Buy it from Abe Books
I added this to wish
list back in 2011 and got it this Christmas – the interval meaning
I came to it with no expectations.
Although the blurb
on the back calls Matthew a “close friend” of William it is
absolutely clear that they are lovers.
William’s
sister-in-law Elizabeth acknowledges this telling him “Remember,
the best way to hold a bird is with an open hand. Give Matt that
freedom. He’ll love you the more for it.” (p178)
World War One
creates a context in which masculinity is celebrated in a very narrow
expression – as poet and composer neither William nor Matthew fit
that expression despite their time in the trenches. As the novel ends
the focus moves to brother Jack, who returns from the trenches even
more of a broken personality that when he went – treating Elizabeth
with emotional and physical cruelty – conforming but deeply trapped
by masculinity’s toxicity.
The novel also
explores William’s Welshness – at one point when they get news
that the Eisteddfod will be held in Birkenhead his mother calls him
Gwilym “He laughed, delighted at Mam’s delight and her rare use
of his Welsh name.” (p183) – the Eisteddfod coming to them a
validation of their ongoing inclusion within the Welsh nation.