Goodness, what a book! I loved it from beginning to end, with all the tears and laughter along the way.

Although I was too young at the time to understand much about the Aberfan disaster, unfortunately plenty of other terrible disasters have occurred since. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t ever given much thought to the effect they might have on funeral directors, and specifically embalmers. We just lean on them and trust them to get on with their job. I hope I don’t take them so much for granted in future.

Young, newly qualified embalmer, William, responds immediately to the call for volunteers to travel to Aberfan to look after those who have died. “Keep your head down and your heart hard. That’s your kindness”, he is told by one more experienced. Keeping his head down is one thing – he manages to carry out his duties admirably; keeping his heart hard is quite another.

William is a troubled soul; troubled not only in response to this incident, but by various events and relationships during his childhood, which we gradually learn about as the narrative moves back and forth in time. Some of these events are hinted at for a while before they are fully revealed. I enjoyed this aspect and found it intriguing, rather than infuriating, which it might have been in a different author’s hands.

Although I found the ending hugely satisfying, I didn’t want the story to end, as I’d grown very fond of William and the other people in his life.

A Terrible Kindness is an extraordinary book, weaving one of Wales’ worst tragedies into a breathtakingly moving story of a newly qualified embalmer. The writing is beautiful, crafted from meticulous research and the characters are so very real. I loved it.

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I feel so emotional and afraid that I will never to able to praise this book enough. I was nine years old when the Aberfan disaster happened. It was one of those moments in time that no one could ever forget. So to conjure up that era just came naturally, how people dressed, talked and the taboos of that time.

The story opens, with the central character William, at nineteen, being awarded the highest grade possible, with perfect marks, as he graduates as an embalmer. The black-tie event comes to an abrupt halt when word arrives that embalmers are urgently needed in Aberfan. A large area of the village and school has been buried with a huge landslide. A call for children's coffins has gone out and urgent help.

It is there where you will connect with William, this tender, caring man, who will forever be changed, with the thing he sees. His gentle manner, his thoughtfulness and respect. He had known where his life was going before that night, but for the second time, outside events would send him on a different path.

William has the most amazing singing voice, and as a child is offered a place to be trained as a choir boy where he will board with other boys like himself. What a wonderful friend he meets there, Martin, who is the same age. The story drops back to this time, and I giggled my way through these chapters.

Family plays a huge part in this story, the dynamics of relationships, love, death and acceptance. It has it all and with such powerful writing that every person feels real. Every event affected me. This story isn’t just memorable. It is unforgettable. It is perfection.

I wish to thank that publisher and Net Galley for an e-copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.

This is the most unusual and compelling novel set in Wales that I have read in recent years. The year is 1966 and nineteen year-old William has recently qualified as an embalmer when news of the Aberfan disaster reaches him. William volunteers to lay out and prepare for burial the bodies of many of the 116 children who died when a landslide of slurry pit buried them in their school. He also takes on the harrowing task of helping parents identify their children, and his unselfish commitment causes him post traumatic stress over the ensuing decade. Interspersed with William as a young adult are references to his difficult childhood, and his relationships with his mother, uncle and others. Despite a plot line founded on human tragedy, this is a gentle, sensitive, observing book that deserves to find many readers. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for the free ARC that allowed me to read it and to produce this unbiased review.

A terrible Kindness

A terrible situation written about a traumatic happening but written with great tenderness. William will grab your heartstrings and won’t let go. Although I lived at the time of the Aberfan disaster this book points a different lens at the whole scene. Heartbreaking at times, but from the heartbreak comes hope. Do read it.

This title had me crying on the train on the way to work. Really well written, carrying the emotional depth of William’s traumas. I had no idea about this aspect of the Aberfan tragedy, so it’s led me on to other research and reading.
It also holds a reminder of the damage not talking can do.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the opportunity to read an ARC of this very special book.

I absolutely adored this stunning book! It was only recently that I had even heard of the Aberfan tradegy, so when I read the blurb I was very intrigued to read this novel.
Although the Aberfan tradegy is just horrendous, this book used it as its back drop for telling an impressively uplifting story of what happens to William when he begins to deal with the consequences of his involvement in what happened.
William's character has so much depth. I really felt I was accompanying him on his journey as he worked through his conflicting and difficult emotions. There are a number of interesting characters: Martin, his best friend from boarding school and William's uncle.
Besides, brilliant unforgettable characters, the plot moves along at a good pace. I thought shifting between the past and present worked very well.
For those who feel this may be a depressing book, it is anything but. It is beautiful, uplifting and memorable and in my Top 5 for the year. I will be recommending it to friends and family. I am hoping to see this on The Women's Prize for Fiction in the coming year.

If I'd reviewed this book after reading only the first section, I would have given it five stars. It had me hooked. I loved the story and I loved the way that it was told.
But then as I got deeper into the book, it started to drag. The big event that wasn't revealed till later and that explained why the protagonist was no longer talking to his mother just seemed a little mundane in the end. Expectations were built up then never fulfilled.
I felt frustrated with him. He obviously had PTSD after his awful experiences as an embalmer at Aberfan, but I don't feel he treated his mother or his lover particularly well. Both wonderful women but he rejected them both at times. Maybe that's realistic - but I didn't quite get what he was doing.
I still liked the book. I'd still recommend it - it was different and well-written. It just didn't quite live up to the promise of its opening chapters.

The premise of this book really intrigued me - it’s not often the main character in a story is an embalmer. The opening scenes which take place during the Aberfan disaster were moving, and at times quite harrowing, and despite finding parts quite difficult to read I was keen to see how the story would unfold.

Unfortunately I didn’t particularly enjoy the book as I found it rather bleak throughout, and there are quite a lot of themes explored that people might find triggering. I struggled to feel much sympathy towards many of the characters, despite the difficulties they have faced. In my opinion the motivations for their behaviours aren’t very well explained, and I felt that some reactions weren’t entirely realistic.

