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The Welsh Girl

3.37 of 5 stars 3.37 · rating details · 1,914 ratings · 377 reviews

From the acclaimed writer Peter Ho Davies comes an engrossing wartime love story set in the stunning landscape of North Wales during the final, harrowing months of World War II.

Young Esther Evans has lived her whole life within the confines of her remote mountain village. The daughter of a fiercely nationalistic sheep farmer, Esther yearns for a taste of the wider world th...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published February 12th 2007 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published 2007)

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Aug 23, 2007 Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: absolutely everone

I loved this book. It was a little slow going at first and the first 20-30 pages I had to half-push myself into. Then I got caught up in the story. The language used is beautiful, some sentences so perfect they hurt, but at the same time it doesn't distract at *all* from the story being told. This is a book I read at first primarily for the story and now I want to reread again for the subtle nuances I missed. But it makes me think and it makes me happy and I love the characters - not just how th...more

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Apr 14, 2011 SarahC rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel is about conflicts of nation, loyalty, and identity. Novels trying to construct this kind of story sometimes become cliche, but this one has a very sincere tone that is refreshing. English intelligence officer Rotherham has trouble dealing with his German Jewish heritage. A German officer surrenders under heavy fire, is sent to a camp in Wales, and begins to see the uncertainties of his life overall. A young Welsh woman wonders where the definitions are set - enemy? traitor? fatherlan...more

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Jun 26, 2007 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Shepherds

Peter Ho Davies’ debut novel, The Welsh Girl, is an historical fiction set in the latter half of World War II in a remote village in Wales. The construction of a secret camp causes much excitement in the village, particularly for Esther, a young barmaid who has fallen for one of the English soldiers tasked with building the camp. The dalliance is particularly volatile because Esther’s father is a staunch Nationalist who views the English as nothing more than Anglo oppressors. Esther’s solider, C...more Peter Ho Davies’ debut novel, The Welsh Girl, is an historical fiction set in the latter half of World War II in a remote village in Wales. The construction of a secret camp causes much excitement in the village, particularly for Esther, a young barmaid who has fallen for one of the English soldiers tasked with building the camp. The dalliance is particularly volatile because Esther’s father is a staunch Nationalist who views the English as nothing more than Anglo oppressors. Esther’s solider, Collin, promptly takes advantage of Esther and ravishes her, spilling both the secret of the German prisoner-of-war camp as well as his seed. Soon after, Esther has a secret of her own.

Auf Weidersehen Collin, enter Karsten, a dashing young blond German Navy infantryman who is as clever with his hands as he is with his tongue. Despite his fluency in English, Karsten has a rough go of it in the POW camp because he is marked with the secret shame of the capitulator—survivor’s guilt’s hateful cousin. Poor Karsten is afflicted with self-loathing not seen since Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim took a swan dive off the fantail of the Patna, leaving hundreds of passengers to drown.

As the chapters alternate between Esther and Karsten, the two characters are inexorably drawn together until the barbed wire that separates the prisoner inside the camp and the woman inside her tyrannical father’s home becomes metaphor thin. It seems a foregone conclusion that Esther and Karsten will get busy in the haymow, which they do, but after a few days hiding out in Esther’s father’s barn eating food that she prepares for him, Karsten decides to give himself up—again—and is returned to camp.

A curious wrinkle in Davies’s village narrative concerns a German-Jew named Rotheram, an officer in the English Army who is sent to Wales to interrogate Rudolf Hess, the member of Hitler’s inner circle who famously flew the coop in a Messerschmitt Bf 110 and touched down in Scotland in an ill-conceived attempt to negotiate peace with England—without Hitler’s knowledge or approval. The Fuhrer dismissed Hess as a lunatic. Hess professed amnesia and Churchill had the aviator locked up for the duration of the war in a series of safe houses in Wales.

Because so little is known about Hess’s motives, he is an excellent subject for a work of historical fiction. Pairing him with an interrogator who is conflicted about his identity and is in extreme denial about his Jewish ancestry was a masterstroke. But does the story belong in a novel about a shepherd’s daughter?

