. A book? No, a masterpiece. Fflur Dafydd a writer? No, a genius. Fflur Dafydd a welsh genius? No, a worldwide genius. “Twenty thousand saints” the book of last two months? No, a book for life.
Beautifully written and a thrilling read
Obviously a very talented author. Fantastic read from start to finish.
Couldn't put the book down, kept me going while on sick leave!
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