A beautifully written novel about an Englishwoman staying in the Philippines who thinks she falls in love with the country and with one local man in particular, despite being painfully aware how out of place she is. She pursues the man of her dreams with a colonial zeal and no particular forethought.

Nofel am Saesnes yn ymweld ag Ynysoedd y Philipinos ac yn teimlo'i bod hi'n cwympo mewn cariad gyda'r wlad a chydag un dyn yn arbennig, er ei bod yn teimlo popeth o'i chwmpas yn ddieithr. Mae'n ceisio'i lwc gyda dyn ei breuddwydion fodd bynnag, heb feddwl am yr oblygiadau.

And so, just as the year turns, I have the pleasure of reading what I consider to be the best debut novel out of a Welsh press in 2009 and my personal nomination for Welsh Book of the Year. I haven’t read everything, of course, and there are some other fine contenders out there from both new and more established names, including Owen Sheers and Byron Rogers, but what a joy to see such a startling new talent emerging.

Set mostly in the Philippines in the late 1970s, Foreign Bodies tells the story of Emma Clarke’s brief yet lifelong relationship with a country and a people whose stark yet highly-nuanced difference from her own is portrayed with extraordinary skill and subtlety. ‘The plenitude of things had fallen away – she was like a passenger stepping from a crowded train into an open land. The train had been going somewhere but now she had left it, and the points of reference had gone.’

We never know why Emma is there. She claims to be a writer, yet writes very little. We know little of her previous life, and experience everything with her, now, in the moment. The intense heat and light and otherness of the Philippines are so powerfully conveyed that it seems odd, almost shocking, to glance up from the book and see snow outside the window. Apparently slight yet unbridgeable cultural differences are embodied in Emma’s physical appearance, as she is seen, and sees herself, through other eyes. Her average, white, European looks become monstrous among the lithe, dark bodies of the Filipinos. Her manners, mores and entire way of being are called into question. Is she mad? Is she buang kaayo? Will she ever return – to England, to the Philippines, to herself?

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.