The Disaster
John Summers
Published New English Libary 1970,
222pp, paperback
ISBN: 45000492 9

I can't guarantee that this novel, originally published in 1969, under the title Edge of Violence, is still in print. If it isn't, it is well worth searching the second hand book stores for. The first time I read it in the 70s, it made me cry, and it still manages to every time I go back to it.

The first half of the book is mostly concerned with the story of the narrator, Joe Parry, and his experiences after leaving the merchant navy, on the basis of the sale of one short story, determined to be a full-time writer. This is a fascinating insight for anyone with literary pretensions and I could recommend the book purely on those grounds.

However, that is not what made me cry - despite the fact that Parry doesn't have a particularly easy time of it. Nor is his tale the Disaster that the title refers to. That is a fictionalised account of the Aberfan disaster of 1966 in which 116 children and 28 adults lost their lives when part of a coal-tip slipped, crushing houses and burying the village school.

Parry is already a successful writer when the tragedy occurs in his home village of Abertaf. He hears the news on the car radio and heads straight down the A40 to do what he can to help. Later he gets caught up in the beaurocratic mis-handling of the aftermath, as well as becoming involved with the Free Wales Army.

Parts of the book are based on articles written by the author and published in Queen Magazine and the Weekend Telegraph, which leads me to believe it is at least semi-autobiographical; it is written throughout with feeling which manages to avoid turning to sentimentalism despite the subject matter.

I don't guarantee it'll make you cry, but I hope it makes you think.