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  <title><![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]></description>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[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.  Th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4539442">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[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 soldie...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2413261">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This historical novel started out with such promise. And, from a literary standpoint, it probably delivered. But I didn't like the multiple stories and didn't see how they came together.[return][return]The Welsh girl, Esther, works in a pub, has an alcoholic father, a dead mother, and the family tak...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73025118">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_updated>Tue Jun 23 07:01:04 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[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 l...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60769426">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Mon Aug 03 11:04:12 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[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 c...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65679154">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Thu Feb 05 09:42:09 -0800 2009</date_added>
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    <body><![CDATA[<p>Peter Ho Davies's two short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, 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...</p><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45461423">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45461423]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>46994674</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Feb 20 16:23:24 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Mar 02 11:04:32 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46994674">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46994674]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <id type="integer">1298851</id>
  <isbn>0618918523</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618918522</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">9</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl : A Novel]]>
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  <average_rating>3.43</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 05 20:38:37 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Mar 04 13:01:22 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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 wel...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11755533">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11755533]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <id type="integer">2015240</id>
  <isbn>0340938277</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780340938270</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">12</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.14</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Mon May 25 05:49:31 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 01 05:08:11 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book literally took my breath away a few times.  The story takes place in a small Welsh village in September 1944 amidst the convergence of German POWs, English army officers, Welsh-speaking villagers, and a German Jew working for the British who has been assigned to interrogate Rudolf Hess.  I...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57235866">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57235866]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>45877152</id>
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    <id>1504963</id>
    <name><![CDATA[T.j.]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/137796.The_Welsh_Girl</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Mon Feb 09 17:37:54 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 09 17:38:43 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A few years ago I came across a short story from a new writer called &quot;The Ugliest House in the World.&quot;   Set in a small Welsh town, the story was simple, clear, and incredibly moving; I've never forgotten it and I have often wondered if he wrote anything else.  Just recently, I  read a rev...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45877152">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45877152]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>68926063</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Holly]]></name>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">160</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/137796.The_Welsh_Girl</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 26 03:56:17 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Aug 26 04:09:41 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[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...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68926063">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68926063]]></url>
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</review>
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    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 27 14:49:31 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 29 04:01:36 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I loved the story line about Rotherham, the interrogator of Hess.  Esther's conflicts, however, seemed to be a story I've already read in another novel (in many other novels?), dressed up in beautiful language.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2458247]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2458247]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>57718655</id>
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  <isbn>0340938277</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780340938270</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">12</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2015240.The_Welsh_Girl</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[richard &amp; judy book club]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 29 03:51:27 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 26 02:03:05 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book I came to admire a lot. I'll admit it took a while to get into it, and I found it began a little stilted. I also found it bizarre how a large number of characters had both their first and last names beginning with the same letters (Esther Evans, Jack Jones, Harry Hitch, Mary Monroe just of...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57718655">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57718655]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57718655]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41864541</id>
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  <id type="integer">1298851</id>
  <isbn>0618918523</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618918522</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">9</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl : A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182592162m/1298851.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1298851.The_Welsh_Girl_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 04 13:28:11 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 06 07:39:01 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<em>The Welsh Girl</em> was very atmospheric and parts were lovely, though the messages about home and family and belonging seemed a little forced by the end.  Also, the appearance and subsequent disappearance of Rotheram for 200 pages was not very well-done - at the beginning it seemed that the novel would ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41864541">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41864541]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41864541]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39050421</id>
    <user>
    <id>1518785</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Chris]]></name>
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  <id type="integer">137796</id>
