Shifts, a novel by Christopher Meredith

This year, 2014, Shifts by Tredegar-born author Christopher Meredith was nominated along with twenty five other novels for the Greatest Welsh Novel, and was shortlisted with five other novels. Shifts was nominated by the critic Dylan Moore. You can see his nominating essay here – http://www.walesartsreview.org/greatest-welsh-novel-3-shifts-by-christopher-meredith/

However, Shifts was pipped to the post by Un Nos Ola Leuad (1961) by Caradoc Prichard, a novel in the Welsh language. Shifts came a very close second and was first in the polls for novels written in English. The other novels on the shortlist were A Toy Epic (Emyr Humphreys), Border Country (Raymond Williams), On the Black Hill (Bruce Chatwin) and The Life of Rebecca Jones (Angharad Price, in English translation by Lloyd Jones). The Wales Arts Review search for the Greatest Welsh Novel started in January this year culminating in the announcement of the winner on 1 November at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The shortlist of six was chosen by a poll of 50 leading critics, academics and writers. Then public had an on-line vote which ended on 12 October.

Shifts is Christopher Meredith’s first novel and was originally published in 1988, then won the Arts Council of Wales Fiction Prize in 1989. Chris is no stranger to awards having won the Welsh Arts Council Young Writer Prize for his first collection of poems, This, published in 1984. Then his historical novel, Griffri, was shortlisted for the Welsh Book of the Year Award. A later poetry collection, The Meaning of Flight, was also longlisted for the Welsh Book of the Year Prize 2006. He has written a number of other works including a brilliant children’s story called Christmas Every Day, or in Welsh, Nadolig Bob Dydd (published in 2000).

Christopher Meredith lives with his wife, Valerie, in Brecon and has two sons, Rhodri and Steffan. Until October 2013 he taught creative writing at The University of South Wales (formerly The University of Glamorgan), however now he is retired and is only working as a writer. His own education was at Tredegar Comprehensive school and later he studied Philosophy and English at Aberystwyth University.

The title of the novel, Shifts, is taken from the work patterns in the steel mine which provides the only source of work for many of the community in a South Wales town, and the novel’s dominating underlying theme is the imminent closure of a steel plant. This is overlaid by the interpersonal interweaving of the characters’ lives, their passions, the routines of their everyday lives. Shifts is an honest, no holds barred look at both the highs and lows against the dramatic social changes in Wales. The story focuses in particular on four characters; Jack, Keith, Rob and Judith. The main character, Jack, is a handsome man whose marriage has fallen apart and he’s returned to live nearby to his childhood home. Jack starts off by lodging with a middle aged landlady named Connie then gets invited to stay with his respectable friend, Keith, who is practising a speech about local history, and his bored, childless wife Judith whose life lacks passion. The story explores the flirtatious interest Jack gets from a few girls, who remember him from their youth, his sexual encounters and his friendships with the men whom he encourages not to settle down. His character is in direct contrast to Rob, called ‘O’ throughout the book, who is the lonely, idiotic work colleague of Keith and Jack whose character highlights the harsh reality of life at the steelworks, where he gets regularly bullied by his workmates. Christopher Meredith brings both the comedy and tragedy to the lives of all four of his main protagonists.

As a former steelworker himself, Christopher Meredith gives the story a lot of detail about the actual workings within the steelworks, which really come alive from his pages. After reading this book for a few minutes, his flair for setting and character description and his down-to-earth storytelling meant that I didn’t want to put it down until I finished it. He keeps you guessing as to how the plot will conclude, until very near the end.

Christopher Meredith is hoping to visit Brighton at some point in the not too distant future, and will be appearing on Latest TV on Freeview Channel 8.

– Valmae Young