A book a day: Caradog Prichard: A moonlit night

Idioma original: Welsh
Year of publication: 1961
Translation: Ismael Attrache
Valuation: Highly recommended

Experts say that this is the best Welsh novel (I understand in the language) of all time. I don’t know how credible such a claim is, but what I do know is that A moonlit night It is a very good novel.

And that’s despite the fact that it has a rather strange beginning. At least it was hard for me to get into the book. I don’t know if it’s the narrative voice, the rhythm or the tone, but the first pages didn’t quite hook me. Luckily, as the book progresses, you start to “get the hang of” this not entirely reliable narrator, you tie up loose ends, see how the different episodes fit together and you arrive at a dark and beautiful ending, at the same time, that ends up leaving you with a very good taste in your mouth.

But what is the book about? you might say. Well, then. A moonlit night It is a coming-of-age novel set at the beginning of the 20th century in the mining town of North Wales. The narrator’s text recalls a series of episodes that occurred at the end of his childhood in a closed community in which different forms of violence (physical, sexual, economic, etc.) and repression play a fundamental role.

Despite these shadows, there are also bright spots in the novel. Childish games, pranks and accidents coexist with this adult world and create a combination of humour, drama and tragedy that give the book a special tone.

I think that this mixture is one of the most remarkable things in the text. But it is not the only one. It should also be mentioned:

• The evolution of the narrator’s voice, something fundamental in a coming-of-age novel and which I think is very well achieved.
• The lyrical/poetic interludes are key to finishing creating that atmosphere of estrangement from the world.
• Melancholy without nostalgia. It’s not the same, you know.
• Humor, with those episodes like the soccer game or the boxing match that serve to lighten the oppressive burden of the text.

Finally, I have to say that this is a “demanding” book. A narrator who is not very reliable must be added to various levels, “interferences” and “textures” that make a text that could seem naive something much more complex. In fact, I think that a second reading would discover layers and connections that I have surely missed. With time, perhaps.

PS: Caradog Prichard is one of the coolest names we’ve ever seen. Or is it?