A Terrible Kindness The Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller

*A BOOK OF THE MONTH RADIO 2 STEVE WRIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON PICK* *AN OBSERVER DEBUT OF 2022* *AS FEATURED ON FRONT ROW* When we go through something impossible, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them . . . It is October 1966 and William Lavery is having the night of his life at his first black-tie do. But, as the evening unfolds, news hits of a landslide at a coal mine. It has buried a school: Aberfan. William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job as an embalmer, and it will be one he never forgets. His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to forget. But compassion can have surprising consequences, because - as William discovers - giving so much to others can sometimes help us heal ourselves. 'I LOVE IT! Utterly and completely brilliant.' JOANNA CANNON 'It's a long time since I've read a debut novel that moved me so much.' RACHEL JOYCE 'Extraordinary.' SOPHIE HANNAH 'A brave and tender novel.' JOANNA GLEN What readers are saying: 'One stunning read to remember.' 'Beautifully written . . . I would recommend this book to all.' 'Utterly heartbreaking and uplifting . . . I loved it.' 'Tremendous.' "Tonight nineteen-year-old William Lavery is dressed for success, his first black-tie do. It's the Midlands Chapter of the Institute of Embalmers Ladies' Night Dinner Dance, and William is taking Gloria in her sequined evening gown. He can barely believe his luck. But as the guests sip their drinks and smoke their post-dinner cigarettes a telegram delivers news of a tragedy. An event so terrible it will shake the nation. It is October 1966 and a landslide at a coal mine has buried a school: Aberfan. William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job, and will be - although he's yet to know it - a choice that threatens to sacrifice his own happiness. His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to bury. But compassion can have surprising consequences, because - as William discovers - giving so much to others can sometimes help us heal ourselves."--Provided by publisher Tonight nineteen-year-old William Lavery is dressed for success, his first black-tie do. It will be his first job, and will be - although he's yet to know it - a choice that threatens to sacrifice his own happiness in his desire to help others.