Niall Griffiths

A bar in Liverpool January 2nd 200:VICTOR meets a girl. Some time later that night he is in her bed. This, he thinks, is the best sex he's ever had. KELLY meets a boy. Some time later that night he is in her bed. This, she thinks, is the best sex she's ever had. So the story of Kelly + Victor progresses, through two mirror-image narratives: a story of the growth and spiralling intensity of sexual obsession, traced to its inevitable, devastating conclusion. Set against a backdrop of urban despair, spiritual absence and a world swamped with pornography, this is a novel about yearning for union, for purity, and for magic and mystery in a world that denies them all. And it is, above everything, a love story - or all that 21st century Britain will allow of one.

Of Talons and Teeth is a historical novel set in pre-industrial Wales, where human love struggles to survive amidst squalor, serfdom, and the rise of early capitalism. Key themes include: - A mining village oppressed by both religious conformity and the birth of a new capitalist order - Sion, a metalworker, embarks on an illicit relationship with Katherine, the wife of the mine owner's servant, challenging the transactional nature of relationships in a world driven by exploitation - A blend of political anger, Celtic mysticism, and a celebration of the human spirit’s desire for love in the face of greed and oppression This novel explores the moment when people and the natural world were reduced to mere property, and when Mammon became the ruling force of society. Of Talons and Teeth is a powerful meditation on love, resistance, and the brutal forces of history.

Jerry is excited about taking his young son Stevie to watch the big match. But when trouble breaks out between the fans, Jerry and Stevie can’t escape the shouting, fighting and flying glass. And then Stevie gets lost in the crowd. What will Jerry do next? And what will happen to Stevie? SERIES INFORMATION This inspiring story from award-winning author Niall Griffiths is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for teenagers and adults who want to improve their reading skills. Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to practice their reading skills and build up their reading confidence. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language. The books also include discussion and reflection questions that help readers to understand the story and to reflect on their own lives and relationships. Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books

A newcomer has arrived in a small Welsh seaside town - a one-armed Liverpudlian. Seeking to rebuild his life, if not his body, he is attempting to lead a life here unlike any he's lived before: a normal one - shopping, gardening, signing on, visiting friends, all the usual diurnal activities. Over a hundred miles to the north, however, two men in shellsuits are leaving Liverpool, heading south in a rickety old car. They have been sent by their gang-boss to wreak terrible, violent revenge, but have only a rough idea of their quarry: a one-armed man, maybe living somewhere in west Wales, in a small town by the sea.

WINNER OF THE GREATEST WELSH NOVELThis outstanding novel tells of one boy's journey into the grown-up world. By the light of a full moon our narrator and his friends Huw and Moi witness a side to their Welsh village life that they had no idea existed, and their innocence is exchanged for the shocking reality of the adult world. One Moonlit Night is one of Britain's most significant and brilliant pieces of fiction, a lost contemporary classic that deserves rediscovery.

Sixteen-year-old Grace has dreams, and she knows how to make them come true: a little silicone and surgery here and there -nose, breasts, lips, hair, teeth, nails. Then with the right clothes and a new tan she'll be ready: ready to be seen, consumed and adored by millions.

In 1976, Niall's family emigrated to Australia, as part of the GBP10 Pom scheme. He lived there for 3 years, moving from Brisbane to Perth in a souped-up station wagon. 30 years later, he returned to retrace his steps. This is his memoir.

