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Life in the valleys has turned toxic: the people exist on a diet of booze, drugs and casual sex ‘up’ the Angel, the local pub-cum-pharmacy-cum-bordello. They work in the ghastly Tick Tock clock factory, an English-owned monstrosity whose very name mocks the loss of their youth and freedom. Rupert, the factory’s joint owner with his chronically lecherous brother Harry, sends his son Sam down to the valleys to sort things out. But Sam would rather be a musician and remains incognito. When he hears valley girl Tessa singing on a mountainside, he thinks he has found the answer to his musical prayers. Tessa moves in. Sure, she says, she’ll sing for him for as long as the booze lasts. The factory is going to the dogs but he is obsessed. Rupert arrives and bumps into Bronwen after an absence of many years. When a blackout plunges the valley into darkness, the truth is exposed by candlelight.
Read the opening chapter at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19655413/
See more reviews at: http://thenakedblondewriter.com/novels/blackout/
Watch the naked reading of Chapter 1 at http://thenakedblondewriter.com
Publish Date January 31, 2010
Dimensions Pocket 306 pgs Black and White printing (on cream uncoated paper)
Category Literature & Fiction
Tags Tracy Williams, Welsh Valleys, Welsh Fiction, Dark Fiction
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Tiim says
I finished reading "Blackout" last week. At first I was puzzled by the idea of promoting a novel through nudity, but after the first naked reading, my curiosity about the rest of the story was enough to push me over the top and buy a copy.
Not being British, I do not know the exact sentiments that come with being Welsh. I could relate in some way though, being from a small country surrounded by dominant neighbours.
Let me start off by what I liked. The naked reading got me interested in the story, and that did not disappoint. Storylines are clear, with sufficient detail in character development to sympathise with them. While the story's setting is rather grey, the events bring enough colour to the book. The ending surprised me a bit - which is a good thing. Maybe I would have liked to see just a little bit more closure, but I guess that's personal taste.
In terms of style, my feelings are more mixed. Given the setting, the raunchy language in conversation between characters did not disturb me at all. I was bothered more by some style figures (alliterations, overly fancy words) appearing at several places, which come across as very artificial and not fitting in the overall concept of the book.
As one remark to the story, I would have liked to see a more elaborate suspense buildup and a longer climax - setting, detail, and conflict.
All in all, I enjoyed reading "Blackout". I could identify sufficiently with the characters to go with the story, and the end got me thinking.
While it may not be my best read ever, it is certainly not the worst either, and I will probably buy Tracy's next book as well.
posted at 02:39am Apr 19 PST