Debut novel from Roberto Rabaiotti
Word reaches me of a debut novel from
Roberto Rabaiotti, a Pontypridd boy now living in London.
'Catalyst' is available through Aamazon. See -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catalyst-ebook/dp/B006MNCEZ8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326711987&sr=8-2
Roberto explains -
The book is set in Pontypridd and Cardiff in 1976/1977. The protagonist is a highly-talented Welsh schoolboy international rugby player playing for the Pontypridd First XV, with a chance to play for Wales at senior level. He is desperate to achieve this but for sinister reasons. He wishes to carry out an act of atrocity.
The protagonist is an obsessive Welsh nationalist and cannot understand why other Welsh nationalists are so passive, certainly when compared to the IRA and other terrorist groups around the world who fight and die for their beliefs. The act of atrocity is his way of galvanising Welsh nationalists into action. He wants to be the 'Catalyst'.
More than anything, I wanted to bring this period in Wales alive through references to clothes, music, politics, the amateur rugby scene, key people and television programmes of the time. The book is fast-paced, funny, sad and poignant. There are a number of rugby clubhouse, dressing room and match descriptions.
Ultimately, I try to keep the reader guessing; what's he trying to do? Will he get selected for Wales? Who knows or suspects? Can he really go through with it? Will they stop him? Does he succeed? Towards the end, there is a massive twist.
Speaking of myself, I am 51 and was born and bred in Pontypridd and still have relatives there though I have been living in London for 30 years. I'm now retired and indulging in loves of mine, writing and reading. This is my first novel, though I am well into my second one.
You can follow Roberto on Twitter -
@Londonrab
The book is set in Pontypridd and Cardiff in 1976/1977. The protagonist is a highly-talented Welsh schoolboy international rugby player playing for the Pontypridd First XV, with a chance to play for Wales at senior level. He is desperate to achieve this but for sinister reasons. He wishes to carry out an act of atrocity.
The protagonist is an obsessive Welsh nationalist and cannot understand why other Welsh nationalists are so passive, certainly when compared to the IRA and other terrorist groups around the world who fight and die for their beliefs. The act of atrocity is his way of galvanising Welsh nationalists into action. He wants to be the 'Catalyst'.
More than anything, I wanted to bring this period in Wales alive through references to clothes, music, politics, the amateur rugby scene, key people and television programmes of the time. The book is fast-paced, funny, sad and poignant. There are a number of rugby clubhouse, dressing room and match descriptions.
Ultimately, I try to keep the reader guessing; what's he trying to do? Will he get selected for Wales? Who knows or suspects? Can he really go through with it? Will they stop him? Does he succeed? Towards the end, there is a massive twist.
Speaking of myself, I am 51 and was born and bred in Pontypridd and still have relatives there though I have been living in London for 30 years. I'm now retired and indulging in loves of mine, writing and reading. This is my first novel, though I am well into my second one.
You can follow Roberto on Twitter -
@Londonrab
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