The Earth Hums in B Flat [Paperback]

Mari Strachan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 2009

The Earth Hums in B Flatis a story of dark family secrets unraveled by the shrewd insight of twelve-year-old Gwenni Morgan, a child with an irrepressible spirit living in a Welsh village that is reluctantly entering the modern age. From the small bed that she shares with her sister at night she flies up into the starry sky above her village and looks down on the lives of its inhabitants. And when the family that she babysits for is rocked by the sudden, unexplainable disappearance of their patriarch, Gwenni is determined to solve the mystery of Ifan Evan’s whereabouts. Turning amateur detective, she is unaware that the trail will lead her closer to home than she ever imagined.
Told with a breathtaking, irresistible blend of freshness and wisdom, the voice that sixty-two-year-old Welsh debut novelist Mari Strachan has created with Gwenni is vibrant, charming, and full of heart. An unforgettable character, Gwenni’s unique way of seeing the world lends her the ability to make the ordinary extraordinary. A magical novel about the trials of youth, familial duty, and understanding,The Earth Hums in B Flatwill transport you to another time and place. 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Twelve-year-old Gwenni Morgan bears witness as her family crumbles under the weight of its secrets in Strachan's lyrical debut. In a small Welsh village swirling with secrets and gossip, few are willing to tell the truth about who they are. Gwenni soars above the local intrigue in her dreams—each night as she drifts off to sleep she flies away from her family and over the nearby fields and farms—and hopes someday to fly during the day as well. Though most, including her mother, see Gwenni's unending curiosity as a nuisance, local schoolteacher Elin Evans nurtures Gwenni's dreams of a different life. When Elin's husband, Ifan, disappears, town tongues wag, and when his body is found, Gwenni's mother mourns him more than seems proper. Strachan ramps up the tension, as Gwenni is caught between loyalties and learns some damning family secrets. The author's light touch keeps the story unfamiliar and surprising, while Gwenni's über-precocious narration revels in a love for language and reveals an unspoiled innocence about the world. It's small, quiet and nicely done. (June)
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From Booklist

Every night in her dreams, Gwenni flies high above her Welsh village, looking at the lives unfolding beneath her and hearing the earth’s melodic hum. The sky is her sanctuary until one night the 12-year-old sees something puzzling and deeply disturbing. The very next day Ifan Evans, the chapel deacon and husband of Gwenni’s teacher, mysteriously goes missing. Intrigued, Gwenni decides to turn detective and determine the man’s whereabouts. What she finds, instead, is that mystery begins at home in her and every other family’s closely held and jealously guarded secrets, which, when revealed, can change lives forever. Set sometime in the 1950s, this first novel by a sixtysomething Welsh librarian is a beautifully realized debut. Strachan is especially good at infusing her material with a sense of magic that is rooted in ambiguity, and at capturing the sensibility of a small town where all lives are interconnected, for good or ill. The story takes a perhaps needlessly melodramatic turn near its end but is otherwise filled with lovely moments and insights. --Michael Cart

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Product Details

• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: Canongate U.S.; 1st American edition (June 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847671926
• ISBN-13: 978-1847671929
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #816,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Endearing and enduring; a gem of a novel, May 10, 2009

By 

Steve Benner "Stonegnome" (Lancaster, UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Earth Hums in B Flat (Paperback)

Mari Strachan's début novel, "The Earth Hums in B Flat" is a deceptively dark tale of the charmingly naive Gwenni, an 12-and-a-half-year old growing up in north Wales in the early 1950s, with her quiet, implacable Tada; neurotic Mam; and a slightly older sister, Bethan, who has that somewhat supercilious sense of superiority that slightly older sisters so often have. The book is beautifully written, redolent of a time that is long gone but which yet remains within the memory of many of us; a time before today's modern domestic conveniences, when people still cooked and boiled kettles on the open range in the living room, kitchen walls were painted with flaking distemper and Toby jugs watched young children's every move from high shelves. And a time when everybody knew everybody else and their business, and yet nobody ever spoke of or admitted to any of it, and every family held secrets known to all (except often the family members themselves).

Mari Strachan's writing evokes that time perfectly, often with merely the subtlest of phrase or passing mention of some small detail or other. Gwenni is an absolute gem, naive and gauche, for all her intelligence, and with an imagination and wisdom that far outstrips her knowledge and experience. She sharply observes all around her, but understands little of the darker ways of the world and how the seemingly innocent things she picks up can connect in often far-reaching and damaging ways. Comic and dark by turns, this book is engrossing and engaging from beginning to end.

It is also beautifully paced, although I felt Mari Strachan does rush things just a tad towards the end, although this in no way detracts from the book's overall excellence. This is a book that can be read and reread, and savoured repeatedly for its simple effectiveness; a book that makes you laugh and cry by turn, over and over again. Heartily recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, engaging book., May 31, 2009

By 

E. Samuels "Book lover" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Earth Hums in B Flat (Paperback)

This book is one of those rare finds.... a book that is beautifully written, emotionally charged and entertaining. While the book is written from the perspective of a twelve year old girl, this is by no means a simple young adult story. The narrator's age allows for a very interesting look at the complex, multilayered dynamic between the family at the center of the story and the community in which they live. This is a book that you will be sorry to see end!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A down to earth novel of personal flight, October 29, 2009

By 

mikellcw "bookaholic" (NC Mtns.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Earth Hums in B Flat (Paperback)

When our heroine needs to "escape" her crazy family she take flight over her village and the neighboring countryside. This affords her not only a birds eye view but a way to clear her mind of all the abuse and unnecesary details that clutter her life. I really enjoyed the language of this novel, the flow of it, the relationships and the story which unravels as a wonderful mystery though you are likely to figure the plot from the beginning. I was surprised that this fact takes nothing away from the story. Delightful read and an amazing story of growing up and human frailty that we call family. As a child that fancied herself a bit of a detective, I highly recommend this wonderful story.