A Terrible Kindness
The Bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club Pick
Published on 8. December 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-0-571-36831-0 (ISBN)
Description
*INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*
*AN OBSERVER DEBUT OF 2022*
*AS FEATURED ON FRONT ROW*
'Incredibly moving. Exquisitely crafted." BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry
'Moving... We were consumed by this story of healing and hope.' Woman & Home
'A crescendo of pain and beauty that took my breath away. Brava!' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of The Paper Palace
'I LOVE IT! Utterly and completely brilliant.' JOANNA CANNON, author of A Tidy Ending
'It's a long time since I've read a debut novel that moved me so much.' RACHEL JOYCE, Miss Benson's Beetle
'It's utterly magnificent and had to pull car over twice to cry. Intricate cobweb of love, family and friendship, so delicately wrought. Beautiful. A masterclass in character.' VERONICA HENRY
When we go through something impossible, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them . . .
It is October 1966 and William Lavery is having the night of his life at his first black-tie do. But, as the evening unfolds, news hits of a landslide at a coal mine. It has buried a school: Aberfan.
William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job as an embalmer, and it will be one he never forgets.
His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to forget. But compassion can have surprising consequences, because - as William discovers - giving so much to others can sometimes help us heal ourselves.
What readers are saying:
***** 'One stunning read to remember.'
***** 'Beautifully written . . . I would recommend this book to all.'
***** 'Utterly heartbreaking and uplifting . . . I loved it.'
***** 'Tremendous.'
*AN OBSERVER DEBUT OF 2022*
*AS FEATURED ON FRONT ROW*
'Incredibly moving. Exquisitely crafted." BONNIE GARMUS, author of Lessons in Chemistry
'Moving... We were consumed by this story of healing and hope.' Woman & Home
'A crescendo of pain and beauty that took my breath away. Brava!' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of The Paper Palace
'I LOVE IT! Utterly and completely brilliant.' JOANNA CANNON, author of A Tidy Ending
'It's a long time since I've read a debut novel that moved me so much.' RACHEL JOYCE, Miss Benson's Beetle
'It's utterly magnificent and had to pull car over twice to cry. Intricate cobweb of love, family and friendship, so delicately wrought. Beautiful. A masterclass in character.' VERONICA HENRY
When we go through something impossible, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them . . .
It is October 1966 and William Lavery is having the night of his life at his first black-tie do. But, as the evening unfolds, news hits of a landslide at a coal mine. It has buried a school: Aberfan.
William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job as an embalmer, and it will be one he never forgets.
His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to forget. But compassion can have surprising consequences, because - as William discovers - giving so much to others can sometimes help us heal ourselves.
What readers are saying:
***** 'One stunning read to remember.'
***** 'Beautifully written . . . I would recommend this book to all.'
***** 'Utterly heartbreaking and uplifting . . . I loved it.'
***** 'Tremendous.'
More details
Edition
Main - Re-issue
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
328 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-571-36831-0 (9780571368310)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jo Browning Wroe grew up in a crematorium in Birmingham. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and teaches at the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education on their Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching Creative Writing Her debut novel, A Terrible Kindness, was a Sunday Times bestseller shortlisted for the Bridport Peggy Chapman-Andrews award, and longlisted for the Prix du Roman Fnac. She has two adult daughters and lives with her husband in Cambridge.