Circe - Customer Review

During these unusual times we have been working hard to stay in touch with the members of our shared reading groups to find out what they've been reading.  Some have put down their thoughts as reviews that we'd like to share.  Here's Olivia with her review of 'Circe' by Madeline Miller.

Yn ystod y cyfnod anarferol yma rydym wedi bod yn gweithio’n galed i aros mewn cysylltiad ag aelodau o’n grwpiau darllen i ganfod beth maen nhw wedi bod yn ei ddarllen.  Mae rhai wedi rhannu’u barn ar ffurf adolygiadau ac fe hoffem rannu’r rhain.  Dyma Olivia gyda’i barn am  'Circe' gan Madeline Miller.

‘In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.’

Madeline Millers’ Circe gives a powerful voice to the goddess of magic and daughter of the sun Helios. As a plot device in Greek mythology – most notably her infamous spell in Homer’s poem of turning Odysseus’ men into pigs – it is refreshing to read a magical and heartfelt recount of Circe that explores a woman’s perspective in a predominantly male collection of myths.

Circe is foremost a beautifully written story about self-transformation and adapting from strife, as we develop an understanding of the alternative side to the jealous and vindictive goddess. Miller tactfully touches upon themes of family outcasts, female rivalry, motherhood, love and loss; and it is so authentically written that you will feel like you are making spells with Circe in her cobbled floor cottage, sailing the seas with her on one of her iconic journeys, and prowling Aiaia with her familiar lion.

“I had been cold and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it.”

As a Latin and Greek teacher, Miller’s knowledge of the Titans and Olympians is extensive and fresh as she weaves the story in and out of the well-known myths and legends with a fine gold thread, and invites us to suffer Circe’s injustices and triumph with her as she becomes a powerful sorceress in her exile. The writing is so vivid and illuminated that I felt like a part of Circe’s long life and was reluctant to leave her at the end. I highly recommend this unique novel of the unsung heroine. 

John William Waterhouse - Sketch of Circe, 1911-1914

Girl, Woman, Other - Customer Review

During these unusual times we have been working hard to stay in touch with the members of our shared reading groups to find out what they've been reading.  Some have put down their thoughts as reviews that we'd like to share.  Here's Doreen with her opinion of 'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadine Evaristo.

Yn ystod y cyfnod anarferol yma rydym wedi bod yn gweithio’n galed i aros mewn cysylltiad ag aelodau o’n grwpiau darllen i ganfod beth maen nhw wedi bod yn ei ddarllen.  Mae rhai wedi rhannu’u barn ar ffurf adolygiadau ac fe hoffem rannu’r rhain.  Dyma Doreen gyda’i barn am  'Girl, Woman, Other' gan Bernadine Evaristo.

'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernardine Evaristo is a worthy winner of the Booker prize,  which she shared with Margaret Attwood . Interestingly she writes with no full stops. In the book we meet many diverse, colourful characters, who are linked in different ways. The story covers various issues of gender,  race and class. It leads to a satisfying conclusion but some may ask what happened next. I think this book can be enjoyed by any age and not necessarily just by women.

‘Highly Recommended!’ by the staff at Torfaen Libraries

Welcome back!  Last time, library staff recommended books for our junior and teenage readers.  This month it’s the turn of the adults, four more books that are well worth a look!

The Priory of the Orange by Samantha Shannon (recommended by Angharad) – A diverse and inclusive set of characters in a fantasy epic filled with original cultures, myths and creatures.  Most unique fantasy book I’ve read in years, it’s long but I loved it!

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (recommended by Mair) – A richly written, well-crafted story set in 1922 London, full of subtlety, intensity and a mix of genres.

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray (recommended by Skye) – An insightful read that reframes how you approach everyday life.  Catherine has a humorous writing style that is down to earth and relatable.

Gutsy Women by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton (recommended by Skye) – An informative and inspiring collection of stories featuring pioneering women who have contributed greatly to the fields of politics, civil rights, science, sports and education.

We hope you enjoy whatever you’re reading this month, don’t forget that you can access more books for free online on BorrowBox by using your library card.

Croeso ‘nôl!  Fis diwethaf, rhoddodd staff y llyfrgell gymeradwyaeth o lyfrau i’n darllenwyr iau a’r rheiny yn eu harddegau.  Dyma dro’r oedolion felly, pedwar llyfr sydd werth eu darllen!

The Priory of the Orange gan Samantha Shannon (cymeradwywyd gan Angharad) – Cymeriadau amrywiol a chynhwysol mewn stori ffantasi’n llawn diwylliannau, mythau a chreaduriaid gwreiddiol.  Y llyfr ffantasi mwyaf unigryw i mi ddarllen ers blynyddoedd, mae’n hir ond roeddwn i werth fy modd!

