by Tony Curtis
First published 2024
Aldous Huxley and his wife Laura watch flames consume the Hollywood Hills in 1961. They must abandon their home as wildfire tears through one of Los Angeles' wealthiest neighborhoods. The disaster forces them to confront what truly matters when everything burns away. Meanwhile, a Welsh artist living in America reflects on his homeland in Swansea, where his father displays a Calennig token in their front room window. The stories weave between California and Wales, spanning from medieval Ireland to contemporary times. Curtis draws portraits of figures like Roger Bannister, Muhammad Ali, Billie Holiday, and Claude Debussy. The book includes a sequence commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, inspired by Chuck Rapport's photographs. These interconnected tales explore what we choose to preserve when faced with loss, examining the tokens and memories that define our lives across continents and centuries.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: interconnected-stories, loss, memory
Setting: Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, Swansea, Ireland, Aberfan
Period: 1961, Medieval, Contemporary
88 pages · Paperback · Seren