A disturbing novel dealing with the topic of personality disorders portraying a confused patient who wishes to escape from an establishment that uses drugs to reprogramme personalities.

Nofel anesmwyth yn delio â phwnc anhwylderau personoliaeth yn portreadu claf cymysglyd sy'n dymuno dianc o sefydliad sy'n defnyddio cyffuriau i ailraglennu personoliaethau.

Identity is a fragile possession. How much of our own personality can we construct in isolation, and to what degree are we dependent on the reflection of ourselves in other people’s eyes? What are the totems in terms of possessions and characteristics with which we set the stamp of our individuality? And what does it take for this elaborate defence to crumble?

How Glass Becomes Sand addresses the issue of reversal of human identities, and the way in which a determined individual attempts to withstand a deconstruction of all features inherent to individuality. A woman, Keena Howard, wakes alone in an unfamiliar hospital room to find that her perception of herself no longer holds true: she is denied her name and even her gender. Fellow inmates behave as though they are well acquainted with her, but the possessions that furnish her sparse room are utterly unfamiliar.

The novel describes her struggles to rebel and then superficially conform under the new identity named Davy. She realises eventually that the only release is escape. But how can she escape from a secure ward where denying her imposed gender and identity is proof of her madness? Wouldn’t conforming to the doctors’ will and expectations provide an easier option? Isn’t conforming to our superiors always the expected defence, and what will it cost Keena/Davy to resist?

The novel excels in the humanity of its characters and intimate descriptions of their circumscribed environment. Keena’s incarceration in an English city is contrasted with her deep desire to return to her home in north Wales: urban anonymity with a rural security of indentity.

The author A. L. Doughty lives in the Conwy Valley, although she comes originally from London. She has published other short pieces in the past; this is her first novel.

Liz Saville

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 ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.