Family life on a Welsh hill farm. Extraordinary depiction of the landscape interwoven with the problems and successes of sheep farming in an unforgiving but beautiful environment. The lives and interactions of John, Catrin, Rhys and Harri are explored and explained with feeling and compassion for their addictions, mistakes and triumphs but most of all the impact of the Iraq war during 2004/5 on one serving soldier and his family.

Set on a farm near Llandudno the story opens towards the winter of 2004.
John and Catrin are struggling to keep their family farm viable while desperately worrying about their elder son who is serving his first tour of duty in Iraq and their younger son who is trying to puzzle his life out.
Each chapter starts with an extract from the Chilcott report and the Iraq body count. I found this a distraction as the book is more about Catrin and John’s relationship, his gambling and her affair, and the resulting impact in their local community rather than an in depth look at what their elder son was experiencing. Also it was no great surprise what happens towards the end of the book.
The descriptions of the beautiful brooding landscape are well written and interesting, as are those of the day to day life on the farm and the wider rural community and characters.
Unfortunately I felt there were too many themes resulting in the story losing its way at times and I finished reading it feeling slightly disappointed.

Many thanks to Penguin Fig Tree and NetGalley for an ARC

This is a straightforward read about a family in Wales. John is the farmer who is struggling against debt. Catrin is his wife who teaches piano. The story is largely narrated through these two protagonists.

A twist is that their eldest son, Harri, is in the army and this is the time of the Iraq War. There is always present the underlying fear for him which makes their every day struggles even worse.

It is an engaging story and I warmed to Catrin, less so to John. Not quite there for me; it was less than literary fiction but better than romance.

I read a copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

Set on a Welsh farm in 2004, this is the story of a family approaching their limits. John runs the farm like his grandfather and father before him, but is struggling with big debts. In a bid to clear them, he has returned to his old addiction, gambling. His wife Catrin has put her career in music aside to be a loyal farmer’s wife, but is unable to resist an affair with her former boyfriend, who represents a different and alluring kind of life. Meanwhile their eldest son, Harri, has joined the army and been sent to Iraq, and is much missed by his younger brother who has started to get in trouble at school. As Harri’s letters become increasingly concerning and fearful, the family will need all their love and strength to move forward. Beautifully written and with a strong sense of place and landscape, this is a gripping story, realistic but emotional. The characters are flawed but likeable as they battle their various demons and make tough choices, battered by the seasonal shifts and economic pressures, but supported by family and by the community that they are a part of and that is part of them. However bad things seem, there is always a sense of hope which prevents the narrative from becoming too grim, but it does pack a punch on issues such as war, sexuality and addiction as well as the dying out of old traditions and the need to adapt to change in order to survive. Highly recommended.

Well not for the first time in my life I appear to be Billy No Mates in my liking of a book.
It's not fast paced but then it isn't meant to be. Puts me in mind of A Kestrel for a Knave- slice of life books. It's not a new story but it is one that every one can relate to. I remember the Iraq war very clearly, perhaps that helps. It did mean I could connnect with the book. I did like the factual reports. I felt they helped to give perspective and substance. I'm not a fan of Wales which was the only downside. A strong debut novel.
I can imagine this being made into a film (not TV series)
I also thought using the Iraq war was unique, so often WWI or WWII but this war did impact on a lot of people's lives expecially given the outcome
Enjoyed it

Set in 2004, in Wales, a couple navigate life and their son’s decision to go to Iraq.
The family experience several problems, and we go on a journey of challenges and tenderness with them.
Unfortunately, I expected more from this book, and must say that the style of the prose was not for me (more tell than show, in my opinion).
The books strong suits were the Llandudno landscape/setting, the representation of life in a small town, and some of the themes it tackles.
Plot: 2.5
Characterisation: 2.5
Prose: 2.5
Themes: 3.5
Overall, I round it up to 3 stars.
I hope other readers enjoy this more.

North Wales, 2004: John and Catrin are struggling farmers with a teenage son and another serving in Iraq. Over the course of a year, we follow a fractured relationship, infidelity and instability through the lens of the Welsh landscape and what are now historical events.

It’s funny to think of 2004-05 as ancient history, but it is. This is debut novel and it’s a well-written, thoughtful debut. However, I think the biggest problem is in its structure. The framing device is the Iraq War and its subsequent enquiry - each chapter begins with a death toll for that month in the narrative.

Events also seem to have some weighted significance - everything seems to have relevance to something else. You can make an educated guess at to what’s going to happen to the son in Iraq. The narrative also seems to have a number of themes (death, fate, chance, marriage) but there is not enough interconnectedness between them. The novel also ends with a coda a decade later which wraps things up a little too neatly.

In conclusion, it’s a portentious debut, with the prose too dense to just let the story drift. It’s published by Penguin on February 27th, 2025 and I thank them for a preview copy. #cloudless