A Terrible Kindness: The Bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club Pick

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It all culminates in what I found to be a very anticlimactic-- and predictable, for that matter --scene. William is a young, newly qualified embalmer, following in his father and uncle’s footsteps in the undertaking business, when the disaster in Aberfan happens.

I grew up in a crematorium – we learned not to look too alive

More than 100 children and scores of adults, were killed in the disaster, dug out by relatives and volunteers who worked tirelessly for days even when they knew there was no hope.William is a complicated character whose life has been shaped by some difficult events, despite this, I found it hard to like William's character though. I did understand what he had been through and loved his kindness at the beginning and I totally understood how the events affected him, however, his behaviour at other stages in his life did frustrate me. My favourite character was Martin, I loved his resilience and joy of life, his understanding and forgiveness; he was lovely.

A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe | Waterstones

Faber Members have access to live and online events, special editions and book promotions, and articles and quizzes through our weekly e-newsletter. Although he comes from an undertaking family, that he would train as an embalmer was never a given. A gifted singer with a stunning voice, William knew his mother was fiercely determined that he should follow a musical career. Exactly what his father had wanted for him was never stated before his premature death when William was just eight.Approaching Aberfan the day after the disaster, 19-year-old William Lavery, a newly qualified embalmer, felt exhilarated, excited even, that he was about to do a good thing. With skills gained (with distinction) from his recent training and from teenage years of apprenticeship in the family business, he believed he was perfectly prepared. Martin Bond The author, Jo Browning Wroe. Her novel was inspired by her experiences growing up in a crematorium Myfanwy is a song about unrequited love, while Miserere explores penitence and the hope of a new life. What do these pieces signify and what part do they play in the narrative? TBH I think that they report that the counsellors are coming for the victims, so that they know they are on the way. We do sometimes hear reports that ‘no one’s come to help’ when in fact they are on the way, they just can’t get there instantly which is what some people expect. (Though who can blame them for being unreasonable, in such circumstances.)

A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe | Goodreads A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe | Goodreads

William’s mother says: “My job in life, William, is to love you like no one on earth, and I have to say, I think I’m doing a pretty good job . . .” Is she right? But also, imagine, the families, friends and loved ones of 116 children and 28 adults, and all the people involved in digging out the bodies and so on. Almost everyone in the village would need counselling, not to mention the first responders who’ve come from elsewhere. Even today, when things are hopefully better organised, how many counsellors could be found for that level of need? How many could be found, not already busy with other needs, who could drop everything and get there, and then be accommodated somewhere in a small village as well?The Aberfan passages, opening and closing the book, let the tragedy speak for itself: more reportage than invention, they have a hushed effectiveness. The rest of the novel is meagre stuff. Much of it turns on William’s boyhood as a Cambridge chorister, and a mysterious traumatic event. The set-up is familiar, the dialogue is flat and the characters are clichéd. We go from Charles, who arrives at school in a Rolls-Royce and bullies the poorer kids, to Gloria, whose entire personality is “sweetheart”, and whose dreadful treatment by William can only shake, never break, her love.