The majority of our members felt that the book was a well
written and easy book to read. Set in rural Wales in the 1950s, Mari Strachan
projected the day to day life around the village superbly.
The book is written in first person, the narrator being an
adolescent girl named Gwenni. She is at first portrayed as a strange, but
intelligent girl. Many members felt that she could have been autistic, with the
lack of understanding that her mother and older sister gave her.
An enjoyable book to read, and compared in parts to The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, with its plot and simple
sentences - describing Gwennis every thought, but also containing a lot of
intelligence.
Following the disappearance of one of the villagers, Gwenni
sets out to uncover the truth, annoying many of the villagers along the way. As
Gwenni uncovers certain truths, she is forced to grow out of her innocence and
think like an adult. The plot was fairly predictable, however we felt the
author did this on purpose, to enable us to know ahead of Gwenni, what was
happening and watch her work out the answers for herself.
The characters were well liked, with the exception of the
mother and sister. The villagers all held a great part in setting the scene and
way of life for the 1950s.
The ending was expected by many but still enjoyed and most
of us would read another book by Mari Strachan again, although not putting it
to the top of our lists.
7 Members attended, giving this book an average score of 6.5
out of 10.
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