Books like A String in the Harp

A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond is one of those novels I love so much it almost hurts. It concerns the Morgan family – Jen, Peter and Becky - who, after their mother is killed in car crash, move from Massachusetts to Wales. Still reeling from the blow, the family is falling apart. Peter, in particular, is homesick, bitter, overwhelmed with anger and misery. The portrait of his alienation and isolation is very well done.Peter finds a mysterious artifact washed up on the beach, a harp key, and feels a curious attachment to it. He begins to get visions of another life, the story of the dark ages bard Taleisin. As Peter becomes more absorbed in Talesin’s story, the family slowly knits back together, bonding with each other and the countryside. Then past and present begin to combine in unsettling ways, as a museum curator threatens to take the key and lock it up behind glass forever.It is full of little, knowing details, like Rhian’s orange-peel smile, Jen’s bewilderment over a raw chicken, and Gwilym’s sudden interest in mugs when his mother stops by.Both stories – the everyday, slice-of-life of an American family living in 1970s Wales and the more mystical connection Peter develops with Talesin – integrate with each other perfectly. The point of view alternates between that of Peter, and his older sister Jen, who is both exasperated and terribly worried by her brother’s behavior.I love everything about this novel, the characters, the setting, the writing style, the plot. It is one of my favorite books of all time.