Davies has a knack for evoking the telling detail but at times he falls prey to the quick and easy characterization: the English soldier who is “glossily handsome, like the lobby card of a film star,” (25) or the bartender wounded in the Great War who walks with a limp but has “never spilled a drop.” (28) Indeed, when we first meet Esther she compares her emotions to the settling of a pint of Guinness, a sentiment that errs on the treacly side of sweet.

Nevertheless, Davies’s characters are marvelously nuanced. Each of the three major characters suffers from a severe conflict of identity. Esther must shield the identity of her baby’s father from her father and invents a relationship with the village’s only casualty to protect her child. Karsten, the son of a fallen war hero, struggles in vain to fill his father’s shoes and win his mother’s approval. Rotheram, the German-Jew, tells everyone who will listen to him that’s he’s not Jewish until the denials transcend falsehood and become farcical. Each one of these characters could carry the novel, but the hero-by-committee approach falls short.

While the organization is a bit of a muddle, by the end of the epilogue all questions have been resolved and the novel’s earlier missteps are redeemed. We even follow Hess to his cell in Spandau where he committed suicide at the age of ninety-three, a cipher (less)

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May 07, 2012 Carl Brush rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Welsh Girl has been following me around. Even before I finished the book, I found myself thinking about it in the same way a tune runs unbidden through your brain. I’m still fascinated by the meaning of the title of this piece, but I’m not going to explain it here. You’ll have to read the book to get it.

It’s said that there are often writers who are novelists, others who are short story writers, and that the crossover can be difficult. It’s also said that Raymond Carver tried all his caree...more The Welsh Girl has been following me around. Even before I finished the book, I found myself thinking about it in the same way a tune runs unbidden through your brain. I’m still fascinated by the meaning of the title of this piece, but I’m not going to explain it here. You’ll have to read the book to get it.

It’s said that there are often writers who are novelists, others who are short story writers, and that the crossover can be difficult. It’s also said that Raymond Carver tried all his career to write a novel and couldn’t do it. Peter Ho Davies, a celebrated author of short stories for whom this is his first novel, doesn’t have that problem.
A friend of mine has been highly infatuated with Davies ever since she met him in a workshop a few years ago. I’ve admired him as one of the better short story writers around, but never been enthralled. That’s changed.

I believe Davies’ long stint in a medium where every second counts contributed to the excellence of The Wesh Girl. Nothing is wasted. Not a character, not a description, not a rumination. And it adds up to a beautiful whole.

The Welsh girl in question is Esther Evans, a seventeen-year-old who feels stuck in her village but feels destined for a wider future. Others see her as a potential globetrotter, too. But there’s this war thing. The action begins just before D-Day, and in short order, the world comes to her before she has a chance to leave. First there’s an English adolescent evacuee (two, actually), then an English sapper, then a bunch of German POW’s, then a German Jew sent to interrogate the POW’s. There’s also collection of other characters who never would have come near the village but for the war. Esther’s yen for the exotic gets her in trouble even before the English army infests the countryside, and the complications get even more complicated afterwards.

Though this is unquestionably Esther’s book, she shares main billing with two other primary characters--one of the POW’s and the aforementioned German Jew. Each of them, interestingly enough, has lost a parent. Each of them has a question of honor to settle. Each of them has at least one identity problem to deal with. Such dilemmas are shared by various of the less major characters as well. Putting the layers on the onion, the individual crises are reflected by questions of German, Welsh, English, and Jewish nationalism and cultural identity. (You didn’t know about Welsh nationalism? I didn’t much either till I visited a few years back. I can attest to the continuing truth of the hostilities reflected in the book.) We even get to spend some time with Rudolf Hess, and the conversations with him provide both a psychological and an historical dimension that is not only interesting in itself but informs--even transforms--the thematic and dramatic texture of the novel. (In fact, the interrogation scenes, especially those with Hess, carry such a load of philosophical and historical material so suggestive and challenging of thought and feeling that they bear a good deal of thought and discussion in and of themselves.) Thus does Davies masterfully mold macrocosmic chaos into a comprehensible artistic whole.

