Rebecca Roberts adapted her 2022 Welsh-language novel Y Defodau, her ninth, into The Rituals, which draws on her time working as a non-religious celebrant. Her protagonist, Gwawr Efa Taylor, is a freelance celebrant, too. The novel is presented as her notebook, containing diary entries as well as the text of some of the secular ceremonies she performs to mark rites of passage. We open on a funeral for a 39-year-old woman, then swiftly move on to a Bridezilla celebrity’s wedding that sours in a way that threatens to derail Gwawr’s entire career. A victim of sabotage, she’s doubly punished by gossip.
As she tries to piece her life back together, Gwawr finds support from many quarters, such as her beloved grandfather (Taid), a friend who invites her along on a writing retreat, her Welsh-language book club, a high school acquaintance, other customers and a sweet dog. She and the widower from the first funeral make a pact to start counselling at the same time to work through their grief – we know early on that she has experienced the devastating loss of Huw, but the details aren’t revealed until later. A couple of romantic prospects emerge for the 37-year-old, but also some uncomfortable reminders of past scandal.
There are heavy issues here, like alcoholism, infant loss and suicide, but they reflect the range of human experience and allow compassionate connections to form. Gwawr’s empathy is motivated by her bereavement: “That’s what keeps me going – knowing that I’ve turned the worst time of my life into something that helps other people. Taking the good from the bad.” You can see that attitude infusing her naming ceremonies and funerals. I’ll say no more about the plot, just that it prioritizes moments of high emotion and is both absorbing and touching.
I think this is only the second Welsh-language book I have read in translation (the first was The Life of Rebecca Jones by Angharad Price). It’s whetted my appetite for heading back to Wales for the first time since 2020 – we’re off to Hay-on-Wye on Friday. The Rituals is a tear-jerker for sure, but also sweet, romantic and realistic. I enjoyed it in much the same way I did The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, and was pleased to try something from a small press that champions women’s writing.
With thanks to Random Things Tours and Honno Welsh Women’s Press for the proof copy for review.
Buy The Rituals from Bookshop.org [affiliate link]
I was delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Rituals. See below for details of where other reviews have appeared or will be appearing soon.
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Bookish Beck 
Well, this looks quite enticing. I’ll look out for it.
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I’m glad it took your fancy 🙂
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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Thank YOU, Anne, for all you do.
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Thank you very much for this review, I hadn’t come across this in either language, but I will look out for both versions. Diolch!
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No worries, thanks for reading!
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Hi Rebecca
Have a nice trip to Hay-on-Wye. We go there regularly and coming home with a car load of books.
Happy journey
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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I surely will. This is my seventh trip, I think, the first being in 2004. As I’ve already been to the other two British book towns this year (Wigtown in June and Sedbergh in August), I might not buy as much as usual, but I’m sure I’ll amass a nice little stack.
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We were quite disappointed by Wigtown and especially Sedbergh but we like Hay-on-Wye.
Now we are preparing for going to the Frankfurt Bookfair. Together with my editor I hope to sell some foreign rights of my new book.
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I love Wigtown and have been twice, but would agree that both of those are low on actual bookshops.
Good luck! What is your author name?
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I write under my name, no pseudonym. You can find me on Wikipedia or my website
http://www.kbvollmar.com
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Ah, okay. I think I was confused re: the Fab Four of Cley.
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My wife is photographer having her pictures printed in Guardian, The Times etc. and many magazines as well as wildlife photographer for the National Trust. We two together with our Bookfayries Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are ‘The Fab Four of Cley’.
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This does look intriguing, I do like a Welsh book. Have a wonderful time in Hay!
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I hadn’t read anything so quintessentially Welsh in a long time. Thanks, I’m sure we will 🙂
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