The Welsh Girl
“The Welsh Girl,” by Peter Ho Davies, (2007: ISBN 978-0-340-93827-0) is set in Wales during WWII.
Hauntingly vivid characters, beautifully crafted and lovely prose. A complex plot of intersecting lives embracing the stories of a captured German soldier being held in a POW camp in Wales, a local girl and a German-Jewish interrogator working for the British.
The story unfolds during the days following the D-Day landings in a small Welsh village. The characters lives intertwine as Karsten, a young German soldier escapes from a POW camp in Wales. His disappearance from the camp prompts investigation by Rotherham whose German Jewish identity makes him useful as an undercover interrogator for the British.It is Esther’s life on a sheep farm in Wales which provides the backdrop to the story. Her encounters with the English soldiers and then with Karsten, the escaped German soldier highlight the meaning of war and how dishonour as a civilian parallels the dishonour of a soldier.
Totally riveting. The best read I’ve had since The Kite Runner. ***** 5 stars.
