Caryl Lewis
Martha, Jac a Sianco
ISBN: 9780862437534
Publication Date: March 2010
Publisher: Y Lolfa, Tal-y-bont
Format: Paperback, 183x121 mm, 192 pages
Language: Welsh
A powerful novel relating the story of two elderly brothers and their sister who are held captive by family circumstances and by a life of hardship on a farm in rural south-west Wales, by a talented young writer. Winner of the Academi Book of the Year Award for 2005. Reprint; first published in November 2004.
Nofel gref yn adrodd hanes dau frawd a chwaer oedrannus sy'n cael eu carcharu gan amgylchiadau teuluol, a chan galedi bywyd ar fferm yng nghefn gwlad de-orllewin Cymru, gan awdures ifanc ddawnus. Enillydd Gwobr Llyfr y Flwyddyn 2005. Adargraffiad; cyhoeddwyd yn wreiddiol yn Nhachwedd 2004.
Further Information:
Martha, Jac a Sianco
Bound together by blood ties, Martha, Jac and Sianco live on a farm in mid-Wales where their lives unfold in the eerie half-presence of their dead parents. Glimmers of understanding punctuate their relationship with one another, but unspoken animosity seem to be the most potent ingredient in their sibling cohabitation. Tension between the three underscores their empathy each with the rhythms of nature rather than with kith and kin. Sianco, despite his mature years, has a childlike simplicity about him which endears him to the reader, but he is bullied by his older brother, Jack, whilst his older sister, Martha, is more protective of him. All three are unmarried, although Martha does have a potential suitor, and Jac has a manipulative mistress who may prove to be his downfall. Primeval in setting and content, Martha, Jac a Sianco is a book where the land itself, the beasts of the farm, and the raucous crows animate the narrative. The coldness of the climate, the dark, the harshness of country life: all are woven into the fabric of a raw and timeless story where the portrayal of the animal world is unflinching, and the human beast plods on relentlessly towards what seems the inevitability of the tragic end. Yet there are occasional glimpses of humour, and, despite the contemporary Welsh setting, this is a novel proper to many recesses in Europe, and beyond, whether today or in times past.
Cyfnewidfa Lên Cymru/Wales Literature Exchange
Publication Date: March 2010
Publisher: Y Lolfa, Tal-y-bont
Format: Paperback, 183x121 mm, 192 pages
Language: Welsh
A powerful novel relating the story of two elderly brothers and their sister who are held captive by family circumstances and by a life of hardship on a farm in rural south-west Wales, by a talented young writer. Winner of the Academi Book of the Year Award for 2005. Reprint; first published in November 2004.
Nofel gref yn adrodd hanes dau frawd a chwaer oedrannus sy'n cael eu carcharu gan amgylchiadau teuluol, a chan galedi bywyd ar fferm yng nghefn gwlad de-orllewin Cymru, gan awdures ifanc ddawnus. Enillydd Gwobr Llyfr y Flwyddyn 2005. Adargraffiad; cyhoeddwyd yn wreiddiol yn Nhachwedd 2004.
Further Information:
Martha, Jac a Sianco
Bound together by blood ties, Martha, Jac and Sianco live on a farm in mid-Wales where their lives unfold in the eerie half-presence of their dead parents. Glimmers of understanding punctuate their relationship with one another, but unspoken animosity seem to be the most potent ingredient in their sibling cohabitation. Tension between the three underscores their empathy each with the rhythms of nature rather than with kith and kin. Sianco, despite his mature years, has a childlike simplicity about him which endears him to the reader, but he is bullied by his older brother, Jack, whilst his older sister, Martha, is more protective of him. All three are unmarried, although Martha does have a potential suitor, and Jac has a manipulative mistress who may prove to be his downfall. Primeval in setting and content, Martha, Jac a Sianco is a book where the land itself, the beasts of the farm, and the raucous crows animate the narrative. The coldness of the climate, the dark, the harshness of country life: all are woven into the fabric of a raw and timeless story where the portrayal of the animal world is unflinching, and the human beast plods on relentlessly towards what seems the inevitability of the tragic end. Yet there are occasional glimpses of humour, and, despite the contemporary Welsh setting, this is a novel proper to many recesses in Europe, and beyond, whether today or in times past.
Cyfnewidfa Lên Cymru/Wales Literature Exchange