The Best of Friends

This novel follows Flesh and Blood in the Amy Parry narrative sequence. Amy and Enid go together to university, where the former takes a leading part in the Nationalist campaign against Anglicization. Later Enid pairs off with John Cilydd More, a young solicitor who is also a poet, and Amy with Val Gwyn, an idealistic student leader. But Val dies of tuberculosis and Amy, in the post university world, falls prey to Pen Lewis, Communist and opportunist; Enid also dies. In this section of the narrative Amy loses her way: the props provided by other people's ideals and visions of society (the Communist one proving to be just another exploitation of women) having been removed she is empty of purpose.

'The Best of Friends is...part of a sequence which, when completed, will have described the processes of growth, change and decay which have made Wales what it is today. For such a task Mr Humphreys is eminently well qualified.' Goronwy Rees, TLS 'A great novel.'Western Mail 'Emyr Humphreys tells a sensitive story of Welsh life with tact and sureness.'Financial Times 'Emyr Humphreys is the sort of writer who would be in the running for a Nobel prize if Wales had lobbyists in Stockholm.'Observer 'The touch and smell of pri-mordial Wales are magisterially transmitted.'Sunday Times 'The supreme interpreter or Welsh life.'R.S. Thomas 'One of the most masterful yet natural-seeming authors of fiction in these islands today.'Scotsman