A Terrible Kindness

Browning-Wroe, Jo

£14.99

Tonight nineteen-year-old William Lavery is dressed for success, his first black-tie do. It’s the Midlands Chapter of the Institute of Embalmers Ladies’ Night Dinner Dance, and William is taking Gloria in her sequined evening gown. He can barely believe his luck. But as the guests sip their drinks and smoke their post-dinner cigarettes a telegram delivers news of a tragedy. An event so terrible it will shake the nation. It is October 1966 and a landslide has buried an entire school: Aberfan. William decides he must act, so he volunteers to attend. It will be a choice that threatens his own happiness and forces him to think about the little boy he was and the losses he has worked so hard to bury.

Available on backorder

Publish Date: 20/01/2022

Description

*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.

‘Incredibly moving. Exquisitely crafted.” BONNIE GARMUS, Lessons in Chemistry

‘I LOVE IT! Utterly and completely brilliant.’ JOANNA CANNON

‘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

What readers are saying:
‘One stunning read to remember.’

‘Beautifully written . . . I would recommend this book to all.’

‘Utterly heartbreaking and uplifting . . . I loved it.’

‘Tremendous.’

Additional information

Weight 507 g
Dimensions 216 × 135 × 28 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

vii, 381

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K