New Stories from the Mabinogion is an exciting series of contemporary novels by leading authors, reworking ancient Celtic myth cycles. The first two stories by Owen Sheers and Russell Celyn Jones were published in October 2009 to great acclaim, with reviews in The Telegraph, The Times, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, The Independent on Sunday and The Guardian. October 2010 is the turn of Niall Griffiths and Gwyneth Lewis. One of the less well known Mabinogion stories, 'Rhonabwy's Dream' tells the story of a man who falls asleep in a filthy hovel and has dreams of Arthurian splendour, knights, battles and games of chess. In Niall Griffiths' hands this tale of duty and the responsibilities of power becomes the story of a squaddie bound for the Iraq war, and a biting commentary on the tribes of twenty-first century Britain. In the second part of the book Griffiths reworks the Mabinogion's 'Dream of Macsen Wledig', a classic myth of an Emperor (Macsen) and a beautiful princess (Helen) whose family saves his empire from a usurper. In his typical trademark style, Griffiths reworks this story of love and loyalty as the dream of a seedy South Walian nightclub owner, Max, intent in revenge on a rival North Walian gang." You might not expect to find Niall Griffiths, a writer whose novels include Grits, Sheepshagger and Stump, poking around among obscure variants of Arthurian legend. Yet he states that however far he travels from Wales, 'the Mabinogion follows me there like luggage'. Griffiths points out that his ancient source material contains highly developed elements of satire: "Not until Monty Python and the Holy Grail would Arthurian myth and its notions of chivalry face such bombardment"; and his stories acquire a unique form of gritty Celtic realism, in which a young soldier bound for Iraq takes a potent tranquiliser and experiences a lurid dream in which a sinister, grinning overlord plays a barbaric game of chess with the infidel. The accompanying tale transforms Maxen Wledig, emperor of Rome, into Max, the big cheese of a nightclub called Rome, who unwisely falls for a seductive extra 'in a film based on some old national poem or something'. Griffiths also supplies the best sign-off of the series so far: 'The story ends here. It's not over, it's not finished. But it ends here.'"Alfred Hickling, The GuardianNiall Griffiths lives near Aberystwyth, and has published six novels to date. His 2004 novel, Stump, won the Welsh Book of the Year Award. His novel Sheepshagger was published to critical acclaim in 2002 (Vintage). Niall is also the author of the offbeat, psychogeographic guides Real Aberystwyth (2008) and Real Liverpool (2009), also published by Seren.

Väkevä, järkyttävä ja liikuttava romaani tykittää läpitunkevan monitasoisella kielellään. Tarinan päähenkilö, Rääpäle, lopettaa koulun kuusitoistavuotiaana ja muuttaa Walesin nummifarmille enonsa luo. Enon vaimo on tappanut itsensä suu- ja sorkkataudin vietyä tilalta karjan. Rääpäle kärsii epileptisistä kohtauksista, joiden aikana hän saa visioita jostakin paremmasta, jostakin kauniimmasta. Griffiths palaa näin keväällä 2008 suomeksi ilmestyneen teoksensa Lampaanköyrijä maalaismaisemiin, jossa oudot ihmiset monimutkaisine kohtaloineen nivoutuvat karun jylhään luontoon. Tarinaa kannattelee toisaalta kasvukertomus ja toisaalta yllättävien tapahtumien sarja, jonka myötä eno saa uudelleen otteen elämästään, kylän öykkärimäinen napamies menettää asemansa ja Rääpäleestä kasvaa sankari väkivaltaisen välienselvittelyn jälkeen. "Griffithsin romaanissa groteski kasvaa kauneudeksi. --Onnellinen loppu on tämäntyyppisessä romaanissa mahdoton, mutta Griffiths onnistuu mahdottomassakin." – Saara Kesävuori, AAMULEHTI "Griffithsin romaani päättyy ihmeellisen seesteiseen loppuun. Kirjailija kuvaa pojan kauniisti ja hellää myötätuntoa osoittaen. -- Kirjailijan eläytymisen taito hämmentää, viattomuuden kosketus saa sanattomaksi." –Uutispäivä Demari Lue koko arvio täältä. Lampaanköyrijästä sanottua: ”Lampaanköyrijä on kaikkinensa taidokas romaani, joka toimii vahvasti sekä ajatuksellisella että tunnetasolla. Suuri kiitos kielellisestä onnistumisesta kuuluu Moog Konttiselle, jolta kirjan suomennos on sellainen työnäyte, että luulisi vastaavia hommia löytyvän tulevaisuudessa lisää.” – Kimmo Rantanen, Turun Sanomat

In population terms, Liverpool isn't a vast city (dwarfed by Birmingham, say), but it looms colossal in the history (recorded and mythical) of the British Isles, and in fact the world. "Real Liverpool" is Niall Griffiths' antidote to the flood of mawkish twaddle that will appear in the build-up to 2008 when Liverpool is European City of Culture. It showcases Griffiths' love/hate relationship with the city, its maritime and merchant histories, class divisions, sectarian divides, Celtic influences, and the siege mentality underpinning the celebrated Scouse humour. Nor does he flinch from Liverpool's dark side: the drugs, the urban blight, the fallout from Thatcherism, the internecine violence. Jamie Bulger, Heysel, Hillsborough, the Dockers' Strike, the Toxeth Riots, all of these and more are discussed." Real Liverpool" is underpinned by a strong autobiographical element which details the author's birth and formative years in the city, his movement away from it, and the abiding pull it exerts. In addition, Griffiths interviews many people closely connected to the city, from personal friends and family members to artists and workers. From the Wirral to Warrington, Anfield to Everton, Bottle to Diddyland, Griffiths criss-crosses the city by the Ferry and through the Tunnels, from John Lennon airport to the racecourse and down the docks, building a picture of a city which, whatever its faults, is never dull.

