To keep everyone laughing this Christmas, including the elves as they pack, here's the selection of L C Tyler, author of The Herring Seller's Apprentice:
'My taste is for the unusual and quirky rather than straight detective fiction, and my crime reading list for the year included Colin Watson's Bump in the Night (sadly not that easy to find), Kate Atkinson's Case Histories and Andrea Camilleri's Excursion to Tindari. Honourable mention must also go to Brian McGilloway's Borderlands - a brilliant debut in the best tradition of crime fiction.
But the winner is (roll of drums) Malcolm Pryce's Aberystwyth Mon Amour. Against a background of an absolutely fictitious Aberystwyth, Louie Knight investigates druid-inspired murder and mayhem. Its humour is dark. It is also one of the few detective stories with jokes in Welsh. On the subject of the phrase "chwarae teg" he comments: "It translated as 'fair play' and if you put one in your sentence there was nothing, no solecism, platitude or canyon-bridging leap of logic that you could not get away with". How very true. But, as usual for me, it is the understatements that I loved: "Two things struck me when I got back to the Office in Canticle Street: the light was flashing on the answerphone; and the office had been ransacked." Well, fair play, it made me laugh. Incidentally, he also wins the prize for the best author web-site.'
Yes, 'fair play' is so Welsh! There must be a collection of these English Welsh expressions. Another is 'right-o'.
Posted by: Clare D | 27 November 2007 at 21:02