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Title:
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Terrible Kindness, A |
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Authors:
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Wroe, Jo Browning |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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377 |
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Year:
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2022 |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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William Lavery's life has headed down a different track from what is expected. A talented singer, it is presumed that this is where his future lies. However, at the tender age of nineteen, he instead qualifies as an embalmer. In what becomes a defining moment in his life, he volunteers to attend a colliery collapse in a Welsh village where there are multiple fatalities. Affected by his experience, William is forced to face up to previous trauma and reclaim his life.
Based around the 1966 Aberfan disaster in Wales, this is a moving but ultimately hopeful story of love, grief and forgiveness.
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Categories:
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Fiction, The Arts, Faction, Grief/loss, Historical, Relationships, Tragedy/disaster, England, Wales, 2024 Titles |
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By: WESTO 001
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2025-05-20 20:54:17 |
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Everyone in the group enjoyed/loved this book and finished it. Described as thoughtful and thought provoking. Many have recommended it to others and/or other book groups. 5 stars! |
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By: PALMN 010
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2025-05-07 11:39:18 |
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An emotional, beautifully written first novel. We all loved this book, and felt every emotion on William's journey as an embalmer. Admired his courage and his empathy at such a young age. |
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By: WHITBY 002
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2025-04-09 11:53:50 |
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Most of the group got a lot out of this book despite the grim subject. We took a while to warm to William's character as he seemed very weak as a schoolboy and easily led. A lot of attitudes in the 1950s seem alien to us now and we had a great discussion with 'Miserere' playing in the background. The author dealt sympathetically with the distress caused by the event and the visit to the village, and the reconciliation with his mother ended the story in a satisfactory manner. |
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By: WAIKA 012
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2025-04-08 11:25:01 |
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Everyone enjoyed this book even if the embalming topic was somewhat morbid. Cleverly written with good character development, and effective use of time zone switching. Some of us particularly enjoyed the music references. |
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By: PALMN 029
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2025-04-03 20:51:01 |
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Very well-written and interesting topics. Most of the group really enjoyed it and learned a lot. it gave us a good reflection on humanity and the things we can do to help each other. |
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By: MANGWH 005
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2025-03-20 09:57:41 |
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Excellent read. Uplifting but confronting. Some of us older members remember Aberfan as kids. |
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By: AUCK 335
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2024-11-20 11:47:13 |
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Our favourite book this year! Well-written, interesting and credible characters,sensitive treatment of grief/trauma, wonderful descriptions of choral singing and all one could want to know about embalming! The first section about Aberfan is quite demanding and we recommend that you listen to the two musical pieces. |
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By: DUNED 092
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2024-10-16 10:01:11 |
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Generally well enjoyed despite somber topic. Well-written and easy to read. Great questions that sparked good discussion. |
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By: TAIRU 001
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2024-10-10 10:18:09 |
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Extremely well received - a very well-written book, with a sympathetic understanding of a young man's anxieties. A wonderful depiction of a coming of age story. |
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By: AUCK 271
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2024-07-29 10:19:47 |
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Most of our book group members remembered Aberfan when it happened, so very much enjoyed some deeper insights into the disaster and the book's personal perspective. The way trauma was dealt with then and now was discussed. We were intrigued by the seemingly disparate association between choral singing and undertaking. We all enjoyed it and had a good discussion. |
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By: WANAK 021
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2024-07-08 10:33:15 |
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This book was enjoyed by the whole group. We loved the characters and the unusual focus/topic of the book. It made us all think deeply about our end of life choices. |
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By: PAUA 002
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2024-05-28 13:33:43 |
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Very much enjoyed this beautifully written story. Sad but uplifting at the same time. |
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By: TURA 001
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2024-05-09 14:46:47 |
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What a great novel! And writing about this subject... a lot of people don't want to hear or know about. Everyone absolutely loved the book ( and needed some tissues). Just brilliant! |
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By: WELL 045
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2024-05-01 14:48:45 |
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We all thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written novel. A good discussion about wide-ranging aspects including mother's love/influence/suffocation, only child, solo parenting, changing attitudes to homosexuality, death rituals and embalming, community experience of grief, personal growth, influence and value of friendship... and much more! |
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By: LOWER 022
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2024-03-09 10:13:39 |
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This is a book that will stay with you and gets you to think about the unspoken realities of life. It’s the first book we’ve read that was well received by ALL members. A great pick! |
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By: CHCH 566
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2024-01-08 11:06:28 |
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We all enjoyed the story, although a couple of members struggled with the graphic nature at times. Beautifully written. |
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By: CHCH 566
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2023-12-16 08:33:24 |
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This is a beautifully written book with the themes of love, friendship and trauma running throughout. We enjoyed that it is based on a real-life event and although quite dark at times, there are many light moments to lift the spirits. |
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By: DUNED 061
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2023-09-20 11:24:39 |
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Totally loved this book. Great discussion - many themes. |
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By: AUCK 443
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2023-09-20 11:19:27 |
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A lesson in why not to "pull down the blinds" and cherish your good fortune and talents. We discussed the importance of allowing children to grieve/face life. We appreciated William's sensitivity and kindness but could have shaken him for his poor reactions/choices/non assertion. We loved the very forgiving/loving uncle and partner, Gloria and Martin. That music brought William and others back to life, its consolation and absolution, was gratifying... |
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By: WELL 227
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2023-08-03 11:48:42 |
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Enjoyable read - best book of the year so far! |
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By: CHCH 125
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2023-07-03 11:55:16 |
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A fabulously written book. Sensitive and beautiful. Subject matter not often written about, and also covered the topic of homosexuality in less enlightened times. |
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