GEH Wellbeing Reading Group book review- A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe

For more information about the tragedy see:

For more information about the tragedy see:

Wikipedia- Aberfan disaster

WalesOnline- Aberfan

Guardian- A noise like thunder then my classroom went black

The book follows William, examining the effects of the disaster on his life, as well as dipping back into his childhood, the death of his father, his time at a chorister boarding school, and his relationships with his mother, his uncle, his wife and his best friend at school.

Our readers thought the book was wonderful, although everyone mentioned how emotional it was to read- some of our number were brought to tears by the storytelling. A couple of our regular readers specifically chose not to read the book, fearing that it would be triggering, or too emotive a subject. We discussed the ethical issues around using a real disaster in a fiction book, and throughout our meeting we wondered which events and characters were real and which were fiction.

In an interview, the author discusses her inspiration for the novel and the reaction of some Welsh readers to it.

We felt the novel was very well written, sensitive to its subject matter and not at all sensationalist in dealing with such a tragic event. The short chapters were easy to read, and the author effortlessly moved back and forth in the timeline of William’s life without confusing us. Flashbacks and time changes in a novel can be disorienting to the reader, so this was very well done. There were key themes of redemption, love, homosexuality and homophobia, tragedy and grief and they were all treated with kindness and woven into the story. In particular the sections dealing with embalming were treated very sensitively. A topic none of us had really considered before reading the book, our readers came away with a better understanding of the functions involved, but also an appreciation of why William was drawn to the profession. It was heartwarming to read of the care and respect with which he performed these duties and the peace he found in this solitary activity. We were all drawn in to the novel and wanted the best for William.

Music was a recurring theme through the book- Allegri’s Miserere and the Welsh song Myfanwy in particular. We talked about the impact on us of the mass Aberfan funeral and William singing Myfanwy on a hillside. The unthinkable tragedy of the families who lost children was something we all felt. Some of us had listened to the music after reading about how important it was to William’s life and rehabilitation. Find out more about each piece below.