Abandon All Hope

'A knowing but illuminating window of Welsh literature which lacks pomposity and intrigues in one compelling leap.'-- ""Helen Lederer"" 'Bold, whacky and just what the doctor ordered. Like the memorable cast of characters who cajole his narrator through the inferno, Gary Raymond is our incredibly well-read guide in this unique tour of Wales's English-language literary history. A book which will leave you with an enormous reading list and a glowing sense of - dare I say it - hope.'-- ""Kathryn Tann"" ""As you'd expect from Gary Raymond, his breakneck tour of Welsh literature is fast, sometimes furious, often very funny, and always worth the price of admission. He really knows his stuff and riffs through our national back catalogue with insight and passion, always sure of his opinions and never shy of sharing them.""-- ""Mike Parker"" ""Gary Raymond, with Raymond Williams as his unlikely Guide, enters as in a Dream the labyrinthine maze of Welsh Literature, unafraid of any dead ends or lurking academic minotaurs. He kills the latter with writerly insouciance and slays his bemused readers with street-smart wittiness. An engaging and thoroughly enjoyable romp across selective names, varied genres and institutional impediments to creativity, with plenty of stops along the way to take in his imaginative viewpoint(s).""-- ""Dai Smith"" ""Many of the English-language writers of Wales languish unvisited in a 'Celtic underworld'. This is an ingenious and culturally intrepid attempt to rescue them from that undeserved oblivion. Lively and maverick, Raymond proves to be a useful guide to a neglected literature.""-- ""M. Wynn Thomas"" ""Raymond's dream journey through Welsh literature is at once knowledgeable, opinionated, generous, perceptive, and laugh-out-loud funny. Raymond is particularly good on the complications and contradictions of Welsh literary identity and here cuts his own individual path, with cheerful iconoclasm and unabashed enthusiasm. A treat for anyone interested in Welsh - or indeed British - writing.""-- ""Jo Lloyd"" ""This is a wild carnival ride through Welsh letters. Gary Raymond's tour of literary hell is partisan, provocative but, above all, passionate in its belief in the importance of good writing to the mind of a nation. This innovative literary history is just as much fun as it is deeply serious about ideas. A treasure.""-- ""Gwyneth Lewis"" ""It's incumbent upon a reviewer to do more than enthuse about a book but occasionally (all too rarely, really) one comes across his/her desk regarding which it is difficult to do anything more and would that I had a longer available word-count to praise this extraordinary piece of work. . . He's done his research. And yet he delivers it all in a non-dogmatic and non-imperious way, somehow implicitly, behind his non-declarative observations, acknowledging that behind his text hovers an acceptance of other views and educated takes. I'm not quite sure how he does it, but I'm glad he does.""-- ""Nation.Cymru"" 'Abandon All Hope is unflinching, enlightening and essential. Gary Raymond places the nation's literary canon under the microscope and surveys it with an acerbic eye and a heartfelt passion that is all too rare.'-- ""Richard Owain Roberts"" 'Abandon All Hope is the book you didn't know you needed in your life and Gary Raymond is the ideal tour guide: erudite, personable, tremendous company, prompting you to regard his subject afresh and reinvigorated. This book frequently had me scampering to my shelves to reacquaint myself with the original works he so fascinatingly examines and that is a Very Good Thing. I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel.'-- ""Niall Griffiths""