The Long Dry

The Long Dry

by Cynan Jones (Author)

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.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 119
Publisher: Parthian Books
Published: 17 May 2006

ISBN 10: 190263893X
ISBN 13: 9781902638935

Author Bio
Cynan Jones was born in Wales in 1975. He determined that at twenty-eight he would make writing his primary drive for two years. This he did. The Long Dry is the third novel to be completed but the first accepted for publication. It was written in a blaze of clarity in ten days in May '05, after completing Dance to This - a novel about bin men - which will be published by Parthian in Spring '07. Cynan currently teaches Welsh and music part-time and runs a small wine business, but writes increasingly. His children's story 'The Piano Player's Hands' was included in Richard & Judy's Winning Stories (Chrysalis Books, 2003) as one of twenty-five winners of their national competition. 'The Babysitter' a section from his first novel After the Factory, was included in Parthian's 'Urban Welsh' anthology to a great review from Robert Nisbet in Planet (issue 125). 'The Rabbit' won an honourable mention in the 2004 Lorian Hemingway International Short Story Competition and was later worked into The Long Dry. Cynan currently lives and works near Aberaeron, Wales.