We sometimes see the same events through different eyes. Sometimes we see one part of a story sequence through one pov, then the next part through another. One character leaves the book for over two hundred pages. I was anxious about where he was, relieved to see him return. Thus, not only is the action itself suspenseful, but the very structure of the book creates its own suspense in somewhat the same way a mountain creates its own weather.

Davies spends a great deal of time in the minds of his characters, but every moment moves the story. One of the complaints I have about novelists such as Ian McEwen and Richard Ford, is that they sometimes get self-indulgent about their characters’ pondering and wander around through their thoughts, feelings, and recollections to the extent that the books lose dramatic tension. Not so with The Welsh Girl. There’s always something that’s happening, has just happened, is about to happen, or seems about to happen, which is sometimes just as good.

My only general quibble, aside from a couple of specifics that I can’t discuss without spoiling the first-time reader’s experience, is that Davies’ characters too often have attacks of delayed intelligence. They go through a scene, then later in their thoughts attach meaning to the events or to their response to the events so that the author can rather too obviously insert his comments on the situation. It’s minor, but a little annoying, rather like Cormac McCarthy’s habit of introducing his similes with “like some [atavistic mammal, e.g.].” I set aside a few passages to quote for examples, but they all give up too much plot for the initiate, so I hope I’ve been clear enough about what I mean. If not, well, again, you’ll have to read it yourself.

The Welsh Girl is on one level a solid wartime romance. Nothing experimental or groundbreaking about its structure or language. However, its historical, mythical, and personal layers are so closely woven, so lend meaning one to the other just as different-colored threads add dimension to a fabric, that it had me looking for symbols that weren’t there. I kept wanting Esther to somehow echo the tale of the biblical queen, a secret Jew, who saves her people. However, the parallel simply isn’t there. I’m satisfied, though, with the more mundane idea of a connection with the movie/swimming star Esther Williams, who represents that wide, romantic world that Esther aspires to. There’s still plenty of resonance in the Shakespearean allusions (and other literary and historical references I doubtless missed) to lend the novel a glow of meaning far beyond the excellent surface tale.

This is my second WWII POW novel in as many months. Maybe the debut of Ken Burns’ latest is having a sub rosa impact on my reading life. I understand The Welsh Girl was on the long short list for this year’s Booker prize, but didn’t make the short-short list. I’ll be interested to see what beats it. I certainly consider it better than anything I’ve read by the noted Booker celebrity Ishiguro. Maybe I should get on that committee.

At any rate, I’m thankful to Davies for writing the book and to my friend for putting me on to Davies. One of this--or any--year’s top reads. (less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Caterina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: done-reviewed

The Welsh Girl
Peter Ho Davies
2008

NUTSHELL: Two plots - one plot = enough plot. This one's more of a 5.

Who's the Welsh Girl? That would be Esther Evans, living in Wales in the 1940s. Her sweetheart's off to war and she and her father have an evacuee child. Esther also works as a barmaid in town.

What's her plot? (view spoiler)...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

I generally enjoyed the story, and was pleased at how well-rounded the major characters were. It was nice to get a perspective from both sides of the War; to see how both sides viewed themselves as well as the enemy, and to watch them eventually come to see the enemy as just as human as they are.

I think this is the sort of book that will mean different things to different people, and that I will perhaps get something different out of it, if I come back to it in a few years. I enjoy thinking abou...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Beni Morse rated it 4 of 5 stars

A warts and all depiction of small town welsh mountain life in the second world war. Great novel - but his short stories are better.He is interested in identity and barriers between races (not surprising, as a welsh chinese writer brought up in England). In The Welsh Girl, barriers between races keep on crumbling. He got interested when he discovered that in real life, several German prisoners stayed on in Wales after the war and married local girls. I know a few stories like this from the part...more

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Jan 21, 2010 Sammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: b-the-good

Interesting. Unique. Holds it's own in such a full library of World War II historical fiction. It really is different from a lot of other WWII stories out there, which I really appreciated and kept me reading. It was also his writing that kept me truly engaged. I can't even put my finger on it, but something sucked me into this book and kept me there until suddenly I turned the last page, looked up and wondered where the time had gone.

