Praise


Chris Keil has run a sheep farm, and has worked in journalism and as a teacher of English as a foreign language in a number of European countries. Recently returning to academic life, he has lectured and published on dissonant heritage and traumatic memory at Auschwitz and elsewhere. He has been writing literary fiction for the past ten years.

His first novel, The French Thing, was published in 2002, to widespread critical acclaim. He was elected to membership of the Academi of Wales for  ‘contributions to the literature of Wales.’

“Under the hallucinatory brightness of the Greek sun, in a place where ancient monuments adjoin concrete hotels, Geraint sees everywhere portals to realms of history and of alternative lives…

“Keil’s writing, which is limpid and often arrestingly vivid, has a charged quality that conveys the mysteries pulsing behind the everyday surfaces of things.”Nicholas Clee, The Guardian
“A subtle and intricate meditation on the blurry junctures separating us from the past, from each other, and finally from ourselves.” Tristan Hughes
“Reading Liminal, a novel by Chris Keil from Welsh press Alcemi… Liminal’s central enigma is rewarding and human.” M. John Harrison
“In following Aled, each member of the search party is altered, all returning to their home soil changed; and realising that, as with Orpheus and Eurydice, the trick is not to look back.”Planet
“I found the story most absorbing. Chris Keil’s vivid descriptions paint a clear picture, not only of what is happening around them, but also the thoughts and the frustrations of the family looking for their loved one. Despite the urgency of the quest, the author cleverly portrays a gentle undertone as the search is carried out through the cities, towns and villages of Greece. A good read,with plenty for reading groups to discuss.”newbooks magazine (newbooksmag.com)
Liminal is a subtle and haunting novel which succeeds on many levels. It is simultaneously reflective and entertaining; philosophical and dryly humorous.” Ceri Shaw, Americymru.com
Flirting at the Funeral is a philosophical novel in the best sense, beautifully written, as if G.M. Hopkins had turned to prose and lived to see the modern age… a very good novel – the product of a formidable and original mind.Ben Shephard Author of: A War of Nerves; After Daybreak; The Long Road Home
“This is an enchanting novel that continues to reveal its secrets long after you have put it down.”New Welsh Review
“This intelligent novel shows those liminal moments where a door may open onto another world.” John Jones, Western Mail
“Weaves a knot between Wales & Greece, between the past & the present & between what is above & below the surface of our consciousness. The tempo of the work develops the urgency of a crime novel & I read large tracts of the book in single sittings. Mysteries develop and are resolved, wholly or partially, against richly evoked backdrops. A cast of eccentric characters explore themes of philosophy & spirituality.”amazon.co.uk
“There is much to admire in the novel, particularly the strength and lucidity of Keil’s prose… Keil has an eye for the sensual world, evoking it with many an original turn of phrase.”Jonathan Carr, Athens News
“A thoroughly professional story-teller… parades before us a fetching variety of entertaining characters.”John Trethewy, Welsh Books Council
“Chris Keil’s second novel Liminal has marked him out as a writer to watch.”‘Meet the Author’ Library Services Event, South Wales
[Flirting at the Funeral] “A sophisticated, deeply mature work, shot through with oodles of lovely writing and shored up by many insights and ideas. There were so many sentences I read with genuine envy, or respect, or simple out-and-out delight, and so many brilliant images. Real, abundant gifts as a writer – this is urbane, serious, but also seriously entertaining writing.”Producer, former BBC Correspondent and award winning author Jon Gower