This story is told from the perspective of Huw Morgan, one of the youngest children in a large Welsh family. It took my most of the book to figure out his name is pronounced "Hugh" and not "Huwuwuw". My edition had a helpful "how to pronounce Welsh names" chart in the back.
This book was simply lovely. The imagery is delightful and interesting and there are several compelling themes throughout:
1. unions and the attempt to negotiate fair wages
2. how to remain a family during great change and difficulty
3. the role of religion in a village undergoing great change
4. social propriety and impropriety
5. the effects of gossip
6. learning and growing into an adult.
As I list these things I am realizing that change is a rather pervasive theme throughout the book:
1. the change the valley undergoes as coal mining increases and slag gets dumped in the valley itself
2. the change that occurs as the valley becomes more populated
3. the change that the Morgan family undergoes as various members marry and move away
4. Huw's changes as he grows older, learns, fights, loves.
I highly recommend this book, with the understanding that it mimics life and tends to be more episodic in nature.
This was my first Kurt Vonnegut book and from reading it I get a sense of the humor and wit this man possessed. I do not give this book a good review because it seems he mostly just rants about our obsession with oil and how the world is a mess and there's no helping us.
I have heard this rant before and Vonnegut does not add anything useful, interesting, or moving to it. Toward the end he even admits that some humorists lose their humor and just become angry and maybe that has happened to him. Yes, I think it has. Nonetheless I am intrigued and will probably read Slaughterhouse Five sometime in the near future.