A couple of times I think Davies lost control of his novel. A...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Lydia Presley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fiction, germany, historic-fiction

The Welsh Girl is a story in three parts. There's the story of Rotheram, the German-Jew who escaped from Germany to England and is now placed in charge of the interrogation of Hess. There's also the story of Karsten, a young 18 year old German officer who surrenders to the British and is taken to a POW camp in Northern Wales. And then, there's Esther - a 17 year old Welsh barmaid who lives in the sleepy Welsh town the POW camp has been built in.

The book is beautifully written. The descriptions a...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a good book. Not a great book, but a good book. My biggest complaint, I guess, is that the book was so wordy. The excessive descriptions and dialogue bogged the story down. The author really made the Welsh village, turned upside down by the arrival of soldiers and POWs, come alive. I liked Ester. I could relate to her desire to do something more with her life. But desire does not equal action and some unfortunate incidents resulted in her being trapped in her little village. Much of her...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I thought this book tackled World War II from a fascinating angle. By setting it in Wales, against the Welsh-English conflict, Davies adds a whole other layer to the identity crisis that I've always seen as being the crux of the war itself. Who is a Jew? How do we determine who a Jew is? Is a Jew also a German/Russian/Pole? And in this book, where do the Welsh fit in? Are they English, or are they their own people?

The Welsh Girl tells one story, more or less, from three perspectives--Rotheram,...more I thought this book tackled World War II from a fascinating angle. By setting it in Wales, against the Welsh-English conflict, Davies adds a whole other layer to the identity crisis that I've always seen as being the crux of the war itself. Who is a Jew? How do we determine who a Jew is? Is a Jew also a German/Russian/Pole? And in this book, where do the Welsh fit in? Are they English, or are they their own people?

The Welsh Girl tells one story, more or less, from three perspectives--Rotheram, a German half-Jewish refugee working for the English as an interrogator; Karsten, an eighteen-year-old German POW; and Esther, the titular Welsh girl. All three sections considered the implications of language, of how it feels to speak different languages and how it changes one's identity (I liked the description of a little Welsh boy playing outside the POW camp, who, when spoken to in English by Karsten, is surprised at being able to understand him). The bar where Esther works is divided into a Welsh-speaking, local section and a section for English officers; Karsten leads his men to surrender because he speaks English, but he also saves his own life with his linguistic skills. And Rotheram, who is bilingual, feels torn between the German-Jewish heritage that would have put him in danger had he stayed in Germany, and his emotional connection to England. There was a phenomenal scene towards the end in which Rotheram questions Karsten; Rotheram feels the same guilt at having left Germany in time to be saved as Karsten feels about surrendering so he wouldn't get killed.

I found Rotheram to be the most interesting of the three, so of course Davies gave him the least page-time. Esther's story, in essentials, was not that exciting to me--village girl gets raped and pregnant by an English soldier, keeps it a secret, falls in love with a German soldier--but I thought the metaphor of the sheep farm was fascinating. Overall I found this book to be interesting and thought-provoking, but not as riveting as I had hoped.(less)

