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The Welsh Girl
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Review
'A beautifully crafted, lyrical novel'
(Maggie O'Farrell, Observer Books of the Year )'Moving, memorable and beautifully written'
(Jessica Mann, Sunday Telegraph )'Deeply felt and vividly imagined'
(Lionel Shriver, Daily Telegraph )'Fresh and engaging...Some sentences and passages are crafted so beautifully and seemingly effortlessly that it provokes envy.'
(David Cornett, Sunday Express )'Quietly powerful... a fine piece of work
(Stephen Knight, Times Literary Supplement )'His prose and the evocation of time and place are almost always of the highest order...he approaches the Second World War with a fresh and contemporary style, a gift that he shares with Kazuo Ishiguro'
(Russell Celyn Jones, The Times )'A scintillating instance of fictional imagination applied to history'
(Richard Eder, New York Times )'Impressive...a compelling story in itself, but Davies’s special skill lies in integrating conflicts that drive the narrative at a more intense level'
(Richard Gwyn, Independent )'deft and graceful' (Good Book Guide )
Independent
'Subtle and engrossing, this is a book about language and identity, about finding a place and about the important things'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Welsh Girl is an odd compendium of different stories. Firstly, we have the intriguingly named Rotheram, a German émigré who is working for the British army in 1944, trying to work out whether Rudolph Hess is fit to be tried.
Then we have the story of Esther Williams, the Welsh Girl of the title, as she adapts to the arrival of evacuees and her own little bundle of joy, whilst she deals with the loss of her mother and various friends.
And then there is the story of Karsten, a German prisoner of war.
The three stories overlap only tangentially, due to collocation in a Welsh speaking village. They have common themes, though, in exploring concepts of loss, shame, guilt, nationalist patriotism, freedom and, perhaps, hope. The stories are competently told - although there does seem to be some needless fuzziness over whether and when Karsten learns Esther's name. They have some complexity but are told in perfectly lucid fashion. The language feels plain, but probably isn't.
The characterization is strong. The key characters have depths of feeling and insecurity that are graphically communicated. This depth of character extends even to careful, albeit brief, depiction of some of the bit part players: Jack the barman, Jim the evacuee; the Major; Hess and all. The imagery of the Welsh countryside is also strong, with the fields and the slate mine adding a contrast of textures.
In terms of style, there is a good balance between the serious themes and the humour provided by Harry and Mary, a couple of radio entertainers who are broadcasting from the relative safety of Wales. This is welcome relief in what might, otherwise, be a rather intense work. There are also some metaphors that would probably dazzle if one thought about them for long enough - the instinct of sheep to remain within their territory is perhaps laid on a bit too thick, but is effective nonetheless.
But the Achilles heel of the novel is that it feels a little too clinical. Like the stylized travel poster cover, the novel feels just a bit sterile. There isn't quite enough emotion to draw the reader into any of the characters and the direction of the story lines is rather predictable. The reader has a role of impartial observer rather than feeling involved in the process. The final epilogue is too long and would have detracted from any emotional crescendo at the end of the final chapter - had there really been a crescendo.
The Welsh Girl is a well written novel of substance, but it does seem to lack the wow factor that could have made it a great.
Then we have the story of Esther Williams, the Welsh Girl of the title, as she adapts to the arrival of evacuees and her own little bundle of joy, whilst she deals with the loss of her mother and various friends.
And then there is the story of Karsten, a German prisoner of war.
The three stories overlap only tangentially, due to collocation in a Welsh speaking village. They have common themes, though, in exploring concepts of loss, shame, guilt, nationalist patriotism, freedom and, perhaps, hope. The stories are competently told - although there does seem to be some needless fuzziness over whether and when Karsten learns Esther's name. They have some complexity but are told in perfectly lucid fashion. The language feels plain, but probably isn't.
The characterization is strong. The key characters have depths of feeling and insecurity that are graphically communicated. This depth of character extends even to careful, albeit brief, depiction of some of the bit part players: Jack the barman, Jim the evacuee; the Major; Hess and all. The imagery of the Welsh countryside is also strong, with the fields and the slate mine adding a contrast of textures.
