23/06/2022
The name of Carys Davies will be known to many readers, I am sure. Her elegantly slim debut West was highly celebrated when it was released in 2018. The story of a man so passionate with stories of ancient bones found in a Kentucky swamp that he leaves his little girl to take care of herself. In the context of the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, Davies’ novel explores the themes of postcolonialism and religious intolerance through the story of Hilary Byrd, a British tourist seeking relief from the relentless heat of the plains at a mountain resort.