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The Welsh Girl
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The Welsh Girl (2007) (edit title/settings)

by Peter Ho Davies (Author) (edit contributors)

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From the acclaimed writer Peter Ho Davies comes an engrossing wartime love story set in the stunning landscape of North Wales during the final, harrowing months of World War II. Young Esther Evans has lived her whole life within the confines of her remote mountain village. The daughter of a... read more

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Esther, a WWII-era Welsh barmaid, finds her father—a fiercely nationalistic, anti-English shepherd—provincial; she daydreams that she'll elope to London with her secret sweetheart, an English soldier. In short order, Esther is raped by her boyfriend, and her Welsh village is turned into a... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Esther, a WWII-era Welsh barmaid, finds her father—a fiercely nationalistic, anti-English shepherd—provincial; she daydreams that she'll elope to London with her secret sweetheart, an English soldier. In short order, Esther is raped by her boyfriend, and her Welsh village is turned into a dumping ground for German prisoners. Meanwhile, Karsten, a German POW who is mortified that he'd ordered his men to surrender, believes that only by escaping can he find redemption. Davies (Equal Love) uses the familiar tensions of WWII Britain to nice ensemble effect: among the more nuanced secondary characters is a British captain who is the son of a German-Jewish WWI hero—the man's father had always considered himself a Lutheran until the Nazi ascension forced him to flee Germany. As Esther begins to question her own allegiances, Karsten comes into her orbit. What makes this first novel by an award-winning short-storyteller an intriguing read isn't the plot—which doesn't quite go anywhere—but the beautifully realized characters, who learn that life is a jumble of difficult compromises best confronted with eyes wide open.

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First Sentence edit see section history

Outside, the technicolor sunset is giving was to the silvery sweep of searchlights over distant Cardiff as a hand tugs the blackout curtain across the sky.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Peter Ho Davies (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN: 0618007008
Page Count: 338

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