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Jun 25, 2011 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Peter Ho Davies's novel The Welsh Girl is an expansion of his story "Think of England," one of the best from The Best American Short Stories 2001. Davies's story, about a Welsh girl whose schoolgirl English has gotten her a job serving soldiers the "English" side of a bar in her town during World War II, works better than many stories in the anthology because it never strives too hard to force the reader to a conclusion.Davies suggests the oddness of Esther's position and the ways her Welsh back...more Peter Ho Davies's novel The Welsh Girl is an expansion of his story "Think of England," one of the best from The Best American Short Stories 2001. Davies's story, about a Welsh girl whose schoolgirl English has gotten her a job serving soldiers the "English" side of a bar in her town during World War II, works better than many stories in the anthology because it never strives too hard to force the reader to a conclusion.Davies suggests the oddness of Esther's position and the ways her Welsh background colors her view of the war; which isn't to say that she doesn't want the English to win, rather that her feelings about seeing them in her town are mixed. Despite this she has a romance with one of the English soldiers, a sapper named Colin. Where the story ends, with Esther's rape, is where the novel begins to build, as the (slightly edited) story makes up the first two chapters of The Welsh Girl.

For his novel Davies focuses on the mysterious work of the English sappers that is mentioned in the story. The sappers are building a POW camp, and Davies introduces one of the POWs, Karsten, as a counterpoint to Esther's voice in his novel.

As you might gather from the way that Davies centers his novel around the lives of people living in the midst of England who are not themselves English, what he is interested in here are the ideas of place, roots, the formation of self-identity and national identity. Esther, despite her skill with the English language and her flirtation with the English Colin, is fiercely protective of her Welsh roots. Her father, despite understanding English, rarely speaks it. Jim, a nine-year-old English evacuee who lives with Esther and her father, is never able to fit in with the local boys despite his best efforts to impress them. Karsten, the German POW, chose to surrender rather than to fight to the death for Germany, a point of his story he is, for much of the novel, incapable of admitting to his mother, who has made her own stories about his situation. Rotheram, an intelligence officer for the British who was born in Germany to a Jewish father, is often identified as a German Jew by the British and Germans, despite his refusal to accept that label.

Davies peoples The Welsh Girl with characters all intent, to some degree or another, on exploring their own cultural and national histories. From this he's built a good story, but never one that illuminates the questions of identity he seeks to explore. Davies's prose is unadorned, rarely making an explicit approach to these questions of identity. This prose style works to the benefit of his novel's plot - The Welsh Girl is a quick and enjoyable read - but it also has the effect of keeping to the surface at points where Davies could have delved deeper.

The Welsh Girl is a pleasurable read, especially for the interactions between Esther, Jim and Karsten, which largely take place through the fence of the POW camp, but not one that lends any new insight to the way we form our ideas of ourselves and our nations. (less)

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Dec 07, 2010 Kirsty Darbyshire rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-book

This was a great book that I raced through and couldn't put down. I've read about a hundred good reviews of it and no one seems to have a bad word to say about it - at this point I would be disappointed if it doesn't at least make the shortlist. It's the third book I've read from this year's longlist, and so far it's my favourite.

The setting is the end of the second world war, the location is a small remote village in Wales and the central character is really Esther, the Welsh girl of the title.

...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is set in a small Welsh village in the final months of World War II. Esther, a local teenager, has seen the war impact her little town. A childhood friend goes off to fight, she becomes romantically involved with a British soldier and befriends a German POW who is imprisoned at a local camp. The story is told from varying points of view, not only Esther's. Karsten, the German POW, recalls his surrender to Allied troops on a besieged beach and shares memories of his submariner father, k...more

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Dec 30, 2009 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

between my flight out to California on Thursday and my flight home today, I read THREE BOOKS! Hooray! First up: The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies. Davies lives and works right here in my town - so I'm thinking local - and The Welsh Girl is his first novel, although he's written some acclaimed short stories and poems. Well, I liked the meat of The Welsh Girl, but it had a prologue and an epilogue that I didn't really love. They were completely necessary to tell the story, to provice nice bookends...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Diane16 rated it 4 of 5 stars

An extremely interesting book that weaves together the lives of three Europeans during the end of World War II: a young Welsh woman, an English interrogator who grew up in Germany, and a German prisoner. I enjoyed the historical scenes in the book, even the gruesome D-day description, because I never had imagined it from the soliders' perspectives. I also did not know the depth of the relationship and the past problems between the Welsh people and the English. The main characters in the book, es...more

