I was so moved by this gloomy but haunting story. Beth's hopeless struggle to care for her child, her husband and her home, and George's equally hopeless struggle to cope are both mirrored by the awful decay of the mining village where they live.
Extract
Whether he means to or not - whether consciously or otherwise - George blames his son. But blaming someone is only satisfying and simple when you can tell them what they did. When you cannot voice the accusation, it becomes your own burden. George has come to resent his son's ignorance, his freedom from guilt.
