The Half-life of Snails

PHILIPPA HOLLOWAY

The Half-life of Snails

Graduate School

Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review

Abstract

Two sisters, two nuclear power stations, one child caught in the middle...

When Helen, a self-taught prepper and single mother, leaves her young son Jack with her sister for a few days so she can visit Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone, they both know the situation will be tense. Helen opposes plans for a new power station on the coast of Anglesey that will take over the family's farmland, and Jennifer works for the nuclear industry and welcomes the plans for the good of the economy.

But blood is thicker than heavy water, and both want to reconnect somehow, with Jack perhaps the key to a new understanding of one another.

Yet while Helen is forced to face up to childhood traumas, and her worst fears regarding nuclear disaster, during a trip that sees her caught up in political violence and trapped in Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone during the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, Jennifer too must discover that even the smallest decision can have catastrophic and long-lasting effects, both within the nuclear industry, and within the home.

And Jack isn't like other five-year olds... as they will both discover with devastating consequences.

Original language	English
Place of Publication	Cardigan, Wales
Publisher	Parthian Books
Number of pages	376
ISBN (Electronic)	B0B3ZWSWX4
ISBN (Print)	1913640574
Publication status	Published - 4 May 2022

Keywords

Literary Fiction
Psychogeography
Fiction
North Wales
Wylfa
Chernobyl
Nuclear Power

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/the-half-life-of-snails-hardback

2 Article (specialist)
1 Chapter

Then, now, forever? Researching and writing nuclear landscapes for The Half-Life of Snails
Holloway, P., 31 May 2024, Writing Landscape and Setting in the Anthropocene: Britain and Beyond. Holloway, P. & Jordan-Baker , C. (eds.). Springer International Publishing Switzerland, p. 253-273 21 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
'Borders': ‘Notes of Solidarity' Ukraine series
HOLLOWAY, P., 7 Mar 2022, Wales Art Review.
Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article (specialist)

Open Access
Walking in Imaginary Shoes: Psychogeographic Approaches for Fiction Writing
HOLLOWAY, P., 1 Jan 2021, Writing in Practice: The Journal of Creative Writing Research, p. 74-89 16 p.
Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article (specialist)

Open Access

Borderlands: A Novel and Poetics
HOLLOWAY, P. (Author), GLASS, R. (Director of Studies) & BYRNE, J. (Supervisor), 5 Nov 2019
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

File

Cite this

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abstract = "Two sisters, two nuclear power stations, one child caught in the middle...When Helen, a self-taught prepper and single mother, leaves her young son Jack with her sister for a few days so she can visit Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone, they both know the situation will be tense. Helen opposes plans for a new power station on the coast of Anglesey that will take over the family's farmland, and Jennifer works for the nuclear industry and welcomes the plans for the good of the economy.But blood is thicker than heavy water, and both want to reconnect somehow, with Jack perhaps the key to a new understanding of one another.Yet while Helen is forced to face up to childhood traumas, and her worst fears regarding nuclear disaster, during a trip that sees her caught up in political violence and trapped in Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone during the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, Jennifer too must discover that even the smallest decision can have catastrophic and long-lasting effects, both within the nuclear industry, and within the home.And Jack isn't like other five-year olds... as they will both discover with devastating consequences.",

keywords = "Literary Fiction, Psychogeography, Fiction, North Wales, Wylfa, Chernobyl, Nuclear Power",

author = "PHILIPPA HOLLOWAY",

note = "Dr. Philippa Holloway is a Researcher Development Fellow in Edge Hill University{\textquoteright}s Graduate School, with a focus on writing and transition in research. Prior to this she was senior lecturer in Creative Writing. Her debut novel, The Half-life of Snails (Parthian, 2022) was longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize and praised on BBC Radio 4s Front Row, and she co-edited the textbook Writing Landscape and Setting in the Anthropocene: Britain and Beyond (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). Her short fiction and non-fiction is widely published in chapbooks and journals, and her debut collection, Untethered, is now out (Parthian, 2024).",

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N1 - Dr. Philippa Holloway is a Researcher Development Fellow in Edge Hill University’s Graduate School, with a focus on writing and transition in research. Prior to this she was senior lecturer in Creative Writing. Her debut novel, The Half-life of Snails (Parthian, 2022) was longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize and praised on BBC Radio 4s Front Row, and she co-edited the textbook Writing Landscape and Setting in the Anthropocene: Britain and Beyond (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). Her short fiction and non-fiction is widely published in chapbooks and journals, and her debut collection, Untethered, is now out (Parthian, 2024).

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N2 - Two sisters, two nuclear power stations, one child caught in the middle...When Helen, a self-taught prepper and single mother, leaves her young son Jack with her sister for a few days so she can visit Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone, they both know the situation will be tense. Helen opposes plans for a new power station on the coast of Anglesey that will take over the family's farmland, and Jennifer works for the nuclear industry and welcomes the plans for the good of the economy.But blood is thicker than heavy water, and both want to reconnect somehow, with Jack perhaps the key to a new understanding of one another.Yet while Helen is forced to face up to childhood traumas, and her worst fears regarding nuclear disaster, during a trip that sees her caught up in political violence and trapped in Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone during the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, Jennifer too must discover that even the smallest decision can have catastrophic and long-lasting effects, both within the nuclear industry, and within the home.And Jack isn't like other five-year olds... as they will both discover with devastating consequences.

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KW - Literary Fiction

KW - Psychogeography

KW - Fiction

KW - North Wales

KW - Wylfa

KW - Chernobyl

KW - Nuclear Power

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CY - Cardigan, Wales

ER -

The Half-life of Snails

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Research output

Then, now, forever? Researching and writing nuclear landscapes for The Half-Life of Snails

'Borders': ‘Notes of Solidarity' Ukraine series

Walking in Imaginary Shoes: Psychogeographic Approaches for Fiction Writing

Student theses

Borderlands: A Novel and Poetics

Cite this