Hay Festival Book of the Month – June 2022

Moving between the wild Welsh coast and war-torn Syria, Drift is a love story with a difference and debut English novel from the acclaimed Welsh writer Caryl Lewis.

Nefyn has always been an enigma, even to her brother Joseph with whom she lives in a small cottage above a blustery cove. Hamza is a Syrian mapmaker, incarcerated in a military base a few miles up the coast. A violent storm will bring these two lost souls together - but other forces will soon try to tear them apart... Drift is a hypnotic tale of lost identity, the quest for home and the wondrous resilience of the human spirit.

Read it? Loved it? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #HBOTM.

Buy the book

Further reading

“I didn’t want her to go on a journey of forgiveness and righteousness. I didn’t want her to end the book as a saint” - The Bookseller.

About the author

Caryl Lewis is a multi-award-winning Welsh novelist, children's writer, playwright and screenwriter. Her breakthrough novel Martha, Jac a Sianco (2004) is widely regarded as a modern classic of Welsh literature, and sits on the Welsh curriculum. The film adaptation - with a screenplay by Lewis herself - went on to win six Welsh BAFTAS and the Spirit of the Festival Award at the 2010 Celtic Media Festival. Lewis's other screenwriting work includes BBC/S4C thrillers Hinterland and Hidden. Lewis is a visiting lecturer in Creative Writing at Cardiff University, and lives with her family on a farm near Aberystwyth. Drift is her debut novel in the English language.

ABOUT HAY FESTIVAL'S BOOK OF THE MONTH

Hay Festival's Book of the Month is our monthly recommendation of a book we love and think holds particular resonance. This is our chance to celebrate great works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry year-round.

Throughout the month, we'll share interesting links and articles relating to our selection on social media using #HBOTM and invite you all to get involved with your questions and comments.

If you'd like to recommend a book for consideration, please share on social media using #HBOTM.

Happy reading!