Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-27
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Maggie O'Farrell, Observer Books of the Year
'A beautifully crafted, lyrical novel'

Independent
'Subtle and engrossing, this is a book about language and identity, about finding a place and about the important things'

Sunday Telegraph
'A moving, memorable and beautifully written book about displacement and its opposite...a gripping human story'

Customer Reviews

A well written novel - but lacks wow
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.

Not bad - but unsatisfyiing!
I was quite disappointed with this book. I felt that the character of Esther was not quite believable. The way that the meanings of words were continually revealed to her was distracting - although thought provoking. I did not believe that a girl such as Esther could have thought or behaved in such a way at her age and in her position. I thought that the character of Rotheram was far more interesting however he had a limited appearance in the book. The ending was a little predictable but tied up many loose ends. I felt that the book was well written and the attention to detail was very good but in the end I found the book too slow and definitely not as good as the blurb and reviews had suggested.

Beautifully told
Sometimes a book is a delight to discover. I found this novel to be beautifully written and immensely enjoyable to read, the characters are so well drawn and I cared about them all, because of how the author allows us into their deepest thoughts, and concentrates on developing the main characters, Esther and Karsten, and also Rotheram, so fully and effectively. I cared so much for the futures of Esther and Karsten the more I read of the novel, willing them to make good somehow. The gentle build up to the interlinking of the lives of these is beautifully, cleverly done.

Esther works in a pub in the village, as well as attending to farming duties with her father, as her mother is no longer with them. Additionally they take in evacuees, the latest one being Jim, who develops a natural curiosity about the POWs when they arrive on the outskirts of the farm, and he forms a fleeting attachment to one of them, Karsten. Soldiers and Welsh locals drink uneasily alongside each other in the pub. At the start of the novel, Esther has formed an attachment to Colin, one of the 'sappers' deployed there from England. Rotheram meanwhile, is sent to Wales to attempt to derive information from Rudolf Hess who is secretly being held there, and claiming a form of amnesia. Eventually, the paths of Esther, Karsten, and Rotheram will pass, but I won't say anymore about the plot, let the reader discover. Only to say I especially liked the character of Karsten, feeling the drudge of the life in the camp, the endless waiting for some news of a letter, the outside world, and seeing how he viewed the events, what he had been fighting for, and what surrender meant to him.

The backdrop to the events was, for me, described just enough to really give the reader a chance to feel immersed in the surroundings and social circumstances of the day, but never overly lengthy.
The themes covered, including the nature and traditional vocations of Wales, patriotism, national identity and pride, bravery/cowardice and surrender, with the setting in time of the later end of World War Two, and in location primarily of a village in North Wales. We learn of how the sense of place is applied to a shepherd's flock in his field, and how those within the novel, in particular the German soldier, Karsten, and the now 'English' Rotheram, are thinking about where they fit in, about belonging somewhere or nowhere, and about how and where the lines of nationality and belonging are drawn.

I felt I gained a valuable insight into aspects of people living in wartime through this novel, and learned about people. Gentle and brilliant.