A bleak tale about a man in his fifties who loses hope in the future and cannot come to terms with his past. He lives with, but is estranged from, his wife and grown-up son in a seedy suburb. His life spirals downwards into an existence of drink, depression, arson and even murder.

Stori ddigalon am ddyn yn ei bumdegau sy'n byw gyda'i wraig (er ei fod wedi ymddieithrio wrthi) a'i fab ar gyrion di-raen y ddinas. Y mae ei fywyd yn mynd o ddrwg i waeth, wrth iddo suddo'n bellach i ganol iselder, diod, llosgi bwriadol, a llofruddio hyd yn oed.

As a young man, Tommy Oliver showed considerable promise as a footballer and a bricklayer. He married the beautiful Lillian and they had two beautiful children. But somewhere, somehow, everything went wrong and, when we first meet him, Tommy is fifty, unemployed and drinking heavily, Lillian is having an ongoing affair and the children, now grown up, have left home. Things are not looking good: 'Consumed by a delicate fear and weary to the bone, this is me, a spare bedroom husband in his fiftieth year to heaven. Given a choice, I would not be where I am, but where I would choose to be is open to considerable speculation. My wife Lillian sleeps in her chamber, the room in the front.' Tommy is a loser . . .

Last Bird Singing is a bare, bleak novel that doesn’t pull any punches. It oozes the misery of unfulfilled potential as the brash expectations of youth fade into mid-life despair. It is full of bitterness and blame that are generally swallowed down with alcohol but occasionally erupt in outrageous acts of revenge. The urban squalor is both physical and emotional and there is little to alleviate it.

Bush’s prose is terse and effective, giving rise to some deeply evocative images and surrealistic scenes: Tommy’s manic delight as he watches his house burn down or his bizarre night-time encounter with a pair of hobos in the park. It is also a style that allows men’s friendships and fondness for each other to lie beneath the surface, seen but not spoken. Their attitudes to women are less discreetly veiled and the misogynistic language irks after a while – but I guess that’s all part of the picture.

Suzy Ceulan Hughes

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment 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.