This is a lovely,lovely book. I first saw the movie, then read the book. I loved the movie, and the book was even better. The writing has a Welsh cadence that is really beautiful. His descriptions and his characters will stay with you forever. The coal mining families had difficult lives, but there was such a beauty in the everyday life of the Welsh valley and the family closeness. I got my future husband to read it after I read it and he's not someone who loves to read, but he thanked me for giving him the book. We told one of his friends about it and he read it and thanked us for telling him about it. It is among my top ten favorites of all the books I've ever read - and I've read a LOT of books!
