This week I read Igam Ogam by Ifan Morgan Jones. It was reviewed briefly by @Davids in his epic list last year, but I thought Iâd write a little bit more about it.
âWhen Tomos Ap gets a call from his adopted father calling him home, he suspects that the plan is to force him to take over the family farm. But with Nature himself trying to buy the place, a bus load of archdruids on the way, and something suspicious lurking under the standing stone in the field, heâs got more than a couple of sheep to worry aboutâŠâ
I have to say, I really really enjoyed this book. The best comparison I can come up with is to say itâs in the style of Terry Pratchett, but in a distinctly Welsh context. Itâs also the first silly book Iâve read in months, and itâs such a relief to laugh out loud.
Hereâs a flavour of it:
One of [the druids] came to the mound, pointing his finger threateningly in Tomosâs direction. âGet out of here. Youâre not supposed to be here.â His voice was like thunder.
âWhat?â
âYouâve put your tent on top of our ceremonial site,â said another accusingly. He had a huge sword in his hand. âGo away⊠Now!â
âCould you move the tent a little bit?â said a girlâs voice. You can join us if you want. Weâre going to have a fire and roast marshmallows. "
âBut heâs not a member of the Gorsedd,â protested the man with a voice like thunder.
âYouâre only an ovate, Dilwyn,â said the girl. Donât be so snooty. And youâre not supposed to threaten people with the sword of piece!"
In summary really recommend if Terry Pratchett is up your street. Itâs also comparatively short at 190 pages and not too hard once youâve acquired the vocab of standard fantasy fare anyway, so worth taking a punt on if youâre not sure.
If youâve read Blasu or Llanw then this will feel very familiar to you in theme and style. Set in Tywyn, it follows the lives of several generations of women across the twentieth century. However unlike Blasu and Llanw it isnât chronological, flipping back and forth in time to give us a window into each characterâs life.
For learners this is both a pro and a con: on the plus side each chapter is fairly self-contained so if youâre thoroughly confused you can move on, however on the downside part of the joy of the book is piecing the family history together, and thatâs hard when youâre also decoding the language.
I wouldnât recommend for a brand new learner or new reader as it is aimed at native speakers, but I would say accessible to someone at Uwch level.
The review on the cover says âThe love between mother and daughter flows like warm mead throughout this novelâ and thatâs an excellent description. Although there are very poignant scenes, there is an abiding warmth throughout the book which made it a very enjoyable read.
I donât think Martha, Jack a Sianco has been reviewed in this thread, though I was sure @Cetra had reviewed. Itâs been referred to in a few other threads about the adaptation, but not here as far as I can tell, so here goes.
This is written by acclaimed author Caryl Lewis, who has subsequently been a writer on Hinterland/Y Gwyll and Hidden/Craith.
If youâve seen either of these dramas you probably wonât be surprised to hear it falls into the Welsh literary and dramatic genre of âbad things happen on isolated farmsâ. Martha, Jac and Sianco are middle-aged siblings still running the family farm the same way they always have, never having married or moved away. Iâll let you guess which particular bad things happenâŠ
I read this because it won book of the year in 2005, but I have to admit I much prefer my stories of dark doings embedded in a police procedural after the fact, instead of shouting at my book as depressing events inevitably unfold before me. However plenty of other people must disagree as itâs a popular book and itâs been both translated to English and made into a film. Personally I enjoyed the last third more than the first two, when events sped up and it all started to come together.
Not one for beginners, but reasonably straightforward if youâre an experienced reader. The story takes place over the course of a year, narrated from Marthaâs perspective so youâre not trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together, as with some MSR books. Lots of agricultural vocab but you can skim over a lot of that without missing the plot.
Yes, of course I want a story! I loved, loved, loved this book. I actually know very little of Walesâ history or legends, and this was a great collection to lose myself in.
Itâs written as a storybook for children so has a really nice storytelling style that was absolutely what I needed right now. It would make a great gift for kids, grandkids or friends attending Welsh medium school. Itâs nicely illustrated as well.
Hereâs a loose translation of the start of one story, to give a flavour of the style:
Wales has lots of heroes who have saved our country from various crises over the years - brave men like Arthur, the two Llywelyns and Owain GlyndƔr. There are also well-known heroes such as Gwenllian and Jemeima Niclas among the women.
Jemeima saved Wales from being ground under the heel of the French when an army of them attacked Syr Benfro two hundred years ago. Interestingly, she managed to do it with a group of women after the local army fled for their lives! Would you like to hear the whole story? Well, here it is. âŠ
Sadly this isnât one for beginners, because although the sentences are short, thereâs quite a lot of literary language: - wyd passives and âyâ and âaâ in places theyâre not used in every day speech. Plus of course the vocab of myths, legends and heroes.
However itâs absolutely accessible to anyone whoâs already reading books for first language speakers. Iâd also say worth a go if youâre Uwch or possibly upper Canolradd. And itâs got lots of lovely useful phrases in it as well, which will make your anecdotes much more fluent!
This was a lot easier to read than Gawn Ni Stori, so although I wouldnât make it your first book, definitely more accessible than many.
The book has illustrations on every page, which will help you get over the vocab hump and figure out words like âshieldâ âcauldronâ and âcobblerâ.
