A Terrible Kindness, by Jo Browning Wroe

In October 1966, a landslide at a coal mine in Aberfan in Wales crushed a row of houses and a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. This is the story of the fictional William Lavery, a young boy who had only just finished his emblalming training when an urgent call for embalmers interrupted an event he was at. Despite being young, he volunteers to go. This choice he made changes his life, affects his future and also brings back unpleasant memories from the past. It is a pretty upsetting book at times so please check trigger warnings before.

Although the story is based around the true event of the Aberfan disaster, most of the story actually focuses on William’s childhood where he attended a choral school for boys. The book has many themes and topics, including sexuality, masculinity, family, PTSD, trauma, and friendship. It’s a beautifully written story, and is hopeful at the end.

How accessible is it?

The book is written in the third person POV in the present tense. I listened to the audiobook and found it really easy to follow along. Occasionally I got a bit mixed up with some of the names but I was probably trying to multitask at the time.

Book aesthetic - all photos are from Unsplash