The author has worked really hard on the research for this book and the settings are very well described.

I really wanted to like this book, but it’s an emotionally difficult read and not one I really enjoyed picking up at the end of a long day.

A moving story, it starts with a tragedy. This then takes us back in time to understand William’s story. Due to the tragedy he experienced, he became a victim of what today would be post traumatic stress and it shaped his life for years after.
There was beauty in the story too though. The beauty of friendship, love and the ties that bind. Terrible Kindness is a story filled with all of life’s emotions and the title says it beautifully.

Deeply emotive, a book that grips you from the beginning holding your attention, painting a picture of death and despair, hope and happiness with the strength of family woven throughout.
The author was very descriptive in their writing painting the scenes in my head, holding me within the story making it a part of me.
A thoroughly enjoyable piece of fiction interwoven sensitively with a historical event that shocked the world.
Well worth a read.

This book was well written but not my 'cup of tea' unfortunately and I found it a hard book to read.

I did persevere with this book but it didn't have a lasting impression on me sadly and I was glad when I had got to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is a moving book about a young man who volunteered to help after the landslides at Aberfan killed dozens of school children. It charts his upbringing and his estrangement from his mother and his schoolhood friend, and then his estrangement from his wife, as he battles to come to terms with his demons. The narrative proceeds gently towards its restorative conclusion.

A Terrible Kindness is not an easy read, by the nature of where the beginning is set amongst the tragedy of Aberfan, it was never going to be, of course. I thought the beginning was very well written and very moving. The devastation and the people involved were described with great emotion and I was very moved. However, for me, the story lost itself by then skipping backwards and forwards to the main character, William's former events in his life.

William is a complicated character whose life has been shaped by some difficult events, despite this, I found it hard to like William's character though. I did understand what he had been through and loved his kindness at the beginning and I totally understood how the events affected him, however, his behaviour at other stages in his life did frustrate me. My favourite character was Martin, I loved his resilience and joy of life, his understanding and forgiveness; he was lovely.

Overall, this is an interesting read, it certainly tugs at the emotions, as it should considering the subject. I remember the disaster at Aberfan happening, so found it particularly harrowing. However, for me, this story lost its way in the middle, the back and forth of the storyline didn't help. The story had real potential and for a debut novel it is good, but it didn't quite work in my opinion.

What an amazing debut from this author. I loved this book and how it described events from the point of view of a young boy and that of a young man equally convincingly. I realised I don’t actually read many books that are written from a male perspective and that gave this an added dimension. For me. The research done by the author into the work of an embalmer and life as a chorister at Cambridge was meticulous and made the novel especially absorbing and convincing. The trauma of Aberfan was sensitively and movingly depicted.I remember seeing the news reports as a child and it always haunted me. I felt the depiction accurately reflected my memories of that time. I cried a lot during this book! But the story was also a wonderful, warm portrayal of friendships and relationships through various life stages, and how they are shaped by challenges in life. For me this is probably my favourite read of 2021 and I very much look forward to hearing more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

What a beautifully written coming of age story that portrays the difficulties of growing up. The Aberfan disaster was harrowing and unforgettable for the nation and for those that were there I have no doubt they suffered with PTSD. The book highlights the immense training that embalmers have to do especially in sometimes very difficult circumstances.
William was a very tender soul and was already affected by his time in Cambridge as a Chorister and his difficult relationship with his Mother but Aberfan changed his life and eventually helped him to come to terms with the relationships in his life.
For a debut book this was amazing and I would love to see this story created into a film. I will certainly be following this author in future. She has treated one of the UK's worst disasters in a delicate, thoughtful way.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

This coming of age story is beautifully written examining the human journey of life and death, love and loss.

Stunningly evocative, Wroe quietly portrays the 1950s and 60s vividly in a way that fans of Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers will love. The moving accounts of what it means to honour the dead and their grieving families through the art of embalming is masterfully written. The tragedy of Aberfan is handled with beautiful care and sensitivity.

The subject matter of this book could very much take the reader into melancholy and despair, but Wroe weaves so much hope into this novel through the glory of music, love and forgiveness. One of my best reads of the year.

In many ways A Terrible Kindness is an accomplished coming of age novel. The characters are smart and sensitively drawn, and however frustrating he may be, the main protagonist William does go through some genuine character development. It's moving and nuanced, with a charming cast of secondary characters.

The problem is that it takes on a bit too much for one novel - themes of death, grief, love, friendship, jealousy, prejudice and trauma rather overwhelm the real historical events at Aberfan. The pacing is uneven: while some scenes are rendered in crisp detail, others feel harried and half-finished, and the jumps in time are not always best-placed. Aberfan should be the backbone of this story, but by the end it feels almost like it's been used as a plot device.

In many ways A Terrible Kindness is a promising debut: the storytelling skill is there, it just needs a little refinement. I look forward to seeing how Browning Wroe's writing develops in the future.

A beautifully written and tender book. It made me appreciate the wonderful work that embalmers do, especially in these difficult circumstances. William’s PTSD was very well portrayed, even though quite frustrating at times - but I think it is understood a lot more now. My only criticism is the effect the Ash Wednesday incident had on William. I don’t see why it should have affected his relationship with his mother, and music, so much.

I really enjoyed this book and can honestly say I have never read anything like it. 19 year old William has just qualified as an embalmer. When the terrible tragedy of Aberfan unfolds, he volunteers to go and help when the request for embalmers is put out. The description of how he and his colleagues deal with the situation is heart breaking, and William is profoundly affected by his experience. This is the story of how Aberfan changed his life and ultimately helps him to come to terms with events of his childhood. I recommend this as a very good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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