Snobs and Sardines: Rhondda Schooldays

In this sequel to Block Salt and Candles , her memoir of growing up in South Wales, Parnell recalls her student years at Port County Girls School during the 1940s. Whether describing the age-old childhood horrors of gym class, the hated school uniforms, the byzantine social hierarchy among the students or the grandly comical disasters of cooking class, her voice is as direct and delightful as that of an inquisitive, mischievous child. The book's charm lies in Parnell's ability to capture fleeting but defining moments of childhood, like the exhilarating mastery of a new skill or the strange mixture of awe and mockery that a forceful, influential teacher engenders in students. But missing from this volume is a compelling narrative thread, a sense that the author is sifting through her childhood in search of something more than richly detailed vignettes. Photos. (July)