From Publishers Weekly
Continuing the saga of the little Welsh mining community of Sweyn's Eye, Gower (Spinner's Wharf centers on the women whose interconnected lives are a source of sustenance and renewal for them. Catherine, the central female character, struggles to maintain vitality in an unromantic marriage and a hardscrabble farm. When her husband, David, returns from World War I paralyzed in soul as well as body, another veteran throws in his lot with the young couple to help them run Ram's Tor farm. Predictably, the virile, handsome helper, Morgan, an eligible bachelor but a reluctant farmer, will be attracted to Catherine. Characteristically rich in subplots, the novel follows the tragedies and joys of some of the women, strong in their Welsh heritage, encountered in earlier novels. Although Gower effectively back-fills so that the current volume is independent, readers acquainted with the earlier books will find their enjoyment enhanced.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
Review
More of the trials and tribulations of the lasses and boyos down Sweyn's Eye Way, South Wales, only in this outing, Gower's fourth (following Spinner's Wharf, 1986), the mistress yarn-spinner shifts her attention from the coal mines of town to the surrounding craggy farmlands and their bitter harvest. . . .made all the bitterer when so many of the community's finest boyos don't come marching home from the trenches of WW I, or make the return journey severely crippled, like David Preece, the once-lusty proprietor of Ram's Tor farm. Wife Catherine does her best to understand the feelings of a man confined to a wheelchair (and impotent, to boot), but the farm hits hard times, and Morgan Lloyd, a rugged veteran who comes to Ram's Tor to help out, lights a spark in her otherwise heavy heart. David, who's been making dramatic attempts to take his life, finally leaves the troubled world behind by way of a lung infection, abandoning Catherine and Morgan to each other - and their consciences. Meanwhile, Cower intertwines the slightly less interesting stories of a whole cast of sideliners, all of whom readers will know from previous books: Rhian Gray's now wed to industrialist Mansel Jack, and is living in Yorkshire, fending off her husband's snooty sister and ex-fiancee. Mary Sutton, nee Jenkins, deserted by husband Brandon (a villain in this volume), struggles to raise her son, Stephan, and keep her myriad business interests humming along in the postwar depression. Profligate Bobble Gray at last settles down with the long-suffering widow, Gina Sinman. And, of course, Morgan and Catherine find a way to make a go of things up at Ram's Tor. Moments of hopelessly strained credulity aside, this on-going Welsh soap turns out to be compulsive, especially if you relish a good cry into your tea. (Kirkus Reviews)
