Jon Doyle with Eleanor Grant: Communion

Jon Doyle’s debut novel, Communion, is a powerful and atmospheric story of loyalty, morality and the possibility of redemption, set against the backdrop of a changing Port Talbot steelworks. Mack O’Brien left home as a teenager for the seminary, but returns a decade later unordained and uncertain about the life he should lead. Working as a security guard at the steelworks, he becomes caught up in an unprecedented strike against job cuts – and unexpectedly encounters Siwan Roderick, the woman whose secret confession he once promised to keep. As the strike approaches and Siwan’s intentions become clear, Mack must confront a difficult question: can violence ever be justified?

Jon Doyle is a prize-winning Welsh writer and former Literature Wales Representing Wales participant. Communion has been widely praised for its compelling characters, moral complexity and vivid sense of place.