The Long Field
Wales and the Presence of Absence, A Memoir
Shortlisted for the 2022 Wales Book of the Year Award
One of 6 Best Travel Books of 2021! — The Financial Times
One of the 8 Best Travel Books of the Year! — The Telegraph
AVAILABLE NOW!
Click here to order The Long Field from the U.S.
> Book Depository
Click on one of these options to purchase in the U.K.
> Little Toller Books
> Waterstones
> Amazon UK
Image gallery from the two-week book tour! Click images to see larger.
The Long Field is “a contender for my favourite book of the year. It’s structured… in a way that reminded me of Nabokov’s Speak, Memory. TLF is a fusion of the intellect and spirit, a book that’s heart beats with a quiet but furious pulse.”
— Peter Birchenough, Events Manager, Stanfords Bookshop, Bristol, England
“Pamela Petro’s The Long Field is more than a beautiful memoir of the author’s long-time fascination with Wales. It is a profound and sparking exploration of ideas of home, loss, love, family, and sexuality. You come away from it not just in awe of her ability to seamlessly weave all of these themes into a rich and moving narrative, but with something much deeper: a new view of the world and your place in it.”
– Travel writer Thomas Swick
“Not since Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek have I felt so involved as a reader….This is a beautifully written, un-put-downable book about language, love, and being alive…”
– Gillian Clarke, former National Poet of Wales
“The Long Field is a rich meditation on the meaning of hiraeth and memory.”
– Jon Gower, Nation.Cymru
“This is a book about connections…. It is a life story, a celebration of humanity, a discussion of what exactly it means to be human. It was a compelling read, and one that left my brain fizzing.”
– Rhian Pritchard, Rhian’s Rainbow Roundup – Queer Books
“Petro’s extraordinary sensitivity for atmosphere catches the feel, smell and sensation of being in Wales brilliantly.”
– Gwyneth Lewis, former National Poet of Wales