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Feb 20, 2011 Lawrence -ISB rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it

Peter Ho Davies's two short-story collections, Equal Love and The Ugliest House in the World, met with critical acclaim, and reviewers generally enjoyed his first novel as well. Yet while they praised the book's complicated character portraits and its complex themes, many felt that the Rotheram-Hess subplot, while fascinating, was tangential to the novel's main triangle. And, despite the title, Esther does not appear to be the novel's protagonist. Perhaps the troubles begin with the prologue, in

...more

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Feb 17, 2010 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-read

I always hesitate to read WWII books or any books on war for that matter. I always think they are going to be depressing, dry or too violent, but usually I’m pleasantly surprise when I take the time to read one. The Welsh Girl was one of those that pleasantly surprised me.

The first couple of pages (prologue) were a bit dry, but I was glad that I pushed through it because I discovered a gem when I got to Esther’s perspective of the story. The book follows the perspective of three characters: Roth...more

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Mar 02, 2009 C(h)ristine rated it 3 of 5 stars

I bought this book more than a year ago. And I’d pick it up to read, then put it back down, pick it up again, then put it back down. I just wasn’t that intrigued by the subject matter (World War II) or by the opening lines–and I’d keep picking it up because I LOVE Peter Ho Davies’ work. He is a tremendous short story writer whose prose is amazing and who in real life is super gracious and charming. But I kept giving the book a chance and eventually I picked it up to read. It was a bit tedious at...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Veronica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I did like this book; it was a worthwhile read, but not five-star for me (I'd give it three and a half if I could). Very subtle and understated, it requires attention to pick up all the interlinked themes of identity, belonging, truth and lies, courage, cowardice. Parts of it were beautifully evocative, and the characters felt real. Don't read it if you want an all-action war story; this book is all about atmosphere and emotion.

But. As a lot of reviews have said, the subplot of Rotheram and Hess...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Historical fiction readers-WWII, unrequited love, Germany, Wales, POW, sheep farming

Shelves: books-i-own, world-war-ii

I picked this book up at a consignment store so I didn't have high expectations for it. It completely surpassed by expectations. This book was interesting, informative and memorable. My German heritage, interest in World War II and growing up on a farm may have contributed to my high rating.

It reminded me of My German Soldier (MGS), but better. I don't know how accurate my memory is of MGS since I read it over 10 years ago. The Welsh Girl contains dynamic characters, quotable dialogue (especial...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Ella rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this book. Honestly, I did. But I think it was because all the reviews made it our to be a story of forbidden romance between enemy countries, set with the backdrop of the war to end all wars. I think I was more disappointed because I had mislead expectations of what this book was about.

Firstly, let me say I disliked Esther intensely - and that isn't good if she's the main character. I felt she spent too much time moping and feeling sorry for herself. A sort of innocence...more I really wanted to like this book. Honestly, I did. But I think it was because all the reviews made it our to be a story of forbidden romance between enemy countries, set with the backdrop of the war to end all wars. I think I was more disappointed because I had mislead expectations of what this book was about.

Firstly, let me say I disliked Esther intensely - and that isn't good if she's the main character. I felt she spent too much time moping and feeling sorry for herself. A sort of innocence was exposed of her when she was with Colin, but other than that she irritated me no end, telling Karsten to go away but wanting him to come back; what was that all about?

Karsten, on the other hand, I loved. He seemed to be cheeky yet mature, and vulnerable in this foreign land. I think the author got the balance of this character just right, from his past experiences, to the way he dealt with things. There was nothing I could fault about him.

If you are like me, and got confused at the start of the book, ondering who on Earth Captain Rotheram is, don't worry about that too much, he only feautres in the epilogue, prologue and a few chapters inbetween, so don't worry too much about how on earth he fits into the story. He doesn't really.

