The Earth Hums in B Flat
Mari Strachan
“Whales, porpoises, mermaids and mermen, dead sailors, fishes, crabs, tiny shrimps; the sea is forever full of eyes that watch me. I never fly far beyond the shore. If my town were a map the bay would have Here Be Monsters written on it in golden ink”
Available as Paperback, eBook
A compelling, brilliantly-received debut from a moving, nostalgic and truly authentic new voice
Gwenni Morgan is not like any other girl in this small Welsh town. Inquisitive, bookish and full of spirit, she can fly in her sleep and loves playing detective. So when a neighbour mysteriously vanishes, and no one seems to be asking the right questions, Gwenni decides to conduct her own investigation.
Mari Strachan’s unforgettable novel was one of the most acclaimed and successful debuts of 2009. It is a heart-breaking and hugely enjoyable story.
“The Earth Hums in B Flat is a richly evocative, warm but unsentimental tale of a child detective struggling to piece together clues about the lives around her … extremely compelling. I loved this novel.”
catherine O’flynn, Author Of What Was Lost
See more reviews
“I loved this debut, which manages to give a young girl’s narrative an authentically quirky aspect, without ever resorting to cutesiness or cosiness … Strachan eschews whimsy for reality in a beautifully written story about growing up.”
Lesley Mcdowell
independent On Sunday
“A fondness for unorthodoxy gives [Strachan’s] girl-growing-up story its unique flavour … A warm and touching, but blessedly unsentimental, novel.”
Kate Saunders
the Times
“Strachan’s prose is pitch perfect. A gorgeous debut.”
Eithne Farry
marie Claire
“At a time when many panic-stricken publishers want their debut novelists to resemble junior celebs fresh out of stage school, Mari Strachan - and Canongate - are proving that the words still matter most. … Strachan has a voice and a vision all her own.”
Boyd Tonkin
independent
Mari Strachan
Mari Strachan and her husband live in the hills of Ceredigion, Wales. The Earth Hums in B Flat was her first book, and she is the author of Blow on a Dead Man’s Embers.