#Blogtour Lace by Catrin Kean

It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Lace by Catrin Kean.

Honno, Welsh Women’s Press presents Lace, the “enthralling” sequel to the prize-winning Salt. 

'Landing on shelves on the 18th July 2024, Honno, Welsh Women’s Press will be publishing Lace by Catrin Kean. An emotional and intricate follow-up to her award winning novel, Lace introduces us to a new generation and a dark history stirred by a birth in the family.'

About the Author

Catrin Kean was awarded a place on the Hay Festival Writers At Work scheme for emerging writers from 2016 – 18. Her short stories have been published in Riptide Journal, Bridge House Anthologies, The Ghastling, and Syncopation Journal. Her debut novel 'Salt' won the 2021 Rhys Davies Fiction award,  the Wales Arts Review People’s Choice Award, and the overall Wales Book of the Year Award. Lace is her second novel. She lives in the Garw Valley with her partner and three ridgeback dogs. Follow @kean_catrin on X

About the book

The sequel to the prizewinning novel Salt - Weaving between Cardiff in the mid-1920’s and a Wicklow convent in the early 1900’s, Kean recount’s Mary’s story, a tale inspired by her grandmother.

In the early 1900s in Wicklow, Ireland, the lives of six year old Mary and her siblings are torn apart when their father dies leaving the family penniless. Mary's mother is forced to travel to Dublin to find work. She places her children in an orphanage for a short stay, which turns into years. 

Many years later Mary settles in Cardiff with her Welsh/Bajan husband Louis, and is thrilled at the arrival of their first child, Teresa. But the birth of the baby dredges up long hidden memories that Mary must confront before she can bond with her daughter. 

Review

I'm going to have to read Salt now, not because this is a sequel - it's actually more of a giving readers a more complete picture of the story - but rather because Kean is such an incredible writer. Much like Claire Keegan, there is core talent of encapsulating either a moment or a lifetime of emotions in a short read. Not something every writer can pull off. 

Even without the racial element, the racism, fearmongering and hatred, the story is at the core is one of family. The deconstruction and restructuring of family units, which are constantly interchangeable and a moving living breathing entity. Trauma, grief, love and both new and old dynamics.

In Mary's case the birth of her daughter awakens deeply buried childhood trauma. The kind of traumatic losses, experiences and memories that cause a disconnect and lack of bonding between mother and child. This is an exploration of how the past impacts the present and the future. It determines whether one foot can be placed before the other.

I think it's easy to forget that ancestors, and indeed parents or grandparents, have lived entire lives before we enter the picture. What we as their children or grandchildren experience of them is often the version haunted by or the product of a sum of their prior relationships and experiences.

I hope to see this author receive the recognition they deserve and heading prize lists in the future. Excellent read.

Buy Lace at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Honno.