My favourite character other than Karsten must've been Eric, who was only mentioned in one or two flashbacks - so that suggests to you the likeability of the characters in his book... -.-

The plot was ok.Jim and Karsten's budding freindship was enough to melt my heart, and Jim's anger when (view spoiler) towards Karsten was very powerful. I was really enjoying it, until the end - because the ending is truly when you decide whether you like a book or not. I felt it was lacking, and was a poor conclusion to such a promising story.

As for when Karsten and Ester finally met, well, what was that? One moment she's giving him eggs, the next (view spoiler) It seemed so forced and out of the blue.

Anyways, if you are interested in reading about German POW's, or Welsh Girls moping about for a few hundred pages, this is the book for you. Just be prepared to fall in love with Karsten!(less)

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Mar 04, 2008 Kristine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well-written, cinematically rendered WWII novel of interwoven stories of a 17-year-old Welsh barmaid and daughter of a sheep rancher, a German POW who surrendered, and a British interrogator who is a German Jew. Very interesting exploration of cowardice, pride, dislocation, and nationalism with well fleshed-out characters and vivid scenes.

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May 08, 2012 Matilda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: european-fiction

A beautiful book about 3 characters who all struggle with their identity and sense of belonging at the end of World War II. Rotheram, a German who is employed by the British after fleeing his home country, cannot accept his Jewishness. Esther is Welsh but begins relationships with both an Englishman (considered the enemy in her Welsh village) and a German (naturally another enemy during WWII). Meanwhile Karsten, a German soldier, is mistreated by his fellow prisoners after surrendering to the Br...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Anne-Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-material, hangin-on-my-bookshelves

J'ai bien aimé le livre, même s'il y avait parfois de petites longueurs. C'était un livre sur la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, mais abordé de trois points de vue : celui d'un prisonnier de guerre allemand qui doit vivre avec la honte de sa capitulation, celui d'une jeune fille galloise qui se fait violer par un soldat anglais et celui d'un demi-juif allemand (qui n'a jamais pratiqué la religion juive, mais plutôt celle de sa mère) qui doit s'exiler en Angleterre où il devient capitaine dans l'armée...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Candace rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't like this book. There were too many parts that should have been explained more, or gone into more detail, and didn't. And too many parts were the details given were more than enough, and not needed! I found myself confused in some parts, and over all looking forward to the end hoping it would all come together. However when I got to the end it felt like someone had ripped out the last 3 chapters of my book! It was completly unresolved, and not only did it feel like it was missing chapte...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Annika Paxman rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I picked this book up, it immediately intrigued me. Beginning with a German-Jew, Rotheram, who escaped Germany to Great Britain and now, interrogates German Prisoners. With that sort of beginning how can it not draw you in? Then, we jump to a small town in Wales, where the British are building a prison for German POW's and we meet Esther. Who is a bright Welsh girl, who dreams of leaving their small village and doing more with her life than raising sheep. But then becomes entangled with a...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Alison rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found this rather disappointing. I felt the story of Esther and Karsten a little predictable and underwhelming. At one point, after her rape by Colin I thought, "if she ends up pregnant, I'll scream" and sure enough, she was. Then I thought, she's going to pretend it's Rhys's baby - and guess what, she did! I also thought the story of Rotheram was a bit superfluous to the overall; though I thought it interesting it felt it was a bit "tacked on". The ending was a little rushed but by then I was...more

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Aug 26, 2009 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, bookclub

I wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. Why can't we do 1/2 stars? Ayway it is set is Wales just before D-day. Davies weaves 3 stories into one. An translator/interrogator, a German POW and a young Welch barmaid. The main themes are identity, alienation and belonging. cynefin is the welsh term that Davies uses throughout the book. There is not supposed to be an Englilsh word for it. It is one's place in life, where you belong, your roots so to speak. Esther the young barmaid seems to have most...more

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About Peter Ho Davies

Peter Ho Davies was born and raised in Coventry. Davies studied physics at Manchester University then English at Cambridge University.

In 1992 he moved to the United States as a professor of creative writing. He has taught at the University of Oregon and Emory University and is now on the faculty of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

He has published two...more

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