The Paying Guests gan Sarah Waters (cymeradwywyd gan Mair) – Stori  gyfoethog a chrefftus wedi ei seilio yn Llundain yn 1922, llawn cynildeb, dwyster a chymysgedd o genres.

The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary gan Catherine Gray (cymeradwywyd gan Skye) – Llyfr craff sy’n ail-ffurfio’ch ffordd o edrych ar fywyd pob dydd. Mae gan Catherine ddull digrif o ysgrifennu sy’n ddiffwdan a chydymdeimladwy.

Gutsy Women gan Hillary a Chelsea Clinton (cymeradwywyd gan Skye) – Casgliad o storïau llawn gwybodaeth ac ysbrydoledig yn cynnwys menywod arloesol sydd wedi cyfrannu’n helaeth ym meysydd gwleidyddiaeth, hawliau sifil, gwyddoniaeth, chwaraeon ac addysg.

Rydym yn gobeithio y byddwch yn mwynhau pa bynnag lyfrau y byddwch yn eu darllen y mis hwn, peidiwch ag anghofio bod modd i chi gael rhagor o lyfrau am ddim ar-lein ar BorrowBox gan ddefnyddio’ch cerdyn llyfrgell.

The Aftermath - Reader Review

During these unusual times we have been working hard to stay in touch with the members of our shared reading groups to find out what they've been reading.  Some have put down their thoughts as reviews that we'd like to share.  Here's Mary from the Pontypool book group with her opinion of 'The Aftermath' by Rhidian Brook.

Yn ystod y cyfnod anarferol yma rydym wedi bod yn gweithio’n galed i aros mewn cysylltiad ag aelodau o’n grwpiau darllen i ganfod beth maen nhw wedi bod yn ei ddarllen.  Mae rhai wedi rhannu’u barn ar ffurf adolygiadau ac fe hoffem rannu’r rhain.  Dyma Mary o grŵp llyfrau Pont-y-pŵl gyda’i barn am  'The Aftermath' gan Rhidian Brook.

So I am going to write on ‘Aftermath’ which greatly impressed me; not a difficult read and it told me things that happened in my lifetime and an underlying current of reconciliation that worked in the end and took away much rightful condemnation.  The feeling of ‘the only good German is a dead one’ prevailed among some people who had lost family and friends for a long time.  The war didn’t really end in 1945 with rationing going on into hr fifties and of course the rebuilding and also registered permanent loss of historical buildings and areas forever on both sides.  This novel pitches the German point of view with defeat in 1945 of the Nazi promise of ‘a Reich of a thousand years’ and the elimination of all Judaism and opposition.  This was made plain when the concentration camps were opened up.  What Jew could forgive that? 

The hero of the novel, an English colonel, thinks in a different way.  He had worked himself up through the ranks so had a certain amount of power and saw the possibility of a way forward through Reconciliation.  The German nation was utterly defeated and he uses his characters to portray the hardships of a devastated race in the determination of children with nothing and nobody to survive with a little gang, some very young carrying others.  A leader even there emerges and they live by begging and stealing.  This is the English zone after partition of the city and capital of Berlin.  It couldn’t have happened in the vengeful Russian zone.  When he invites a rich German non-Nazi to share the requisitioned rich man’s mansion he did a huge thing in opposition to many of his own soldiers and certainly that of some Americans who are out to rob for their own future.  Even the top men have to be carried along with the idea, and he takes the risk because he cannot bear to see the children, any children, starve to death among the devastation that was 4-zoned Berlin.  This despite his own loss of a son, the elder of two, killed by a casual German bomb.  Even his wife is against him and the rich German Nazi-brainwashed teenage daughter who lives there too and whose mother had died in an Allied raid. 

We see his humanity when he gives his chocolate ration to the starving beggared children in the homeless streets.  The author got much information from male relatives of his who survived the war and the whole epoch of the unknown to the Allies concentration camps.  I remember exactly a story by an uncle of mine, young then of course, who related doing that himself in Berlin after much fighting in the desert against the respected German commander Rommel.  Being taken prisoner too and witnessing the slaughter of the British at Monte Casino.  He was called up in the very early stages of the war, went through it all and then saw only the British coast before becoming part of the Occupation troops for as long as the army could keep him until demob.  He was a charming man but hot-tempered and didn’t suffer fools gladly even at a loss to himself and he practically ordered the Tommies to give up their chocolate rations.  Even their beloved cigarettes which the children could sell to farmers for food. And they did give!

Throughout, this is a novel showing the best in mankind in the face of disaster.  A city of no hope which had suffered retaliatory bombs for Coventry on a mighty scale.  Like the second bomb in Japan it wasn’t all necessary for the innocent suffered for the wicked with their enormous cruelty.  It was a novel which made one think of dilemmas and questions hard to answer.  A war that had to be fought against insanity and utmost cruelty and greed and how to mend it all afterwards.  At least the hero showed a way.  