On leaving school a sixteen-year-old boy goes to live with his uncle on a remote Welsh hill-farm.

Kiihkeä kuvaus alistetun miehen kostosta Ianto on vuorilla asuva walesilaiserakko, joka on yhtä köyhä, unohdettu ja nöyryytetty kuin kotimaansakin. Hänen ainoa valttinsa on mystinen yhteys luontoon; rujo metsämies ymmärtää korppien ja lampaiden, sammalen ja puiden kieltä. Kun Ianton isoäiti kuolee, mies karkotetaan esi-isiensä kodista, Länsi-Walesissa sijaitsevasta ränsistyneestä hökkelistä. Hän päätyy kadulle luuserijengiin, joka tappaa aikaa ryyppäämällä ja pössyttelemällä vallatuissa taloissa, reiveissä ja baareissa. Kavereidensa kiusaama ja sisäänpäin kääntynyt Ianto vannoo kostoa – ei pelkästään englantilaisille jupeille, jotka ovat muuttaneet hänen isoäitinsä mökin grillijuhlien pitopaikaksi, vaan kaikille niille, jotka ovat häpäisseet häntä ja hänen maataan. Siirtomaavallan viimeisimmät sortotoimenpiteet ruokkivat hänen karmeassa ja oudossa mielikuvituksessaan kytevää raivoa ja primitiivisiä pelkoja. Kun malja vuotaa yli, esi-isien maa värjäytyy viattomien verellä. Lampaanköyrijä häikäisee paitsi vereslihaisella otteellaan myös kielellisellä kiihkeydellään ja ilmeikkyydellään. Walesilainen Niall Griffiths onkin jo julistettu Irvine Welshin manttelinperijäksi. Griffiths on kirjoittanut radiokuunnelmia ja kirja-arvosteluja sekä julkaissut romaanit Grits, Kelly & Victor, Stump, Wreckage, Runt ja Bring It Back Home. Hän kertoo ammentavansa inspiraatiota The Clashista, Blade Runnerista, Nick Cavesta, renessanssitragedioista, Tom Waitsista, Alexander Trocchista ja Hubert Selby Juniorista. Kääntäjä Mauri ”Moog” Konttinen on aiemmin suomentanut Kellopeli appelsiinin. Niall Griffiths vieraili keväällä 2008 Jyväskylän kirjamessuilla. "Lampaanköyrijä on ehdottomasti tärkeä ja merkittävä romaani. Miustutus lukijalle siitä, mitä lähimmäisenrakkauden kuolema saattaa pahimmillaan merkitä. " – Hannu Waarala, Keskisuomalainen "Kirjasta muodostuu kokonaisuus, joka sekä puhuttelee että puistattaa. Moog Konttisen suomennos ansaitsisi saavillisen kultarahoja. Aitous on lähikoettua tai läheltä seurattua." – Matti Saurama, Demari ”Lampaanköyrijä on kaikkinensa taidokas romaani, joka toimii vahvasti sekä ajatuksellisella että tunnetasolla. Suuri kiitos kielellisestä onnistumisesta kuuluu Moog Konttiselle, jolta kirjan suomennos on sellainen työnäyte, että luulisi vastaavia hommia löytyvän tulevaisuudessa lisää.” – Kimmo Rantanen, Turun Sanomat "Suomalainen lukija tavoittaa Ianton sisäisen maailman takuulla yhtä kouriintuntuvasti kuin alkukielellä tarinaa lukevakin. Niin hyvin kuin happopäissään vaeltavan walesilaiserakon nyt suinkin voi tavoittaa." - Jantso Jokelin, Kiiltomato "Kirjasta on mielestäni tulossa vitun hyvä." - Moog Konttinen suomennosprosessin keskellä ”Voimallinen yhdistelmä kirosanojen riivaamaa vuoropuhelua ja kauniiden lauseiden soljuntaa… kerrassaan loistava.” – The Times ”Koskettavasti ja kiihkeästi hahmoteltu, hyytävällä huumorilla höystetty, kielipuolisen energinen Lampaanköyrijä on voimakas ja koskettava romaani.” – A. L. Kennedy ”Loisteliasta tekstiä… yksi uuden vuosituhannen iskevimmistä nykykirjoista.” – Time Out ”Niall Griffiths hallitsee asiansa täydellisesti… tämä on hymni sekä menneisyydelle että nykyajalle.” – Independent "Griffiths onnistuu punomaan mukaaan myös walesilaisen maiseman rujon kauneuden ja lanton kyvyn sulautua siihen. Moog Konttisen ansiokas suomennos rientää kuin hirvi." – Sanna Kangasniemi, Image "Lampaanköyrijä on kaikessa karmeudessaan syvästi mieleenjäävä romaani. Se on melkoinen paradoksi, mestarillisesti kirjoitettu, kuvottava yökötys, jonka kauheuksien keskeltä pilkahtaa hetkittäin kuin valonsäteenä jokin kaunis luontokuvaus. Koko kirja on kuin sen päähenkilö Ianto itse, herkkä olento, jonka sisällä asuu yllättävän hetken tullen tunteeton peto ja tappaja." – Pertti Ehrnrooth, Karjalainen Lue koko arvio täältä

