A 'lyrical' Welsh novel of boyhood set during Second World War

Jac by Sam Adams (Y Lolfa) is a novel of boyhood novel set in a south Wales Valley during the Second World War (1939-1945).

Described as “a lyrical and beautifully crafted story of growing up in the Valleys in the shadow of World War II” by poet, essayist and editor John Barnie, the novel follows Jac, a young boy at the start of the story, as he grows in awareness of the world beyond his home and family.

Author Sam Adams says:

“I wrote the novel to recall a lost age – wartime and the era of coal production in south Wales; the realities of the time. I also wanted to explore and commemorate the first steps in life outside the home, first friends and first boyhood adventures.”

The novel explores how war affected everything, including the play of children.

“The novel is semi-biographical, as I was a boy during the Second World War and grew up in a mining valley in south Wales. I have tried to recapture a time and a place which I know well,” said Sam Adams.