Local Fires by Joshua Jones: Review
As Local Fires is longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, Emma Schofield reflects on a powerful debut collection
Joshua Jones’ debut short story collection, Local Fires, has been longlisted for the prestigious Dylan Thomas Prize. Here, Emma Schofield delves into the collection and its depiction of Jones’ birthplace, Llanelli.
They say it’s the characters that make a good story, or maybe it’s the setting. In the case of Joshua Jones’ Local Fires, it’s probably both of those things, in spades.
Llanelli provides the setting for the collection, which takes readers on a whistle-stop tour through a range of situations from recovering alcoholics to teenagers celebrating the start of a new year. It’s a heady mix and yet, it somehow works. The stories are pacy, the narrative voices coming thick and fast, some of them infinitely more likeable than others. Perhaps they reflect Jones’ own relationship with his hometown; writing for Wales Arts Review in 2023, Jones explored the dynamics of the relationship between nostalgia and melancholia. Similar reflections on the complexity of identity manifest themselves in stories such as ‘Tommy’ will be instantly recogniseable to many of us, while the absurdity of characters such as the enraged firework shop owner in ‘Opportunity Street’ are arguably harder to empathise with, but no less amusing in their presentation.
It’s impossible not to enjoy this sense of caustic wit which is woven seamlessly into stories such as ‘Who Are You Calling Kim Woodburn?’, the tale of a woman who finds herself drawn into an existential crisis about whether she looks too much like Kim Woodburn. It’s this ability to make fun of the everyday, the mundane made funny, which brings the cast of characters in these interconnected stories to life.
And yet, there’s a wistfulness which underpins so many of the stories in the collection. The story of a man suffering with dementia who has never made it outside of Wales in ‘Johnny Radio’ is gentle in its tone, but piercing in its portrayal of a man who is searching for a radio that he’s been listening to all along. In those moments, the precision of Jones’ writing really comes to the fore. Likewise, the piercing honesty of the narrative voice in ‘How Would Clive Owen Feel?’ brings to life the sense of bewilderment in a young man who is facing a diagnosis of autism. “I have known for a long time, at the back of my mind, that something is wrong with me” is the opening confession, followed swiftly by the admission that “I know its wrong to say something is wrong with me”. The simplicity of the statement belies the complexity of the emotions Jones is able to capture in the story, a skill which it’s impossible to overstate.
The short story genre can only stretch so far, however, and there are moments when it feels as if the form is at odds with Jones’ ambition. 'Ten Reasons Why I Didn’t Stop Danny Jenkins from Throwing Your Brother Into a Bin’ is concise and punchy, but it left me feeling like the writing has a reach beyond this form. I wanted to hear more, to explore the voice behind the narrative in more detail. All the potential for a more substantial work are here; the ingredients within Jones’ grasp if he chooses to take them. It'll be interesting to watch how this skill stretches out and flexes if Jones opts to try his hand at a novel next, allowing himself the space to really take apart the characters he is able to craft so effectively in many of the stories here.
Local Fires may not always be perfect, but it is that rare thing - a sharply-written collection of stories which holds the attention throughout. Clear some space on your bookshelves, there’s a new voice in Welsh writing and it deserves to be listened to.
Local Fires is available from Parthian Books now.
The shortlist for the Dylan Thomas Prize will be announced in March.