A THOUGHT-provoking new novel by local author, Rhiannon Lewis, received a well-attended official launch at the Abergavenny branch of Waterstones this week.

Described by publishers, Y Lolfa as a gripping female-focused dystopian thriller, The Significance of Swans began life as a prize-winning short story, earning the coveted runner-up spot in the Aberystwyth University Prize section of the New Welsh Writing Awards 2019.

The theme of a lone woman’s struggle to make sense of a drastically altered world in which all those she knew are lost is a departure in genre for Rhiannon. from Llanvetherine between Monmouth and Abergavenny, whose previous novel My Beautiful Imperial was based on the life of her real-life great grand uncle – a sea captain from Cardigan, carrying mail and cargo up and down the Chilean coast in late 19th Century.

Carolyn Hodges of Y Lolfa told the audience how rare it is for the company to publish a fiction novel in English, praising the author’s skills in capturing and holding the attention of the reader as well as her originality and attention to detail.

People are vanishing, first in dribs and drabs and then more collectively. Towns and cities are emptied, radios and TVs fall silent, streets are deserted and Aeronwy finds herself alone in a small town in southeast Wales.

With her partner among the vanished and her children out of touch in London, she decides to seek out her brother in West Wales. And there begins her long journey on foot.

Lewis is clearly familiar with her locations and is both original and insightful when it comes to describing the loneliness of Aeronwy’s trek in the humanless silence of once busy roads and bustling towns – a surreal memory we all share from the pandemic.

Rhiannon Lewis is a proven teller of good stories and the book could make a splendid film or TV adaptation.

The Significance of Swans, ISBN: 9781800995765, is published by Y Lolfa and is available through bookshops or from https://www.ylolfa.com