How Green Was My Valley (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

Richard Llewellyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2001 | Series: Penguin Modern Classics

Growing up in a mining community in rural South Wales, Huw Morgan is taught many harsh lessons. Looking back, where difficult days are faced with courage and the valleys swell with the sound of Welsh voices, it becomes clear that there is nowhere so green as the landscape of his own memory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A story of exquisite distinction and vibrant interest; clear and strong as the music under the sky." -- The New York Times Book Review

ÒIt took me up and flung me beyond time and silence. All I did was listen. . . . YouÕll never be the same after Richard Llewellyn has worked his magic.Ó ÑLos Angeles Times

"The reader emerges from these tense pages strangely aglow with sharing the happiness of the characters.... The simplicity of the language and its delicately strange flavor give the book added charm." -- Chicago Tribune --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

RICHARD LLEWELLYN (1906-1983), a Welsh novelist, was born in Hendon, England, in the county of Middlesex. Before World War II, he spent periods working in hotels, wrote a play, worked as a coal miner, and produced his best-known novel, How Green Was My Valley, as well as nineteen other novels. After the war he worked as a journalist, covering the Nuremberg Trials, and then as a screenwriter for MGM. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (June 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141185856
• ISBN-13: 978-0141185859
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,162,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could read it for the first time all over again, September 22, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Green Was My Valley (Hardcover)

The warmth and love Richard Llewellyn had for his Welsh family and the coal-mining village where he grew up has remained with me for maybe 40+ years since I first read it. Written in 1939, How Green Was My Valley has become a bittersweet coming of age tale of a boy growing up in a large family in a small town, and of his love for his lovely sister-in-law. This is a coal mine story, so you just know there's going to be some tragedy involved, and of course there is. The story is written from the depths of the author's heart and soul. No wonder it won an Oscar when it was made into a movie.
If you've never read it, do it now. If you read it 40 years ago, read it again. It won't be stale.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest literary works of our times!, September 19, 2001

By 

Gwyn Gwyrdd "geek" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Green Was My Valley (Paperback)

Within pages, I felt that I was reading a masterpiece. Richard Llewelyn does a marvelous job of introducing his audience to the lush history of Wales. Not only does he descriptively carry us into the past through the home of the Morgans, but slowly introduces readers to Welsh sentence structure; it is not merely an attempt to sound sappy or sentimental, but an effort to share the beauty of language used by the Welsh. The result is undeniable liquid poetry. At first, the unusual phrasing may strike you as odd and make reading difficult, but before you know it, you will be swept into it.

The story itself is gripping as it carries us through the hardships and triumphs that bring a family closer together and at times, tear it apart - told through the eyes of a boy. You will find yourself remembering life's many "initiations" through the eyes of Huw Morgan as well as forgotten sensations of childhood. Because of this, the story holds universal appeal and will leave a long lasting impression on those who partake.

There is beautiful it is!!

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Green Was My Valley, April 29, 2000

By 

Seema - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Green Was My Valley (Paperback)

From the very first line of this book, I knew I was in for an interesting, unique experience. This novel was beautiful~ the flowing language, the flashes from present time to the past, the intricate detail of each character. The simplicity of the narrative of this story carries the plot line along. The descriptive use of words, especially adjectives, sets the reader right in the middle of all the action. Although the characters seem too "good" a lot of the time, I think the reason for this is because the society which they inhabit is so. They do have their bad qualities which they acknowledge and try to remedy. Llewellyn chose to write this book with simple Welsh language; a wise choice I heartily agree with it. The reader can feel the words coming straight from the heart, and can therefore connect well with the characters. This book had me captivated from beginning to end, and even when it ended, I found myself wishing for more. This book is definitely one that I count among my favorites~ and I do not think it gets the recognition it deserves a lot of the time, which is unfortunate because it is a true classic that is timeless...