The Earth Hums in B Flat

Ever since I read 'Eve Green' by Susan Fletcher, (a heart-breakingly beautiful book - let down by it's chick-litty cover) whenever I pick up a book about a childhood in Wales, my mind thinks 'oooh'... This book has a gothic tone and a murder as it's backstory, but is really more about growing up in a tiny community and the pressure to live a quiet life and not arouse the attention of the neighbours.
Gwenni, the 12-year-old narrator, is strangely unlikeable, however, even though the author tries to make her sound whimsical and imaginative, she does not get developed enough to make her a fully rounded teller of the story, as this voice has to be very strong in a novel. But, somehow, this does not detract too much from the book. Gwenni's mother is the strongest character here, a woman with secrets that burden her, that make her a little too angry when her daughter acts 'dollaly', snappish, severe and caught up with what people think of her. I really wanted to find out why exactly she was so bent on getting the acceptance of the community and having a normal family.
I have never experienced first-hand what it is like to live in a tiny community, maybe that is why I am fascinated by books like this, as it may as well be describing living on the moon, with the feeling of 'otherness' I get from it. My mother talks frequently about the anonimity she cherishes while living in London (having lived until she was 28 in a tiny town in Russia), the feeling you can do what you want, go anywhere and nobody will be any the wiser. It must be a strange feeling to be so...well, known, I suppose. I think I would feel partly very safe but very watched too...
Anyway, back to the book!
Just to let you know, the ending does not dissapoint, everything unravels faster than a badly knitted sweater and it is a great relief to know the secrets, which is a glorious feeling...
Wales as a setting is perfect for this kind of story, and the author describes lusciously the damp greenery, the bright blue of a lost budgie's wing in a gloomy haze of rain.
I would read this book again I think, but only pay attention to the attention to detail displayed here and the vivid imagery, not the plot!