Book and Movie Recommendation

In case you were wondering, (ha!), my favorite film of all time is How Green Was My Valley. This movie is based on a book of the same name authored by Richard Llewellyn, and originally published in 1939. Until very recently, I had never read the book. However, a very good friend of mine (Thanks, Janet!) rectified this situation, and gave me the book as a gift.

Oh how wonderful it is! I have only read 6 chapters thus far, but I can say without a doubt that you should all run to your nearest library or bookstore to pick up a copy. The story is about a man, Huw Morgan, who is about to leave his Welsh village forever. He describes his life as the youngest son in a large family, all of whom are employed by the local coal mine. Huw is about 6 years old when the story begins.

The writing style is terrific. Here are three passages which will give you a taste of this book:

"There was never any talk while we were eating. Even I was told to hush if I made a noise. And that way, I think, you will get more from your food, for I never met anybody whose talk was better than good food."

"It is very strange to think back like this, although come to think of it, there is no fence or hedge round Time that has gone. You can go back and have what you like if you remember it well enough."

"When we were all ready, we stood to sing the morning hymn, and Mrs. Tom said a little prayer, asking a blessing on us all, and strength of mind and will to live and learn for the benefit of mankind. I remember well trying to think about mankind. I used to try to build up something that would look like mankind because the word Man I knew, and Kind I knew. And I thought at last, that mankind was a very tall man with a beard who was very kind and always bending over people and being good and polite."

It might not even be too late to put this book and movie on your list to Santa. :-)