So Welsh It’s Amazing
A quick-fire, bullet-point, review of Dat’s Love and Other Stories by Leonora Brito
📚 Dat’s Love and Other Stories by Leonora Brito is also published as ‘Selected Stories’
📚 I loved this collection.
📚 These stories are snapshots of life, primarily set in Cardiff’s Docklands (here in Wales,) and within the city’s Black community.
📚 The stories that are set in Wales — the majority of the collection — are so Welsh it’s amazing.
📚 There’s something epically awesome about reading ‘effing’ and ‘poor dab’ as part of everyday conversation, because it is part of everyday conversation.
📚 So much in this book was familiar, and so much was not: it’s like it’s both the Wales I know and love, and the Wales I’m not really a part of (i.e. the Black community in Cardiff,) at the same time.
📚 As with all short story collections, some shine more than others. I think this one is more hits than misses though!
For a longer review, including Content Warnings: