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A Terrible Kindness

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A Terrible Kindness

By: Jo Browning Wroe
Narrated by: David Dawson
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Summary

*INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*

*AN OBSERVER DEBUT OF 2022*

*AS FEATURED ON FRONT ROW*

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.

Biography: Jo Browning Wroe grew up in a crematorium in Birmingham. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and is now Creative Writing Supervisor at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. Her debut novel, A Terrible Kindness, was shortlisted for the Bridport Peggy Chapman-Andrews award. She has two adult daughters and lives with her husband in Cambridge.

©2022 Jo Browning Wroe (P)2022 Faber Audio Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Tear-jerking Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

"It's a long time since I've read a debut novel that moved me so much." (Rachel Joyce)

"Extraordinary." (Sophie Hannah)

"A brave and tender novel." (Joanna Glen)
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I cannot praise this book highly enough. The characters connected with me from the first pages and then developed in beautifully crafted lines through the different themes and years.

The book seems personal to me. I lived in Bristol as a child when the disaster happened. The city has deep links with the valleys and many of my father’s fellow teacher came from there. The sense of shock was massive and came through to us. Similarly I am very familiar with Cambridge but cannot claim any link to embalming. These connections allowed me to recognise the places but the story resonated because it is so well crafted with the plot lines carefully moving back and forward through time and peopled by characters that are well drawn and believable.

David Dawson reads the book superbly. He manages to find the voice for each character while never over dramatising. I can’t imagine another voice for William’s physical and metaphoric journey.

Thank you both Jo and David for an incredible listen.

I can’t wait for the next book.

A stunning book, beautifully read

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I enjoyed this story it was so emotional at times. My heart broke for the tragedy of Aberfan

Exceptional Writing

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I have never felt the need to review an audible book but this is the best story I have ever listened to! The narrator captured the characters perfectly. I feel as though I know and understand them all.
The writing is tender and beautiful. The story is powerful and gently exposing the effects of trauma and grief without being depressing. It is an uplifting story.

A tender and beautiful story

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This was a very thought provoking story. Showing the strength and weakness of the human spirit in devastating circumstances. The moving scenes of the disaster and the emotional heart breaking turmoil of dealing with the aftermath were palpable. Yet love strength and hope shone through the characters individual experience. Lovely William so kind and young when he took on this dreadful and difficult task. Yet battling with his own issues was at times unbearable. I felt great compassion for him and yet was frustrated sometimes to see he felt powerless in the face of what he had seen and dealt with. I liked all of the characters who each had their own story and issues. This is a story of not only the disaster but of humanity and the struggles we face. The performance of this story was so well done and believeable. It will stay with for a long time.

Thought provoking, beautiful , sad and uplifting

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I would never have picked this book if it hadn't been for the masses of positive reviews, so I'm hear to add my voice because this is one that deserves to be noticed.

To be honest the opening section didn't immediately grab me but it didn't take long before the life of the William Lavery, his mother, uncle and all the others that touch his world, became important to mine.

Although the book starts with the disaster at Aberfan, the book is far more centred on characters the terrible event that is the backdrop to this bittersweet novel. William himself is entirely too obstinate to have been allowed in my 'real' life but that didn't stop me wanting him to find an easier path in his future once I understood his past.

A thoroughly well-constructed, touching novel, performed skilfully for audio.

One of my favourite listens of all time

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