In Fiction
Aberystwyth (albeit an alternative universe version) is the setting for the cult Louie Knight series by Malcolm Pryce which transfers Chandleresque "noir" stories and dialogue to this small seaside town. This alternative reality features many landmarks of Aberystwyth such as the University and the National Library of Wales, but the social situation is radically altered to more closely resemble the pulp/noir stereotypical "Dirty Town" that the narrative plays off. Most of the humour in the books is derived from the almost seamless juxtaposition of the real Aberystwyth and the fictional, noir Aberystwyth. Various aspects of Welsh culture are reflections of what you might expect to see in reality, but with a pulp twist - for example, prostitutes wear Welsh stovepipe hats.
'Stripping Penguins Bare', the second of Michael Carson's Benson Trilogy of comic novels is set in the town and university in the 1960s.
The town is the setting for Koudelka, a PlayStation RPG.
In the setting for Classic Battletech, a star system in the Timbuktu Theatre of Alarion Province of the Lyran Commonwealth / Lyran Alliance is named Aberystwyth.
The local writer Niall Griffiths has set many of his novels here and reflects local slang, settings and even individuals. Grits and Sheepshagger are set wholly in Aberystwyth, which also features prominently in his other novels such as Kelly and Victor and Stump. He portrays a more gritty side of Aberystwyth.
Nancy Bond's A String in the Harp is set in the small coastal town of Borth, near Aberystwyth. The main characters' father is on sabbatical leave from Amherst University and working at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
According to Douglas Adams' 1983 humorous dictionary of toponymic neologisms "The Meaning of Liff" an Aberystwyth is "A nostalgic yearning which is in itself more pleasant than the thing being yearned for".
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Famous quotes containing the word fiction:
“I write fiction and I’m told it’s autobiography, I write autobiography and I’m told it’s fiction, so since I’m so dim and they’re so smart, let them decide what it is or it isn’t.”
—Philip Roth (b. 1933)
“Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer’s role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there.”
—J.G. (James Graham)