In terms of style, there is a good balance between the serious themes and the humour provided by Harry and Mary, a couple of radio entertainers who are broadcasting from the relative safety of Wales. This is welcome relief in what might, otherwise, be a rather intense work. There are also some metaphors that would probably dazzle if one thought about them for long enough - the instinct of sheep to remain within their territory is perhaps laid on a bit too thick, but is effective nonetheless.
But the Achilles heel of the novel is that it feels a little too clinical. Like the stylized travel poster cover, the novel feels just a bit sterile. There isn't quite enough emotion to draw the reader into any of the characters and the direction of the story lines is rather predictable. The reader has a role of impartial observer rather than feeling involved in the process. The final epilogue is too long and would have detracted from any emotional crescendo at the end of the final chapter - had there really been a crescendo.
The Welsh Girl is a well written novel of substance, but it does seem to lack the wow factor that could have made it a great.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had very high hopes for this book, so I suppose I was destined for disappointment. As others have said, it plods at first and I had to persevere beyond the first third of the book. However, as the story of Esther and those around her developed, it became far more readable.
It is a beautifully written novel, by an author with obvious talent. However, in addition to the slow start, I felt that the Rotherham / Hess storyline wasn't threaded in well at all, and although an intrigueing subject, it was almost like reading a second book whose pages had become interspersed with the main storyline. I just don't see what it added.
It is worth a read as it's clear some love it. I just wished I had gone into blind, as it wasn't the groundbeaker I was expecting.
It is a beautifully written novel, by an author with obvious talent. However, in addition to the slow start, I felt that the Rotherham / Hess storyline wasn't threaded in well at all, and although an intrigueing subject, it was almost like reading a second book whose pages had become interspersed with the main storyline. I just don't see what it added.
It is worth a read as it's clear some love it. I just wished I had gone into blind, as it wasn't the groundbeaker I was expecting.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I wanted to like this book, but the truth is, it just bored me. I couldn't see the point of it. It didn't seem to be about anything. I know some people might say I've missed the point of it or it's about a place and a moment in time, but I just look at all the praise it's garnered and wonder if they're talking about a different book. It's very well-written but it's just too sterile, too clinical. I never really felt anything about any of the characters and some of them I couldn't see the point of at all, most particularly the storyline involving Rotherham and Hess. It just didn't seem to do anything for the book and the link to Esther and Karsten's story was tenuous in the extreme.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Failed to draw me in
This book had much promise - but fell slightly flat for me. The subject was interesting enough - WW2 through the eyes of the inhabitants of a small Welsh village, but I found the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by 1489
enjoyable
enjoying it and my book club friends all love it. Worth a read, easy to read and quite gripping in parts. Preferred the second half.
Published 6 months ago by cd buyer
great book
loved this book and read it almost in one sitting. Great characters and sense of the period.
Published 20 months ago by J. A. Nicholas
The terror of the combatant under fire
The novel has two distinct story-lines, which merge near the end. In the first, Rotherham, a cosmopolitan lawyer and translator with fluent German, is sent to interrogate Rudolf... Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by Eileen Shaw
a recommended beach / summer read
This book has received mixed reviews. I enjoyed the story, but would have to say not a page turner, but more an enjoyable companion for a few hours. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2009 by L. mckay
Stays with you
You know how it is. Sometimes you read a novel when you are not really in the right frame of mind for it. This was the case with me and The Welsh Girl. Read more
Published on 21 May 2009 by William
A perspective on war and its casualties
Our fascination with the Second World War and in particular the Nazi regime, seems endless. It also seems that every slant, every fact, every possible point of view must surely... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2009 by B. Richmond-O'Neill
One of those all-nighter reads.
One of those gems, heard about it through the Richard and Judy bookclub, something I tried to steer clear of initially! Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2008 by soffitta1
Patriotism and Identity
Be prepared for a slow read and you won't be disappointed. The prose is, at times, quite beautiful and Peter Ho Davies has a style all of his own. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2008 by C. Calisgil
It is a poor read where facts have gone out of the window.
Having read the critics about this book,I bought it.What a disappointment,it dragged on,it repeated itself over and over again. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2008 by Helen Lore Zetter
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