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40th out of 632 books
—
321 voters
The Earth Hums in B Flat
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
Every night, 12-year-old Gwenni Morgan flies in her sleep. She leaves the bed she shares with her sister and soars into the night sky, listening to the nighttime sounds of her small Welsh village below. Irrepressible Gwenni -- a dreamer full of unanswerable questions and unbounded curiosity -- is childlike yet touchingly adult....more
Every night, 12-year-old Gwenni Morgan flies in her sleep. She leaves the bed she shares with her sister and soars into the night sky, listening to the nighttime sounds of her small Welsh village below. Irrepressible Gwenni -- a dreamer full of unanswerable questions and unbounded curiosity -- is childlike yet touchingly adult....more
Paperback, 327 pages
Published
March 5th 2009
by Canongate Books Ltd
(first published November 1st 2007)
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This book definitely gets full marks for originality. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it before. Both the writing style and plot were interesting and unique. I liked the setting a lot and also enjoyed all the interesting Welsh names. Gwenni was a likable enough character and she had an intriguing way of looking at things. The story moved a little too slowly for my liking though and I predicted the main plot twist from the start which was annoying. Most of the characters were pre...more
“Whales, porpoises, mermaids and mermen, dead sailors, fishes, crabs, tiny shrimps; the sea is forever full of eyes that watch me. I never fly far beyond the shore. If my town were a map the bay would have Here be Monsters written on it in golden ink.”
It always feels a cop out when I write a review about a book such as ‘The Earth Hums in B- Flat’ because I’m going to go on and on about how much I enjoyed it and you’ll read with wide-eyes shining, practically quivering with excitement because y...more
It always feels a cop out when I write a review about a book such as ‘The Earth Hums in B- Flat’ because I’m going to go on and on about how much I enjoyed it and you’ll read with wide-eyes shining, practically quivering with excitement because y...more
12 likes
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Really quite good, but somewhat painful reading. It reminds me in some ways of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in that it's about an ultra-naive child who decides to turn detective and is oblivious to the consternation she leaves in her wake as she goes about her investigations. A case could be made for an Asperger's diagnosis for Gwenni (besides her inability to comprehend other people's reactions, there's her extreme sensitivity to tastes and smells -- one has to read rather...more
7 likes
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like
· see review
Mari Strachan’s first novel is set in Wales in the 1950s. The close village community, the gossip, and behaviour is beautifully detailed and told through the eyes of the main character, 12 year old Gwenni. The author skilfully takes us into the mind of the child and her difficult world. The tiny Welsh village regards Gwennie as ‘quaint’, her mother seems to favour the older sister and hate Gwenni, the community attitudes are stifling to an imaginative child, and Gwenni’s own outlook on the world...more
The author paints a vivid picture of a girl growing up in a small Welsh village in the 1950s, with all its joys and tragedies (more of the latter) and the inescapable effects of the past on the present.
There are strong elements of both deliberate and accidental cruelty, the innocence of a child on the brink of adolescence striving to understand the complicated and often devastating connections among the people around her and the varied attitudes of the small, closed community in which she lives...more
There are strong elements of both deliberate and accidental cruelty, the innocence of a child on the brink of adolescence striving to understand the complicated and often devastating connections among the people around her and the varied attitudes of the small, closed community in which she lives...more
'The Earth Hums In B Flat' center's around oddball twelve-year-old Gwennie as she tries to solve the mystery of her neighbors disappearance and discover her family history. Strachan creates a brilliant picture of a small Welsh community where everyone knows everyone's secrets but nobody ever speaks of them. Her character's are wonderfully described, I especially enjoyed the police Sargent who seemed to make everything groan under his weight. Gwennie's mother is suffering from some sort of bi-pol...more
Mari Strachan's first novel was recommended to me by one of the lovely Waterstone's staff in Chelmsford. It sat on my shelf (like the toby jugs in her novel) watching me with growing disdain as I picked it up, read the back and returned it to its home.
A tale of an imaginative girl who sees herself as a budding detective wasn't drawing me in but, after some time, I put my faith in the woman who recommended it and opened it up.
It's wonderful. Set in rural Wales, it's a story of a young girl, Gwenn...more
A tale of an imaginative girl who sees herself as a budding detective wasn't drawing me in but, after some time, I put my faith in the woman who recommended it and opened it up.
