Grief, solitude, and the inner call to be freed from her past are the threads that beautifully and tightly intertwine in this novel.

Anna has lived alone for decades. She is cocooned by, and marooned in, an isolated cottage called Nant yr Aur in the Welsh mountains. The arrival of Siôn, a young man who seems strangely at home in the house, leads to an unpicking of Anna’s past. As Anna’s relationship with Siôn develops, her perspective on the solidity of her past shifts. Uncertainty, distortion, illusion and subtle betrayal are gradually exposed. Ultimately, a quietly devastating revelation changes the lives of both Siôn and Anna.

Quietly understated, Sian Northey's first novel for adults sensitively explores the fine line between security and confinement, and a house's influence on its occupants. With its strongly realised characters and sense of place, and lyrical, beautifully paced style, this short novel is a little gem.