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A delightful little gem of a book --- a paean to Wales and the author's Welsh home --- written by one of the English language's most beloved travel writers. Morris, the progeny of a Welsh father and an English mother, takes us on a picturesque, highly impressionistic journey through Trefan Morys, her home located between the sea and the mountains in the rural northwest corner of Wales.
A "house tour" sounds like an awful idea for a book --- akin, perhaps, to being forced to watch home movies of your neighbor's trip to South Dakota. But Morris makes the concept work with her finely crafted prose and her brilliant sense of history, and she opens the book with a brief description of Welsh history. Unsurprisingly, Wales has had to struggle mightily to preserve its culture from the hegemony of everything English. The last independent Welsh king, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was killed by England's King Edward I in 1282. Wales has been under the yoke of its "overbearing" English neighbor ever since.
Despite its underdog history, Morris tells us, Wales has proudly maintained its unique cultural identity. Welsh is a language of poets, and Morris quotes freely from Welsh legends and poems. Wales also has a tradition of hospitality, of informality, and toleration. Morris tells us that when she got a sex change operation 30 years ago, her Welsh neighbors accepted it without comment. We get humorous, revealing glimpses of the postman (who leaves the mail on the kitchen table), the local doctor (who goes fishing before making house calls), and an array of farmers and craftsmen that Morris encounters in her daily life.
After considering Welsh culture and hospitality, Morris takes us on a tour of her home. She describes the kitchen and the central role the kitchen plays in Welsh families. She speaks of Ibsen, her cat, and all the animals around the house: "Mice scrabble above the ceilings at dead of night. Squirrels slide down the roof. Bees have often swarmed in the walls[.]" Morris takes us to her garden and then leads us up to her large library of 6,000-7,000 books. She lets us know how she got her favorite books and how much they mean to her. She's also collected an amazing array of pamphlets, brochures, maps, guidebooks, and various travel memorabilia from decades of traveling around the globe.
Morris is a skilled guide and a master storyteller. Throughout, her tone is friendly, familiar --- she treats the reader like a friend she's invited to her home. It's a sensuous journey, filled with sights and sounds and smells and tastes (Morris champions the delights of Welsh cooking). For fans of Morris, those interested in Wales, and devotees of country living, this finely crafted little book will more than satisfy.
--- Reviewed by Chuck Leddy
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