The Earth Hums in B Flat - Tapa blanda

The Earth Hums in B Flat is a richly evocative, warm but unsentimental tale of a child detective struggling to piece together clues about the lives around her. These lives, and the characters who live them, are so vividly drawn and Mari Strachan's careful unraveling of the secrets they hide is extremely compelling. I loved this novel.' * * Catherine O'Flynn, author of What Was Lost * * For all its darkness, this is a marvelously comic thriller, full of acute observation and beautifully lit by a strain of wild poetic imagination. -- Alison Prince * * Mslexia * * At times comical, but at other moments deeply moving. An impressive and wonderfully absorbing debut, which evokes the atmosphere of a small Welsh town with wit and precision. * * Waterstone's Books Quarterly * * A fondness for unorthodoxy gives [Strachan's] girl-growing-up story its unique flavour . . . A warm and touching, but blessedly unsentimental, novel. -- Kate Saunders * * The Times * * An assured debut novel, this is a compelling page-turner for all ages. -- Alastair Mabbot * * Herald * * Set in the 1950s in a world on the brink of change, this mesmerising and magical story weaves fantasy with reality and compelling characterisation; it's both spellbinding and inspiring. * * Easy Living * * Strachan's prose is pitch perfect. A gorgeous debut. -- Eithne Farry * * Marie Claire * * At a time when many panic-stricken publishers want their debut novelists to resemble junior celebs fresh out of stage school, Mari Strachan - and Canongate - are proving that the words still matter most. ... Strachan has a voice and a vision all her own. -- Boyd Tonkin * * Independent * * The author's debut novel has made her one of the Waterstone's New Voices for 2009 and it's easy to see why. Her quirky and charming tale stands out due to its blend of realism tinged with fantasy. -- Vanessa Curtis * * Scotland on Sunday * * An assured debut novel, this is a compelling page-truner for all ages. * * Herald * * A warm and touching, but blessedly unsentimental, novel. -- Kate Saunders * * The Times * * Strachan's deft handling of a dark subject is both sober and sparkling. -- Catherine Taylor * * Guardian * * A blend of magic, detective tale and bildungsroman, Mari Strachan's debut novel is full of quaint charm. Gwenni's inventive take on the world - from the faces she sees in the wallpaper to her belief that a neighbour's fur stole blinks at her - is a delight. -- Melissa McClements * * Financial Times * * I loved this debut, which manages to give a young girl's narrative an authentically quirky aspect, without ever resorting to cutesiness or cosiness . . . Strachan eschews whimsy for reality in a beautifully written story about growing up. -- Lesley McDowell * * Independent on Sunday * * Brilliant debut novel. * * Independent on Sunday * * Gwenni is a simply delightful creation. -- Elaine Simpson-Long * * http://randomjottings.typepad.com/ * *

'Has our family got secrets?' 'Every family has, Gwenni. Big secrets, small secrets, silly secrets, bad things we want to hide . . . ' 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.