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cow_in_meadow's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
darkefyres's review
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bookwomble's review
5.0
A superb poetic retelling of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.
In his introduction, Francis says that he's streamlined and slightly reorganised the stories to fit his verse and to promote a greater sense of narrative flow than is present in the originals. Something of a concern before I read the poem itself, but in making these changes to the stories he has retained both their charm and their gnomic otherworldliness.
I always feel grounded when I read the Mabinogi, despite the fantastical, magical and unearthly elements. The stories seem so rooted in the soil, growing organically out of the landscape. They are simultaneously earthy, earthly and cthonic, linking the realm of the everyday to the mystical and numinous worlds of the unconscious. Francis has captured that in his poems.
In his introduction, Francis says that he's streamlined and slightly reorganised the stories to fit his verse and to promote a greater sense of narrative flow than is present in the originals. Something of a concern before I read the poem itself, but in making these changes to the stories he has retained both their charm and their gnomic otherworldliness.
I always feel grounded when I read the Mabinogi, despite the fantastical, magical and unearthly elements. The stories seem so rooted in the soil, growing organically out of the landscape. They are simultaneously earthy, earthly and cthonic, linking the realm of the everyday to the mystical and numinous worlds of the unconscious. Francis has captured that in his poems.
lian's review
5.0
The stories of the Mabinogi can be difficult to understand for the modern reader. There is magic, an unknown social code, and the narrative can be jarring. All this makes it necessary to suspend a lot of disbelief in order to appreciate the stories.
I recognise this - for a long time, I didn't find them very appealing because of this. And yet, they are wonderful stories in their own right. And that's exactly why a poetry is so well suited to it, Francis says: "... I began to see how the very aspects that made a prose treatment difficult could prove a strength for poetry, which has never had much of a problem with magic. Poets spend their lives transforming things into other things." To my slight surprise, I must admit, he is right. In poetry, and certainly in Francis' style of poetry, there are far fewer details needed for the reader to visualise the story. Francis pays attention to elements that I would never have noticed in the original, or hadn't thought about. And that makes me experience the story and its characters so much more intensely.
He takes the liberty of making major changes to the stories here and there, though. In the first branch (Pwyll Pendeuic Dyued), for instance, the passage in which Pwyll and Rhiannon deceive Gwawl ap Clud is missing, and in the fourth branch (Math uab Mathonwy), the structure has been changed completely. The main character Gwydion tells the story, and the order of certain events has been changed. The effect is interesting: on the one hand, I feel slight indignation that the original sequence is different (and the fourth branch is my personal favourite!), but it is, I admit, incredibly well done. The suggestion is made that Gwydion has also told the first three stories, which makes for a cathartic ending. So all in all, I forgive Francis these artistic liberties, and the result is one of my favourite poetry collections I have ever read.
Francis shows the original stories through a kind of kaleidoscope and allows the reader to lose themselves in them. It is no exaggeration to say that I came to know and appreciate the stories better, presented as modern poetry. In my copy, almost every page has a circled passage, or underlined phrase, that I found so beautiful that just reading it didn't feel like enough. I read some of it out loud to myself, and for a moment I disappeared into medieval Wales, as if it were the Otherworld, where I too take on the form of Pwyll, and the other characters. Francis has taken many artistic liberties, but in doing so has also created a wonderful adaptation.
I recognise this - for a long time, I didn't find them very appealing because of this. And yet, they are wonderful stories in their own right. And that's exactly why a poetry is so well suited to it, Francis says: "... I began to see how the very aspects that made a prose treatment difficult could prove a strength for poetry, which has never had much of a problem with magic. Poets spend their lives transforming things into other things." To my slight surprise, I must admit, he is right. In poetry, and certainly in Francis' style of poetry, there are far fewer details needed for the reader to visualise the story. Francis pays attention to elements that I would never have noticed in the original, or hadn't thought about. And that makes me experience the story and its characters so much more intensely.
He takes the liberty of making major changes to the stories here and there, though. In the first branch (Pwyll Pendeuic Dyued), for instance, the passage in which Pwyll and Rhiannon deceive Gwawl ap Clud is missing, and in the fourth branch (Math uab Mathonwy), the structure has been changed completely. The main character Gwydion tells the story, and the order of certain events has been changed. The effect is interesting: on the one hand, I feel slight indignation that the original sequence is different (and the fourth branch is my personal favourite!), but it is, I admit, incredibly well done. The suggestion is made that Gwydion has also told the first three stories, which makes for a cathartic ending. So all in all, I forgive Francis these artistic liberties, and the result is one of my favourite poetry collections I have ever read.
Francis shows the original stories through a kind of kaleidoscope and allows the reader to lose themselves in them. It is no exaggeration to say that I came to know and appreciate the stories better, presented as modern poetry. In my copy, almost every page has a circled passage, or underlined phrase, that I found so beautiful that just reading it didn't feel like enough. I read some of it out loud to myself, and for a moment I disappeared into medieval Wales, as if it were the Otherworld, where I too take on the form of Pwyll, and the other characters. Francis has taken many artistic liberties, but in doing so has also created a wonderful adaptation.
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