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Caersaint

Caersaint makes use of the novel’s broad canvas to examine the linguistic, social and political realities of a Welsh-speaking town in contemporary Wales, and is based on extensive research into the history, language and socio-economic make-up of Caernarfon.

The wide cast of characters reflects its broad social spectrum, as well as the varieties of the Welsh language itself (made up of dialect, slang, journalese, anglicised Welsh, learners’ Welsh, Biblical and literary Welsh, political rhetoric, and cosmopolitan influences), whilst the town’s status as the stronghold of Welsh-language cultural and ethnic diversity is personified by its protagonist, Jamal Gwyn Jones who is of Welsh-Pakistani origin. The linguistic vitality and inventiveness for which Caernarfon itself is famous permeates the narrative - especially the tavern scenes - with frequent use of neologisms, puns and pseudonyms.

As suggested by its title (taken from the Mabinogion), as well as by key conversations and scenes, the novel is imbued with a profound sense of history: Caersaint embraces the town’s prehistoric origins on the rock of ‘Brynhill’, through both Roman and Norman invasions, until modern times. Its past glory as the beating heart of Welsh publishing in Victorian times (represented by Babs Inc) is contrasted with its current economic and social crisis. Many of its characters are unemployed and disaffected, and even the Marxism of Alun Stalin and the anarchism of Almut fail to instigate revolt. Loss of faith in democracy is represented by the bulldozing of the ‘inner relief road’, and the mayoral election is but a farce. The novel ends with Jamal’s unwilling departure for Cardiff in search of work and a future.

Through its linguistic registers, its multi-layered plot, its characterisation and its wry social commentary, Caersaint examines questions of power relationships and centre-periphery issues within culture, society and politics in post-devolution Wales.

The genesis of the novel spans over twenty years. The material emerged in essay form in 1990 and was transformed into two separate short stories published in 2000 and 2003. Many years’ research into local manuscripts, maps, oral history, census results, linguistic records and sociolinguistic studies at the Gwynedd archives and at Bangor University library and archives, as well as extensive data collected through personal correspondence, through interviews, in minutes of local council meetings and in the local press, led to the writing of the 379-page novel between 2005 and 2009 and to its final publication in 2010.