A Terrible Kindness: The Bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club Pick

A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe is based on the horrific disaster which occurred, in the coal mining village of Aberfan, Wales on 21 October 1966. Embalmers were the unsung heroes of Aberfan, with volunteers rushing to the small Welsh village to ensure that the 116 children and 28 adults who perished were cleaned, identified and embalmed to keep them from deteriorating and thus saving their loved ones from further distress. This book follows the fictitious character of William Lavery, from his young life as a chorister in Cambridge, through to him working for the family business as an embalmer which led him to Aberfan, right after he first qualified. The story jumps from 1966 and Aberfan, back to when William was a child and then forward again as he learns how to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy he witnessed and how it affected his life moving forward. It has been clear from the book, that Jo Browning Wroe has carried out a great deal of research on the role of the embalmers at Aberfan, and how many suffered from their mental health and the effects such a tragic disaster can have on a person but also on their friends and family surrounding them. I related personally to places in the book as, like the author, I grew up in Birmingham and I went on my holidays to South Wales every year, staying just outside Mumbles in a road just off Plunch Lane! Sensitively written, I can thoroughly recommend A Terrible Kindness to anyone who is interested in the role the embalmers had in Aberfan but also to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe.

“What if he’d chosen differently? What if all that had happened could have made him a bigger person? If each disaster had been a crossroads at which he could have taken a better path? It’s too painful to dwell on.” A Terrible Kindness is the first novel by British author Jo Browning Wroe. In a swanky hotel ballroom in Nottingham, in October 1966, as nineteen-year-old William Lavery celebrates his graduation as the youngest embalmer in the country, an urgent call goes out for volunteers. A horrific mine collapse in the Welsh town of Aberfan has taken an awful toll, with many children amongst the dead. Embalmers are desperately needed. William does not hesitate. A passionate kiss from the student nurse who has captured his heart sends him off on this mercy mission. But William has no idea what the long-ranging effects of this charitable act will be. Although he comes from an undertaking family, that he would train as an embalmer was never a given. A gifted singer with a stunning voice, William knew his mother was fiercely determined that he should follow a musical career. Exactly what his father had wanted for him was never stated before his premature death when William was just eight. “Since his father died two years ago, William has had to tighten up his insides and work hard to cheer his mother up” but at Cambridge, he made a real friend: “he is relieved that it seems all he needs to do to be liked by Martin is to be himself.” How then, after four years as a lauded Cambridge chorister, did his career path change so radically? How could he be estranged from his beloved mother and not have sung a single note in five years? Browning Wroe easily evokes both setting and era with gorgeous descriptive prose and popular culture references. Her characters, realistically flawed, are worth investing in as they develop and change over the years: a mother so mired in grief and jealousy she is blinded to freely offered love; a boy too consumed by humiliation and resentment to show loyalty; a young man so traumatised he cannot look ahead in hope. Supporting these are friends and family whose patience, acceptance, devotion and love may be unremarked upon but is ever-present. Eyes may well up and throats may clog with emotion in later scenes: only the hard of heard will fail to be moved and uplifted by this exceptional debut novel. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber.

Wonderfully engaging and beautifully written book. There are so many poignant moments that connect you deeply with the charachters. Very hard not to be moved by the sadness of the story but also how uplifting kindness carries us through in the hardest of times. Moved to tears.