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This novel covers a winter, a spring and a
summer in the lives of three young Welshmen. Although the three share a common
environment, one - Beynon is a man apart. He is a juggler with words, and lives
on shreds of hope that depend in a curious way on the mystery of these created
words. Amoral and often immoral, he is seldom vitally concerned with truth and
beauty in the orthodox sense. Miskin hunts objectively - foxes, hares and
women. He is fundamentally a law unto himself. The third, Williams, is a
happy, sentimental extrovert, his roots well bedded in the family and tribe.
On all three, Doris May James has her effect - a life-gift
to Beynon, a necessity for Miskin, an experience and a quick pain to Williams.
Then there is Louisa, who stands for everything in opposition to Doris May;
Beynon swings wordily between them, cool and warm, warm and cool. This is the
real Wales - mountain air, trout streams, pubs and valleys. Yet Beynon is a man
who could have been anywhere.
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