Eleven

On a fateful day in September 2001 for Martin Davies, at his workstation in the sweatshop of a call centre, a dull day is going bad as he is forced to confront his empty life, his failed relationship, his hateful job. He's only twentysomething, he'd like to be a writer. But in America things are about to change for ever. In Cardiff's offices and call centres the twenty-something white collar workers of the new sweatshops email each other with work issues, jokes, arrangements for their social lives, gossip and the products of sheer boredom. As the day passes, would-be author Martin conducts this correspondence and saves in Drafts a variety of emails to himself – a commentary on his life.Martin is tired of customer services, in denial over breaking up with his girlfriend, worried about 'that incident' in London, and baffled by the triviality of his life and those of his drinking, recreational drug-taking friends. What is the plot he's supposed to be following? How has it come to this? When on this day, 11th September, 2001, people fly airliners into buildings, Martin knows he's reached a critical point in his life. He sends his final email…Told entirely through emails, part The Office, part Beckett, Eleven is a striking debut novel: smart, funny, brutally sad, and a genuine response to 21st century society in the UK and beyond."A compulsive read, written entirely in the form of emails sent by the characters over the course of one day. Martin and his friends work in the offices and call centres of Cardiff; and in its hilarious depiction of the grim hypocrisy of modern working life, Eleven is on a par with The Office." Ray French, The Guardian"In offering a dark comedy, Llewellyn shows more taste than do many more earnest seekers of artistic relevance. Llewellyn's novel is a funny, disturbing view of a disaffected age"Nicholas Clee, The Guardian"The rapid-fire volley of email traffic provides the ideal vehicle for Llewellyn's spiky humour... Eleven conveys a longing to reach beyond the frequently alienating experience of modern-day life to something more meaningful and humane"New Welsh ReviewDavid Llewellyn was raised in Pontypool and is a graduate of Dartington College of Arts. He has written scripts for the BBC and several short stories. David now lives and works in Cardiff. This is his first novel.