Readers Place

Author Q&A

Not just a Welsh author

Deep thinker and local writer Rhys Thomas talks about the big themes in his latest novel On the Third Day in The Guardian:

Rhys Thomas isn’t one for self-promotion. But the quiet author from Pontyclun – north west of Cardiff – has a second novel coming out tomorrow and whether he likes it or not, it is sure to see him well-established as one of the Wales’s top writers.

But Thomas, 32, doesn’t consider himself a ‘Welsh author,’ since he doesn’t write about this country and rarely circulates with fellow Welsh littérateurs. He says:

“I wouldn’t associate my name with Wales and I’m not really aware of lots of writers writing about Wales – but I’m sure they’re out there. I only get called a Welsh writer because I’m Welsh – not because I write about Wales.”

Thomas won critical acclaim with his first book, The Suicide Club which Trezise herself called ‘brilliantly crafted’ and listed in her top ten list of underground Welsh novels.

This second novel, On the Third Day, depicts a dark dystopian world where a plague of sadness is washing over Britain – the opening apocalyptic scenes reminiscent of 28 days later see London in panic as the disease grips its victims for three days in a gloomy and depressive existence resulting in death. The four-part fictional tale documents one woman’s journey through the new world and ultimately focuses on the nature of hope.

To find out more, visit The Guardian website.