  <isbn>0618007008</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618007004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">160</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172090876m/137796.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/137796.The_Welsh_Girl</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <date_added>Mon Dec 01 13:59:01 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 01 14:08:18 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I liked this book a lot, and if I could have given it 4.5 stars, I would have done so. The Welsh Girl is an evocative coming-of-age story set in Wales during WWII, in which Esther, a seventeen-year-old, becomes deeply invovled with a German POW. The main themes of the novel have to do with identity,...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39050421">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39050421]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39050421]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>54981234</id>
    <user>
    <id>1386252</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Shelby]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Beijing, China]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1386252-shelby-mckean]]></link>
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  <isbn13>9780618007004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">160</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172090876m/137796.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/137796.The_Welsh_Girl</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon May 04 21:04:05 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon May 04 21:13:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is about my speed for a beach chair read.  The writing was like a movie, the story just odd enough, the characters likeable.  A small Welsh sheep-herding village houses a camp for German POW's.  Esther, the central character is a young woman wanting out of small town life.  Without actually man...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54981234">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54981234]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>69504729</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Jessica]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Aug 30 19:13:31 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Aug 30 19:17:13 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book ended up in my hands b/c I had a book drive for children's books and it ended up dumped in one of the boxes and I fished it out.  It rounded out my UK thing for the summer...I'm kind of obsessed with Wales anyway.<br/>It was a nice bookend to the summer, having begun with Potato Peel Pie ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69504729">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69504729]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Chip]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl : A Novel]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon May 11 07:16:17 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon May 11 07:33:48 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Well written, fascinating read with a sense of history, suspense and passion. (Man Booker prize winner.)  Esther Evans, a 17 year-old barmaid is at the center of this story, as the end of WWII reveals its ravage.  Set in the rich, rolling landscape of north Wales, with it's sheep herding and agraria...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55658715">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55658715]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55658715]]></link>
</review>
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    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
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  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 29 12:11:46 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 29 12:19:56 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A setting I've never run into before--Wales around the time of the D-Day invasion, with the mixed attitudes about who exactly is the enemy, the Germans (new), or the English (forever). Compelling, believable characters, and a series of actions that weave together into a fairly inevitable plot. Raise...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54382571">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54382571]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54382571]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>50897728</id>
    <user>
    <id>1962503</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Blodeuedd]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Vaasa, 15, Finland]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1962503-blodeuedd-finland]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">137796</id>
  <isbn>0618007008</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780618007004</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">160</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Welsh Girl]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172090876m/137796.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/137796.The_Welsh_Girl</link>
  <average_rating>3.41</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>702</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Following two widely praised short-story collections, <em>Equal Love</em> and <em>The Ugliest House in the World</em>, Peter Ho Davies's first novel, <em>The Welsh Girl</em>, deserves to be equally well received. It carefully examines two great themes, dislocation and cowardice, through the stories of a WWII POW camp built by the British in the remote mountains of northern Wales and Esther, the 17-year-old Welsh girl at the heart of the story. The POW camp, filled with Germans, is yet another national insult, as far as the Welsh are concerned, only one of many instances of prejudice between and among the novel's characters: Welshman against Brit and vice versa, Brits and Welshmen against Germans, Germans against Jews. Some of these enmities are age-old antagonisms; others are newly-minted political killing machines. <p> Davies introduces a Welsh concept--<em>cynefin</em>--for which there is no English equivalent. It means a certain knowledge and sense of place that is passed down the matrilineal line in a flock of sheep. They always know where they belong and never leave their own turf. It is a perfect metaphor for much of what takes place in this carefully plotted story, and for the displacement felt by many of the characters. Esther longs to escape her village, yet is devoted to the flock and to her father. She meets Colin, an English soldier, in the pub where she works. He is a rough sort and things end very badly between them. <p> Another theme visited again and again is the concept of cowardice. Is it cowardly to save one's life and the lives of others by surrendering to the enemy? Is death the price that must be paid to be considered brave? The German POWs debate this endlessly, especially Karsten, an intelligent, sensitive soldier who did surrender himself and his men when it was clear that all was lost. When he and Esther find one another under impossible circumstances, Davies renders their relationship perfectly: it is star-crossed, but desperately important to both of them, setting them both &quot;free&quot; in the truest sense of the word. <em>The Welsh Girl</em> is a beautifully told story of love, war, and the accommodations we make in the midst of both. <em>--Valerie Ryan</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Mar 30 05:29:34 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 15 10:25:18 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It seems this book wasn't what I thought it was about, but that was just fun.<br/><br/>It's a book about 3 people, even though it focuses mostly on 2 of them. First there is a Jewish captain who is sent to see if Rudolf Hess is crazy or not. He is being held prisoner in Welsh. Then there is the ma...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50897728">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50897728]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50897728]]></link>
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