It's wonderful. Set in rural Wales, it's a story of a young girl, Gwenn...more
May 07, 2012
Lilah
added it
My own review
The Earth Hums in B-Flat
By Mari Strachan
12 year old Gwenni Morgan doesn’t just dream, she flies in her sleep. She soars up into the night’s sky and listening to the earths hum. Unlike most people in Gwenni’s small welsh town she is quaint, imaginative and bookish Gwenni’s view of the world is different to everyone else’s, for she can see things others can’t. Most people find Gwenni’s odd manor annoying, although a very close neighbour truly loves Gwenni as if one of her own.
She enj...more
The Earth Hums in B-Flat
By Mari Strachan
12 year old Gwenni Morgan doesn’t just dream, she flies in her sleep. She soars up into the night’s sky and listening to the earths hum. Unlike most people in Gwenni’s small welsh town she is quaint, imaginative and bookish Gwenni’s view of the world is different to everyone else’s, for she can see things others can’t. Most people find Gwenni’s odd manor annoying, although a very close neighbour truly loves Gwenni as if one of her own.
She enj...more
I thought this was an interesting book. I picked it up in a charity shop because I liked the title and cover and thought it sounded interesting.
For me it fell a little short. We never learn the full story about Mam and Ifan Evans and why she still seemed to love him 14 or so years later even though he was abusive to his wife and possibly his children (they never did say what really happened to the twins).
I just felt the story was all a little too vague, with some things Gwenni investigated too m...more
For me it fell a little short. We never learn the full story about Mam and Ifan Evans and why she still seemed to love him 14 or so years later even though he was abusive to his wife and possibly his children (they never did say what really happened to the twins).
I just felt the story was all a little too vague, with some things Gwenni investigated too m...more
It's set in Wales. Don't forget that. Well, you can't. In fact, the author spends most of the first 100 pages painting an initially charming but eventually tiresome picture of an authentic North Welsh town in the Catherine Cookson-style long-ago-when-life-was-harder-but-the-world-was-better picture-postcard past. For instance, things are never white, they're "as white as the winter snow on Llapgoch" - just in case at any point you forget that IT'S SET IN WALES.
When the story finally gets going,...more
When the story finally gets going,...more
This book was a fascinating approach to childhood, eccentricity and the dangerous knock on effect of ill kept secrets. The narrator, a young girl called Gwenni, is attempting to pick her way through the ups and downs of that strange unknown hinterland of childhood moving into adolescence. Falling in and out of friendship, discovering boys but not particularly liking the discovery and over arching it all is her bizarre imagination and a whole host of phobias and worries. Her family life is, to sa...more
I'm suspicious of adult novels told in the first person from a child's point of view. The child is never really a child. It's always a quirky little prophet machine. It's innocence a mask in place to reveal the hypocrisy of adults. This doesn't mean that there haven't been novels like this that I have enjoyed. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and The Sweetnees at the Bottom of the Pie come to mind.
Another book to add to this list is The Earth Hums In B Flat by Mari Stranchan. G...more
Another book to add to this list is The Earth Hums In B Flat by Mari Stranchan. G...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was another book I picked up randomly from the "New Releases" aisle
at the library. It's the first book by an Welsh author who has been a
librarian for 40 years. Perhaps it was her life-long dream to publish a
novel. I enjoyed the story about a free-spirited 12-year-old who does a
lot of eavesdropping and tries to understand human behavior. This, of
course, leads to more questions and interesting situations. She has a
difficult mother who is institutionalized by the end of the book. It's
an intere...more
at the library. It's the first book by an Welsh author who has been a
librarian for 40 years. Perhaps it was her life-long dream to publish a
novel. I enjoyed the story about a free-spirited 12-year-old who does a
lot of eavesdropping and tries to understand human behavior. This, of
course, leads to more questions and interesting situations. She has a
difficult mother who is institutionalized by the end of the book. It's
an intere...more
superb, absolutely superb.
i didn't want it to end, and dragged out reading it because of that.
welsh literature is my most favorite of genres, and this did not disappoint. full of all the good stuff, madness, murder, family, welsh tradition, and one superb little female protagonist. what is it that makes me love welsh literature so much? perhaps the nostalgia of tea time at my mam and da's, with a spread of bread and butter and cakes gallore. perhaps the phrases that really are still used today a...more
i didn't want it to end, and dragged out reading it because of that.
welsh literature is my most favorite of genres, and this did not disappoint. full of all the good stuff, madness, murder, family, welsh tradition, and one superb little female protagonist. what is it that makes me love welsh literature so much? perhaps the nostalgia of tea time at my mam and da's, with a spread of bread and butter and cakes gallore. perhaps the phrases that really are still used today a...more
Great for adults and teens alike.
This was one of those rare things, a great cross-over book, a wonderful read for both adults and teens.
