Llewellyn's tale of a young man's coming-of-age in a small Welsh mining town--the basis for the beloved film of the same name--is "a beautiful story told in words which have Welsh music in them . . . a book which will live in the mind and memory of its readers" ("Atlantic Monthly").
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Llewellyn's tale of a young man's coming-of-age in a small Welsh mining town--the basis for the beloved film of the same name--is "a beautiful story told in words which have Welsh music in them . . . a book which will live in the mind and memory of its readers" ("Atlantic Monthly").
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Add this copy of How Green Was My Valley to cart. $21.59, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published by Signet Book.
Add this copy of How Green Was My Valley to cart. $79.81, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 1968 by Signet.
This wonderful book, quite changed my life when I read it 50 years ago - so I had to read it again to rediscover WHY. I am the boss"s daughter and it opened my eyes to the worker's point of view and changed my politics.
It was a JOY to read again and you can hear the Welsh accent throughout. oxo
AnnLeslie
Aug 3, 2009
How Great Was His Valley
A few times in my reading life I have been so been so touched by a book that when it is over I feel a great loss and literally clasp the book to my chest like a loved-one just departed.
Some one once said, after seeing the beauty of Alaska, that he wished he had seen it as an old man, for it's magnificent beauty would surely spoil any scene he would ever see after. That's how I feel about this lovely, beautiful, wonderful book. I am afraid nothing I read will ever make me feel like this.
It's about a small coal-mining village in Wales and the people in it. The focus is on a big wonderful family that loves each other very much though they sure do have their share of trouble. The point of view is that of Huw, beginning when he is just 6 years old and going all the way to his middle age. The prose is, well, poetry. I collected my favorite bits in a list on the bag page but there are too many to fit here. Here's but a few:
"Beautiful were the days that are gone, and O, for them to be back. The mountain was green, and proud with a good covering of oak and ash, and washing his feet in a streaming river clear as the eyes of God. The winds came down with the scents of the grass and wild flowers, putting a sweetness to our noses, and taking away so that nobody could tell what beauty had been stolen, only that the winds were old robbers who took something from each grass and flower and gave it back again, and gave a little to each of us, and took it away again."
"...a tidy house, but open to the weather, and the winds had choir practice whenever they could on every side of it."
"Ceinwen was in my mind, and I kept her there as men keep libraries of rare books, seldom to be touched but happy to know you have got."
I wonder if anyone could ever write such a masterpiece again. If I ever thought I could be a writer, I don't now. I suppose I am just a reader, a proper bibliophile. With books like this, it's enough.
