The Earth Hums in B Flat

By: Mari Strachan

Narrated by: Mari Howells

Young Gwenni Morgan has a gift. She can fly in her sleep. She's also fond of strawberry whip, detective stories, and asking difficult questions. When a neighbour mysteriously vanishes, she resolves to uncover the secret of his disappearance and return him to his children. She truthfully records what she sees and hears: but are her deductions correct? What is the real truth? And what will be the consequences for Gwenni, her family, and her community of finding it out?

Gwenni Morgan is an unforgettable creation, and this portrait of life in a small Welsh town on the brink of change in the 1950s is enthralling, moving, and utterly real. Mari Strachan's debut is a magical novel that will transport you to another time and place.

©2009 Mari Strachan (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The author's light touch keeps the story unfamiliar and surprising, while Gwenni's über-precocious narration revels in a love for language and reveals an unspoiled innocence about the world. It's small, quiet and nicely done." (Publishers Weekly)

"[A] beautifully realized debut. Strachan is especially good at infusing her material with a sense of magic that is rooted in ambiguity, and at capturing the sensibility of a small town where all lives are interconnected, for good or ill." (Booklist)