I loved the voice of Gwennie, a young girl, growing up in 1950's Wales. They don't have much, meals are frugal, cooking is still done on the fire and a new pair of socks is a significant expense - but Mam is saving for a house with an electric stove and a bed each for the girls.
The village is full of secrets, never spoken of, yet lurking in the general conciousn...more
This was one of those rare things, a great cross-over book, a wonderful read for both adults and teens.
I loved the voice of Gwennie, a young girl, growing up in 1950's Wales. They don't have much, meals are frugal, cooking is still done on the fire and a new pair of socks is a significant expense - but Mam is saving for a house with an electric stove and a bed each for the girls.
The village is full of secrets, never spoken of, yet lurking in the general conciousn...more
An average, enjoyable enough read that sadly failed to live up to my expectations.
Starting off quite well, I was hoping that this was going to be like a Welsh version of Alan Bradley's The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie and given the cast of eccentric characters and Gwenni's keen observations of people and situations it was, BUT ultimately it fell well short of the amateur detective story I was expecting.
A debut novel by Mari Strachan (A Waterstone's New Voice 2009 and an Amazon Rising Star...more
Starting off quite well, I was hoping that this was going to be like a Welsh version of Alan Bradley's The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie and given the cast of eccentric characters and Gwenni's keen observations of people and situations it was, BUT ultimately it fell well short of the amateur detective story I was expecting.
A debut novel by Mari Strachan (A Waterstone's New Voice 2009 and an Amazon Rising Star...more
It sometimes seems that literature is overpopulated with kooky children, but this book goes to prove one more is always welcome. Gwenni is pleasantly eccentric without being irritating, and is at that stage right in the gap between childhood and adolescence where you’re deemed too old to behave like a child but not old enough to hear adult talk. Her point of view is represented very well, and the book is also able to examine how it feels when your friends mature quicker than you do, and leave yo...more
First off I want to say yet again the blurb failed this book. I don’t know why but this seems to be occurring more and more often recently. The blurb made The Earth Hums in B Flat sound like a mystery or crime story, and while there are mysteries and crimes in the story I found it more to be a story about Gwennie and her life. She did think about the mysteries a lot, but I think the real story was in what she didn’t think but what we as readers could infer from what she thought and the goings on...more
The Earth Hums in B Flat tells the story of 12 year old Gwenni, her family and their small welsh village following the death of a local shepherd. Set in the 1950's, it is the story of murder and madness and family secrets, and how powerful they can be in an insular community. Narrated by Gwenni - whom many, including her own mother, consider odd - the story is told with a child like innocence. Often, as the reader, you understand more than Gwenni. Mari Strachan never lets the writing become chil...more
Aug 19, 2009
Lindsay
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adultfiction,
literaryfiction
This is the sort of book that doesn't belong in any genre, and quite frankly, I'm surprised it found an audience. Set in Wales during the late 50's, this book is the story of Gwenni-- a thirteen-year-old girl who maintains her individuality despite a nagging mother and a town full of gossips. From the book jacket, you might get the impression that this book is a murder mystery. However, the murder doesn't even come up until half-way through the book, and it isn't a major theme. I also wouldn't s...more
I was delighted when I was selected to receive a copy of this via the Goodreads 'First Reads' scheme as I regularly take a look at the books available there. Being from North Wales myself, the prospect of reading a story 'in my area' was very appealing, and the storyline summary sounded very ominous and intriguing.
I started, and finished, this book yesterday after enjoying it (quite honestly) more than I thought I would. My favourite genre of books is fantasy, and 'general fiction' has disappoin...more
I started, and finished, this book yesterday after enjoying it (quite honestly) more than I thought I would. My favourite genre of books is fantasy, and 'general fiction' has disappoin...more
I picked this up on a whim before a family vacation -- it was in the Barnes & Noble "staff recommends" section and I'd never heard of it before, but I was completely sucked in by the first few pages. It's gorgeous, really. Written by a Welsh author, it takes place in Wales in the mid-20th century. The book itself revolves around a mystery, told by a 12 or 13 year old girl who believes she can fly in her sleep and hear the earth's song. What's interesting is that during her nighttime "flights...more
Make no mistake, this is a beautifully written book, the settings and characters are well-drawn, and I would definitely read another by Mari Strachan. !950's Wales is lovingly recreated and it is worth reading for that portrait alone. So why only three stars? As sometimes happens I just did not get along with the main character Gwenni. With her imaginings and fantasies and other-worldliness she came over as entirely self-absorbed, and in the end I found her irritating in her naivete. In some res...more
Strachan's mastery at creating a small Welsh community from the eyes of a 12 year old named Gwenni leaps off every page of this wonderful book. The characters and surroundings are brought to life with such vivid detail that I am convinced they are alive, but then Gwenni doesn't always see things as they are. Her imaginative understanding of her town and its inhabitants is highly entertaining reading. From flying in her sleep to animating inanimate objects, Gwenni proves to be a very interesting...more
Dec 27, 2010
Relyn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
book lovers everywhere
Recommended to Relyn by:
spotted at the library and fell for the title
How could I not read a book with a title like that? So far, it is simply marvelous!
