Cardiff Dead

In his third work of fiction, Williams returns to the colorfully seedy neighborhood and characters of Butetown in Cardiff, as seen previously in his collection Five Pubs, Two Bars, and a Nightclub, for a crime novel that draws heavily upon the themes of his first novel, Faithless. That story featured Jeff, former punk saxaphonist who is drifting along trying to figure out what to make of his life in the wake of punk. Here, we have Mazz, guitarist for hire and former leader of a Welsh one-hit-wonder ska band from 1981, the Wurriyas. It's now 1999, and Mazz is making his way back to Cardiff for his bandmate Charlie's funeral, where he will encounter everyone from the "good old days" (including a number of characters who appear in Five Pubs, Two Bars, and a Nightclub). Was Charlie's death an accidental cocaine overdose, or is there something more to it? And what about the mysterious disappearance of Emyr, formerly the Wurriyas' skinhead drummer, and now a brooding alt-rock god? Mazz ends up getting involved in both questions, but only in a meandering way, because what he's really wondering is how his life has gotten so off track, and what-if any-changes he can make. Mazz's struggle with the past is inexorably tied to that of Tyra, his former bandmate, girlfriend, and Charlie's daughter. Williams propels their story with flashbacks to the early '80s showing the formation of the band, their rise and fall, and the relationships between them all. Initially it's a little hard to feel too much sympathy for hard-drinking Mazz, who seems to be able to pull any woman he wants, but as the novel progresses, it becomes sad how these are the only things he can try and fill his emptiness in. What he really wants, he's not made for, and perhaps saddest of all, he knows it. This is a great book, mixing crime, pulp, tragedy, grim humor, surfing, ska, urban renewal, nostalgia, and desperation. All the characters pop from the page, especially vivid are lesbian singer turned pimp Bobby, and laid-back former footballer turned surfer bum Colonel. Contrary to at least one review, there is very little slang in the book, and it's quite easy to understand from the context. A brilliant look at non-tourist Cardiff. in addition to his his two books mentioned above, also check out Williams' non-fiction tour of American crime writing, Into the Badlands.

This book stands up well alone but if you have ever been to Cardiff or Wales or have some Welsh relative then this book is for you. Like the best selling Cardiff East by Peter Gill and Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve by Dannie Abse, the story is all there but with the added reality of being writen in and around a real sometimes obscure place just adds to the majesty of the work. It is argued that the Welsh founded America and in particular pennsylvania and set the foundations for what is now the greatest nation in the world. It is tantilizing and intriging to go back and see where it all began. Buy this and enjoy, I did!