I didnât find this quite as engrossing as the collection above, but really did enjoy getting familiar with some of the key stories. The story of Blodeuwedd in particular seems to be everywhere in the books Iâve read so it was great to read the story itself (or at least a simplified retelling!).
Much to my surprise, Ar Drywydd Llofrudd by Alun Davies doesnât seem to have been reviewed here either, although Iâm sure Iâve heard loads of people mention it.
I wanted to give it a shout out because I found it utterly gripping. Seriously, go-to-bed-too-late-because-I-have-to-finish-this gripping.
In addition, unlike a lot of the common âfirst first language booksâ e.g. Bethan Gwanas or Manon Steffan Ros, which are very relationship-and family-oriented, this is a straight police procedural, so might appeal to a different audience.
It is for first language speakers, so not for a complete beginner, but I barely noticed I was reading in Welsh for chapters at a time so I think it would be fairly accessible to anyone with some reading under their belt, particularly with a dictionary app to hand. The great thing about crime novels is that ultimately theyâre really predictable so life experience can help you along through linguistic challenges.
Unfortunately I didnât buy the other two books in the trilogy at the same time.
This won the prose language medal at the 2021 Eisteddfod.
Swyn and her mother are on a road trip, taking the old VW round Wales, visiting old haunts and places theyâve always wanted to see. And thatâs really what this story is about, a mother and a daughter and their relationship. Although thereâs a sting in the tail, I thought this was ultimately a warm and joyous book, which makes a change compared to a lot of books Iâve read recently!
Itâs for native speakers but I think it should be fairly accessible to learners with a bit of experience and willingness to go with the gist rather than every word. Certainly easier than Llyfr Glas Nebo, which was my first âproper Welshâ book. Itâs Southern Welsh as well (but not too strong), whereas a lot of the recommended first books are Northern (Bethan Gwanas and Manon Steffan Ros).
Yes, I bought this when we were on holiday in Cereidigion last year and quite by chance discovered this little Welsh bookshop in Cardigan / Aberteifi. The fact that the stories are quite short but interesting (and, as often in fairy tales and legends, not always predictable) makes it useful when youâre not quite an absolute beginner but still not quite ready for proper novelsâŠ
Unfortunately itâs not for beginners as the sheer breadth of new vocab is huge. It covers the history of Wales from standing stones, the smelting of metal and hillforts up to the implementation of a sewage system, workhouses and almshouses, the founding of the NHS and everything in between. Itâs also written in what Iâd call âtextbookâ language with - wyd passives etc.
But for all that, if you like history or if you prefer non-fiction then Iâd get hold of a copy and dip in and out of it as you fancy. If you know a fair amount of history then general knowledge will fill some of the linguistic gaps and there are plenty of images to give you a clue.
Each topic is only a couple of paragraphs long so you donât have to read the whole thing end to end like you would a novel.
Many thanks @caroline-18, itâs on my list of books to buy since someone gave it a mench on Facebook. In case youâre not already aware, the author is taking part in Clwb Hanes Cymru on 4 April. Unfortunately I canât do Thursdays
Info here if this link works https://share.icloud.com/photos/0dbQYArXHiO6zEvYdCITTbRMA
I have this book & look forward to being able to read it. Another book I have in Welsh is History of Wales on Kindle. I have the English version in print form. So far I canât quite get through Bethan Gwanas
Hello! I was reading through some of the previous posts to learn more about good recommendations for entry-level learners. Iâm a very new learner, just starting Level 1 Challenge 11 - and am learning Northern Welsh as my Dad is from this region. I wanted to ask:
Does written Welsh vary depending on the North/Welsh region youâre learning?
In addition to the two suggestions noted above, are there additional recommendations for a new learner?
Iâm based in Canada so if you know of any online bookshops you could recommend, Iâd appreciate that - Iâm not sure I could find much printed Welsh literature here!
I would start with the Cyfres Amdani, level Mynediad. Theyâre books specifically designed for learners.
You might also like the magazine Lingo Newydd, which you can also read via an app. Itâs for learners and has content in three levels, so as you progress you can go back and read the more complex versions of articles.
Re bookshops, I love cantamil.com and Palas Print. Both are very helpful and will talk to you in English or Welsh. You can of course also buy from Amazon, but I prefer to support independent Welsh bookshops as they contribute to the economy and therefore sustain the language financially, where Amazon often removes Welsh language book reviews for âbreaching content guidelinesâ!
To your question about written Welsh, yes it does vary. Written Welsh varies a lot more than you will be used to from standardised majority languages like English, Spanish or German. Aside from the differences you learn early on, fiction often represents spoken norms when presenting dialogue or internal narrative, and non-fiction often uses literary forms that are only used in writing.
However if you stick with content for beginners youâll be fine as itâs deliberately graded to keep it accessible, and by the time you run out of that youâll be able to cope with the variation. My tip is to say the words in your head. 1) that forces you to absorb instead of translating and 2) saying the words helps you see through variant spellings to words you recognise. Also, saying the words helps you appreciate the use of language.
Oh brilliant - thank you so much for the recommendations and additional information!
Regarding the online bookstores, absolutely, I will definitely check out these smaller retailers rather than amazon; thatâs ridiculous that they often remove Welsh language books!
Thatâs so interesting about the written form varying like that, particularly for the dialogue as you said. Iâm looking forward to the day I start to notice these variances, but for now will definitely stick to the beginner level as you suggested.