12/27
I am going to have to go back and look over my books this year, but this one is definitely in the close running for the best book of 2010. It was terrific. I don't even have the words yet to describe this book. Here are a few favorite quotes, though.
12/27
I am going to have to go back and look over my books this year, but this one is definitely in the close running for the best book of 2010. It was terrific. I don't even have the words yet to describe this book. Here are a few favorite quotes, though.
She thinks she knows everything. But to know isn't to understand, is it?...more
Up here, far away from everybody, the night is peaceful: there's no sound except the hum
The Earth Hums in B Flat is a wonderful, magical tale about a young girl trying to unravel the murder of a neighbour. Gwenni, a young girl who lives with her parents and sister in Wales has a vivid imagination. She truly believes she can fly and she does so almost every night when she’s supposed to be sleeping. Her mother thinks she’s odd and doesn’t want Gwenni to talk about these things. From the start I didn’t like her mother, a very bossy woman who indeed worked hard to live in a better home...more
I so loved this book. The story is told completely from the voice of a child and the author has held the integrity of that voice throughout.
Characters are depicted with the clear-cut honesty of a child. it is funny, intelligent and acutely observant.
The theme of the novel brings home the sad loss of the extra senses experienced in westernised cultures, the atrophy of Earth connection that is born of ignorance and prejudice.
The theme also deals with questions of conscience, and while it descends...more
Characters are depicted with the clear-cut honesty of a child. it is funny, intelligent and acutely observant.
The theme of the novel brings home the sad loss of the extra senses experienced in westernised cultures, the atrophy of Earth connection that is born of ignorance and prejudice.
The theme also deals with questions of conscience, and while it descends...more
I have read this book as a book club recommendation and would probably otherwise never have found it. It centres upon the life and family secrets of 12 year-old Gwennie who speaks intelligently but innocently of her life. She is sure she can fly - definitely in her dreams and possibly by day if she can only remember how she did it when she was small! We discover long-hidden family stories and are made to ponder the meaning of family, genetics, inheritance.
I found the style easy to read but very...more
I found the style easy to read but very...more
always have a fiction book on the go and my tastes are eclectic. I'm amenable and like to be fair in my reviews, but even with five star books it is very rare these days that I find a book glued to my hand for the duration of the reading experience. This was one of those rare occasions, and perhaps surprising, since novels told in the present tense first person are not my favourite mode of reading. However in this case, it was a perfect medium for the story of Gwennie Morgan, growing to adolesce...more
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| Is this a good book club book? | 5 | 25 | Sep 28, 2012 02:40am |
Mari Strachan was born into a Welsh family in Harlech, on the north-west coast of Wales, and was brought up there with Welsh as her first language.
After graduating from Cardiff University she qualified as a chartered librarian, and worked in a variety of libraries, from academic through public and prison to school libraries, with occasional forays into other occupations.
In 2007 she acquired an MA...more
More about Mari Strachan...
After graduating from Cardiff University she qualified as a chartered librarian, and worked in a variety of libraries, from academic through public and prison to school libraries, with occasional forays into other occupations.
In 2007 she acquired an MA...more
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“Up here, far away from everybody, the night is peaceful: there's no sound except the hum of the Earth. At school, when I sang the note to Mr Hughes Music he said it was B flat but he laughed when I said it was the note the Earth hummed. He said: You'll be hearing the music of the spheres next, Gwenni. But he doesn't know how the Earth's deep, never-ending note clothes me in rainbow colors, fills my head with all the books ever written, and feeds me with the smell of Mrs. Sergeant Jones's famous vanilla biscuits and the strawberry taste of Instant Whip and the cool slipperiness of glowing red jelly. I could stay up here for ever without the need for anything else in the whole world.”
—
2 people liked it
“Whales, porpoises, mermaids and mermen, dead sailors, fishes, crabs, tiny shrimps; the sea is forever full of eyes that watch me. I never fly far beyond the shore. If my town were a map the bay would have Here Be Monsters written on it in golden ink.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
Sep 01, 2011 03:46am