The House of Women

My first foray into Alison Taylor's books. I listened to the audio book version - having it read by Steve Hodson with a Welsh lilt made it all the more enjoyble. I will be searching out more from this author.

This is the first book I've read by Alison Taylor, but probably not the last. She's a very ambitious writer in that she's not afraid to spend a lot of time developing the characters and settings, while throwing in a healthy dose of philosophy, social commentary, and Welsh history. Her characters are wonderfully fleshed out and the reader has the opportunity to watch them become changed as the drama of the novel affects their lives. Each scene of the book is carefully and poetically conveyed. And her thoughts on the human condition; racism, slavery, poverty, addiction, motherhood are all well considered and interesting to read. Alison Taylor does justice to the genre.