The Earth Hums in B Flat
Mari Strachan
Jun 2009 · Canongate U.S.
Ebook
329
Pages
About this ebook
“Dark family secrets are at the core of this bewitching debut novel . . . a memorable read” from the author of Dead Man’s Embers (Herald on Sunday).
Gwenni Morgan is not like any other girl in this small Welsh town. Inquisitive, bookish and full of spirit, she can fly in her sleep and loves playing detective. So when a neighbor mysteriously vanishes, and no one seems to be asking the right questions, Gwenni decides to conduct her own investigation.
Mari Strachan’s unforgettable novel “is a richly evocative, warm but unsentimental tale of a child detective struggling to piece together clues about the lives around her. These lives, and the characters who live them, are so vividly drawn and Mari Strachan’s careful unraveling of the secrets they hide is extremely compelling” (Catherine O’Flynn, award-winning author of What Was Lost).
“A lyrical debut . . . [Strachan’s] light touch keeps the story unfamiliar and surprising, while Gwenni’s uber-precocious narration revels in a love for language and reveals an unspoiled innocence about the world. It’s small, quiet and nicely done.”—Publishers Weekly
“An unsettling account of matrilineal madness, illegitimacy and domestic abuse . . . Strachan’s deft handling of a dark subject is both sober and sparkling.”—The Guardian
“One of those books that eases you in gently and then floors you . . . The Earth Hums in B Flat reads authentically, and the fictive truth in the story remains consistent and powerful as Gwenni moves towards the end . . . [of] this is a lovely, original, and imaginative debut.”—Gather.com
Gwenni Morgan is not like any other girl in this small Welsh town. Inquisitive, bookish and full of spirit, she can fly in her sleep and loves playing detective. So when a neighbor mysteriously vanishes, and no one seems to be asking the right questions, Gwenni decides to conduct her own investigation.
Mari Strachan’s unforgettable novel “is a richly evocative, warm but unsentimental tale of a child detective struggling to piece together clues about the lives around her. These lives, and the characters who live them, are so vividly drawn and Mari Strachan’s careful unraveling of the secrets they hide is extremely compelling” (Catherine O’Flynn, award-winning author of What Was Lost).
“A lyrical debut . . . [Strachan’s] light touch keeps the story unfamiliar and surprising, while Gwenni’s uber-precocious narration revels in a love for language and reveals an unspoiled innocence about the world. It’s small, quiet and nicely done.”—Publishers Weekly
“An unsettling account of matrilineal madness, illegitimacy and domestic abuse . . . Strachan’s deft handling of a dark subject is both sober and sparkling.”—The Guardian
“One of those books that eases you in gently and then floors you . . . The Earth Hums in B Flat reads authentically, and the fictive truth in the story remains consistent and powerful as Gwenni moves towards the end . . . [of] this is a lovely, original, and imaginative debut.”—Gather.com
About the author
Mari Strachan is a Welsh novelist and librarian. Her first novel, The Earth Hums in B Flat, works on one level as a detective story, while on another dealing with the problems of growing up in a small Welsh village in the 1950s, and more generally with the influence of the past on the present.
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