In Gast ( a word that is, roughly, the Welsh equivalent of bitch, but with its own special set of associations), a 171 page graphic novel – what we believe is her longest sustained work to date – Swain sticks to the grid (9 panel) to deliver the stillness and steady rhythms of rural Welsh life as perceived and experienced by an isolated teen trying to find her place in the scheme of things by sifting through the life of another.  Swain's trademarked pencil art has never been sharper, and it has been employed here to delineate just enough detail to describe the arc of  the protagonist, Helen's personal journey of self-discovery, aided by neighbors and local animals, with whom she is able to matter-of-factly converse.