Reviews

In this book of immense emotional energy, Judith Barrows characters are expertly drawn and totally believable. Changing Patterns shows us the diversity of human nature and moral codes. The story is set in the confines of the Welsh village of Llanroth in the early 1950s, where Mary Howarth works as a matron in a nearby hospital. Mary, who is highly respected in her job, was brought up in Ashford in Kent, where her sister Ellen and her family live close to their brother Patrick and his long-suffering wife Jean. During the Second World War, Mary nursed in a POW camp, where she met and fell in love with a German prisoner-of-war, Peter Schormann, a doctor. After the war, Peter returns to Britain in the hope of marrying Mary, but he is met with considerable distrust and indeed hatred; time has yet to heal the prejudices of wartime. Marys siblings in Ashford are far from happy with the state of affairs and it is only her brother Tom, a conscientious objector, who is willing to befriend Peter after he moves to live with his sister in Wales. No one in the village is aware of his past and he quickly becomes a popular member of the community. Initially this helps Peter find work, until Tom is killed in a supposed hit-and-run accident, which Mary witnesses outside their home. Her sister and sister-in-law immediately rush to Wales, ostensibly to share their grief at the loss of Tom. The family carry considerable emotional baggage which their reunion only exacerbates. Peter becomes the object of more racial abuse now that Tom is dead. Family tensions rise: Patrick has a lot to answer for, and marriages are at risk. Ellens young daughter goes missing; twins are born; can a family learn to accept one another for who they are? Changing Patterns is a well-composed novel, and Barrow is not frightened of exposing human frailty. The reader cannot but be affected by the strength of her characters, and is left feeling quite bereft after the last page is turned. Norma Penfold It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council