An amusing novel which follows a young woman as she walks the route of Offa's dyke recalling both entertaining and moving childhood scenes and meditating on past events in her life, especially her relationship with past lovers.

Cyfrol ddoniol yn dilyn gwraig ifanc wrth iddi gerdded ar hyd llwybr Clawdd Offa yn atalw golygfeydd difyr a dwys o'i phlentyndod ac yn myfyrio ar ddigwyddiadau yn ei bywyd, yn arbennig ei pherthynas gyda'i chariadon.

Bax's somewhat bizarre heroine Celestine Quareine (or is it Jones?) decides to walk the length of Offa's Dyke. Each night she has arranged for an ex-lover to sleep with her, including her estranged husband Jonathan. She hopes that these meetings will enable her to gain an understanding of why she has never been able to sustain a lasting relationship. Celestine also carries with her more than the average amount of emotional baggage, not helped by the mysterious murder of her mother in India, when she was a mere six-months old.

A strange, somewhat fanciful and provocative novel, Love on the Borders is a book that requires a fair amount of mental agility from the reader, as Bax pivots us from Romance to History, from reality to fantasy, from country to country plus the odd stir of political beliefs not to be taken out of context:

'We've been Europeans for a millennium
And where's it got us? Doing piece work
By strip lighting in Waco, Texas.'

Bax also tests the reader's intellect with references to literature.

Altogether, this is an interesting and stimulating book with a fascinating and quirky storyline of unusual substance. Do we have empathy with Celestine and her anecdotes and digressions? That, I feel, is very much up to the individual reader.

Norma Penfold

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgement should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio’r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatad Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.