Twenty Thousand Saints

I love Fflur Dafyddid's Twenty Thousand Saints. It is a beautifully written book that is simultaneously funny and profound. Now I'm dreaming of living on Bardsey Island, if only for one summer. Imagine waking in a dark room with orange curtains. Aware of a force that shakes the room and makes the bed shudder. The fog horn rings on and on, and by the seventh time you hear it, it's become familiar, like the ticking of a clock. I'm here, you think, really here. On Bardsey Island.



We probably won't make it to Bardsey Island this summer, but I do think that Tadzio, Przemek and I will coast away in a canoe some morning very soon. Przemek and I will work out how to paddle together while Tadzio dips his fingers in the water.

Photo of Bardsey Island found here.