A Room Above a Shop

[Will] snap your heart strings. A bittersweet, spare, poetic novella * Books and Bits * Finding a distinctive voice that stands out and speaks clearly is an essential test for a novelist, and it's one that Welsh artist and writer Anthony Shapland effortlessly passes in his impressive debut... Memorable, striking, dark, beautiful and one of the best debuts I've read in years -- John Self * Observer * A tender Welsh romance... Anthony Shapland's tender, short novel dwells as much on the beauty of the surrounding landscape as the emerging relationship it shelters. Delicately told with not a word wasted * Financial Times * Packs a considerable punch... With its poignant rendering of a loving relationship undertaken against great odds, compounded by a hostile political climate, A Room Above a Shop is a powerful and luminously pure novel. At 53, Shapland has arrived with his talent fully formed * Guardian * Written in short, lyrical, mosaic-like paragraphs, this is a beautifully crafted love story that lingers long in the memory * The Times * Anthony's writing is unique, sparse and poetic - a true art in itself - and this is not to be missed * Buzz magazine * [An] utterly unique experience... this book is a success... This is a book of deep importance to Wales' hidden histories * Nation.Cymru * Shapland writes with a sense of the poetic... It takes a talented writer to create something memorable in 20,000 words... potent * Irish Times * A vital new voice in Welsh literature * BBC Radio Wales Arts Show * It was a joy to read, such a tender story, the finespun prose and meticulous description -- Sara Baume An atmospheric portrayal of gay, working-class life in a South Wales Valley, to read A Room Above a Shop is to feel held within the hands of a master craftsman in control of his form. I dare anyone to read this and not feel the ache of M and B's story, their solitude and their desire -- Joshua Jones, author of Local Fires There's a moving uncertainty, a vulnerability on the page that allows the reader to hear, and to listen. There's a quiet, brave strength in that -- Cynan Jones, author of Cove An achingly intimate story, rich and ragged with emotion, told with loving intricacy and delicate precision... it winded me -- Megan Barker, author of Kit Like looking into a kaleidoscope, every tiny twist in Anthony Shapland's novel results in a cascade of new colour and light. A story to savour, from a writer in total command of his powers -- Mike Parker, author of On The Red Hill One of the most beautiful and original gay novels I have a read in a long time. Spare, sad and intensely poetic, like a Swimming In The Dark for grown-ups -- Neil Blackmore, author of Radical Love An extraordinary evocation of love, and of life in South Wales in the years following the miner's strike. Anthony Shapland is a master at rendering sensation in a language that is unique, precise, and ultra-perceptive. A devastating, erotic and beautiful novel -- Francesca Reece, author of Glass Houses A tender portrait of a love story not often heard. Shapland's writing is intensely poetic, chapters unfurl like precious flowers. Joyful and painful all at once, A Room Above a Shop gifts us a Welsh story steeped in that universal yearning for connection -- Hanan Issa, National Poet of Wales A taut, poetic and profoundly moving tale of love. Written with restraint and care, A Room Above A Shop marks the arrival of a distinctive and compelling literary voice -- Noel O’Regan, author of Though the Bodies Fall An essential new voice in Welsh literature. A tender and crucial love story that gives voice to the enforced silences of the past we should always remember -- Tiffany Murray, author of My Family and Other Rock Stars A very subtle love story. You feel every creak of the floorboard, every ring of the shop door... Restrained, beautiful writing; it reminded me of Cynan Jones and Cormac McCarthy... Masterfully written * Observer * What a miraculously understated novel this is... Anthony Shapland's word choices are as precise as a poet's, his prose, Claire Keegan concise. If you loved Sean Hewitt's Open Heaven, or cried watching Weekend, this is one for you