En fremmed har ankommet den lille fiskerlandsbyen i Wales; en enarmet og alkoholisert mann fra Liverpool. Han har lagt det gamle livet sitt bak seg, og planlegger nå et nytt og helt normalt liv langt unna volden og kriminaliteten han har rømt fra - med handleturer, hagestell, nabovisitter og alt som hører med. Litt lenger mot nord er to tvilsomme typer på vei sørover i en gammel og skranglete bil. Oppdragsgiveren deres er en beryktet gangstersjef, og oppdraget deres er å gjennomføre en voldsom og grusom hevn. De har imidlertid kun en vag ide om hvem de jakter på; en enarmet mann, i dekning i Wales, sannsynligvis i en liten by ved kysten.

Sauepuler forteller historien om Ianto, et sosialt walisisk utskudd som flakker mellom et liv fra hånd til munn ute i den ville naturen, og et rocka, dopa og forfylla liv blant outsidere i småbyen. Forfatteren Niall Griffiths (1966) er født i Liverpool, og bor og arbeider i Aberystwyth i Wales. Han debuterte med romanen Grits i 2000, og fikk raskt beskrivelsen "the Welsh Irvine Welsh". Sauepuler er hans andre roman, og hans første i norsk oversettelse. Griffiths skriver moderne samtidsprosa av det voldsomme slaget, med handlingen lagt til miljøer preget av brutalitet og bestialitet. Dette kombinerer han med skarp og hard dialog og lengre passasjer med sterkt prosalyrisk preg, noe som skaper en helt egen litterær form. Griffiths språk er rytmisk, med store tempo- og stemningsvariasjoner. Språket i Sauepuler . mesterlig oversatt av Sverre Knudsen . har like voldsomme svingninger som selve fortellingen; eksplosivt, delirisk, høystemt, vulgært og vakkert.

When Darren and Alastair get back to Liverpool only to have the money stolen from them- when a consignment of pure cocaine is added to the mix, along with some seriously dangerous criminals - things really get out of hand, and stay that way until the story finally crashes to its grisly conclusion.

" Wreckage] is a really remarkable piece of work. In the foreground is a caper story; in the background, a poetically expressed, apocalyptic history of Liverpool." --The Daily Telegraph That woman with the grey hair and the specs and the kind face and the accent all like his grandmother, his nain in hospital and when she can talk that is what she sounds like. Don'thitmepleasedon'thitme. These women falling, sliding off this earth and not just from violence but the one commonality that turns life to a wreck--age. After their botched and brutal mission to punish a one-armed man in a small Welsh village, Darren and Alastair head back to Liverpool to report to their mob boss. On the way home, Darren robs a rural postal office in Wales that serves as a bank and needlessly cracks the skull of a little old postal lady. Darren's eyes are full of fire. "We're rich, Alastair " But Alastair sees his own nain in this elderly woman and falls victim to his conscience. Darren has finally gone too far. As Alastair and Darren weave their way through the lowlife milieu of Liverpool, we hear many voices: the alky, the crack addict, the busman, the whores, the gangsters, and Darren's many victims. But we also hear the voices of their ancestors going back generations of unthinkable grief and poverty. A fascinating sequel to Niall Griffiths' Stump, which Irvine Welsh calls "a magnificent novel of loss and obsession . . . by] a major talent."

After suffering a near-fatal injury and death threats from the Mafia, Darren flees Liverpool in search of greener pastures and finds himself in Wales, where, despite the rolling hills and spectacular natural beauty, violence lurks nevertheless. Original.

Robbed of his ancestral home - a near-derelict hovel in the mountains of west Wales - Ianto pledges revenge not only on the English yuppies who have turned his grandmother's cottage into a weekenders' barbecue party but on all those who have violated him and the land that is his.