Return to Hendre Ddu

by Siân James

Hendre Ddu, the home farm of the Evans family, appears seemingly peaceful. It is now the middle of World War I, however, and this gripping saga reveals that lives have been shattered here as well. This tumultuous sequel to the classic novel A Small Country begins with a crippled Tom Evans returning from the front only to fight another battle—keeping the farmhouse afloat. At first all seems to be going well, but increasingly tangled affairs and financial realities result in heartache and new challenges for the entire family. Weaving character and dialogue, this is an intriguing tale of early 20th-century romance and passion in rural Wales.

Genres: Historical Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Siân James was a Welsh novelist who wrote in English.

James attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She was a Fellow of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Glamorgan. She was a Fellow of the Welsh Academy. She twice won the Yorkshire Post Prize, and her third novel, A Small Country, has come to be regarded as a classic of Anglo-Welsh literature. In 2006, A Small Country was made into a Welsh-language TV series (Calon Gaeth), which won the 2007 Bafta Cymru award for Best Drama/Drama Serial for Television.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very different from A Small Country, although it does continue describing the lives the same characters. Reading this was much like listening to a neighbour tell the stories, rather than the weaving of carefully planned threads and imagery of the first book. They language is more rhythmic--a reader can hear the lilt in the storyteller's voice. I did enjoy returning to Hendre Ddu, but this book was more about events and the characters were not as real or compelling.