53. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies

In 1944, English troops build a base deep in the northern Welsh hills to house German POWS in this fictional first novel by Davies. Esther Evans is a young 17 year old Welsh girl helping her father run his sheep farm and works in the local pub. When troops move into the small town, her life changes forever. Soon pregnant by an English soldier, she lies to her father and claims the child is from a local boy gone missing in the war. Karsten, a young German corporal who is ashamed that he had to surrender in France, moves to the POW camp in the town, and is soon aided by Esther when he decides to escape. Also woven into the novel is the story of a British intelligence officer, Rotherdam, who is sent to question captured Rudolph Hess to see if his claims of amnesia are correct. Rotherdam, although born to a Canadian mother and German Jewish father, struggles with his identity and tries to determine if he is Jewish or not.

Davies himself is half Welsh and relied on his father’s memories of Wales during WWII to help write this extremely poignant and beautiful book. From the lush Welsh landscape, to the wonderfully drawn local characters, this novel deals with themes such as identity, heritage, duty, honor, patriotism, and sacrifice. For other World War II recent novels, check out these reviews: http://www.tcpl.org/sarah/2007/07/35-consequences-by-penelope-lively.html and http://www.tcpl.org/sarah/2007/09/41-my-french-whore-by-gene-wilder.html.