Fancy a quick quiz?

This month, while many people are at home, we are posting a short book quiz for you to try!  Answers are at the bottom of the blog so scroll down when you’re finished to check how many answers you got right.  Good luck!

Y mis yma, tra bod nifer o bobl gartref, rydym yn mynd i osod cwis llyfrau byr i chi roi tro arno!  Mae’r atebion ar waelod y dudalen felly rholiwch y sgrin unwaith y byddwch wedi gorffen i weld faint gawsoch chi’n gywir.  Pob lwc!

Missing Letters! - Uncover the author...

Llythrennau Coll! - Datgelwch yr awdur...

1) Ulysses                    J_m_s _o_c_

2) Moby Dick                _a_e_ M_l_i_l_

3) To the Lighthouse    _i_g_n_a _o_l_

4) The Color Purple     A_i_e _a_k_r 

Opening Lines! - Guess the book from the opening line...

Llinellau Agoriadol! - Dyfalwch y llyfr o’r llinell agoriadol...

5) 'It was a pleasure to burn.'  

6) 'My suffering left me sad and gloomy.'

7) ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ 

8) 'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.' 

 From the Bookshelf! / O’r Silff Lyfrau!

9) A father and son walk alone through a ravaged post apocalyptic American landscape in which 2006 Cormac McCarthy novel? 

10) Bridget Jones's Diary is a 1999 novel by which English author? 

11) What does George Orwell call Britain in the book 1984?

12) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells the story of the children Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, but can you remember their surname?

Answers!   /   Atebion!

1) James Joyce

2) James Melville

3) Virginia Woolf

4) Alice Walker

5) Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

6) Life of Pi by Yann Martell

7) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

8) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K.Rowling

9) The Walk

10) Helen Fielding

11) Airstrip One

12) Pevensie

Sharing Stories / Rhannu Storïau

An extra post this month as we share a variety of interactive, video and audio stories for children from around the web.  We'll add more to the list as we find them but here's what we have found so far!

'Highly recommended!' - by the staff at Torfaen Libraries

When our staff are not working at the libraries they like nothing better than curling up with a good book.  We’ve asked them for some recommendations and this month we’re going to focus on children and teenage titles (although adults can read them too!):

The Last Wild by Piers Torday (recommended by Angharad) – ‘A wonderful children’s book (the first in a series of three) about a post-apocalyptic UK where a young boy (who can speak to animals) uses his ability to change the world.  Environmental, funny and touching.’

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Macksey (recommended by Mair) – ‘A charming, positive and uplifting book with lovely illustrations, this book is suitable for everyone.’

Sea / Where the Sea Takes Me by Heidi R Kling (recommended by Skye) – ‘These books are set in Cambodia and follow the love story of Sienna and Deni.  A magical, captivating story where the reader can really connect with the main characters.  Still hoping that this series will be made into a film!’ (For teenagers / young adults)

Lightning Mary by Anthea Simmons (recommended by Mair) – ‘A fascinating, fictional telling of the real-life story of Mary Anning, scientist and fossil collector.’  (For older children and teenagers).

Next month the library staff will be recommending titles for our adult readers.  Until then, enjoy your reading!

Pan nad yw’n staff yn gweithio yn y llyfrgelloedd, ‘does dim byd gwell ganddynt na swatio gyda llyfr da. Rydym wedi gofyn iddyn nhw am argymhellion a’r mis yma rydym am ganolbwyntio ar deitlau i blant a rhai yn eu harddegau (er y gall oedolion eu darllen hefyd!):

The Last Wild gan Piers Torday (argymhellwyd gan Angharad) – ‘Llyfr gwych i blant (y cyntaf mewn cyfres o dri) am DU ôl-apocalyptaidd lle mae bachgen ifanc (sy’n gallu siarad ag anifeiliaid) yn defnyddio ei allu i newid y byd. Amgylcheddol, doniol a gwefreiddiol.’

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse gan Charlie Macksey (argymhellwyd gan Mair) – ‘Llyfr hudolus, cadarnhaol sy’n codi’r ysbryd gyda darluniau hyfryd; mae’r llyfr hwn yn addas i bawb.’

Sea / Where the Sea Takes Me gan Heidi R Kling (argymhellwyd gan Skye) – ‘Mae’r llyfrau hyn wedi eu gosod yng Nghambodia ac yn dilyn carwriaeth Sienna a Deni.  Stori hudolus, sy’n gafael, lle gall y darllenwr gysylltu go iawn gyda’r prif gymeriadau. Dal i obeithio y caiff y gyfres ei gwneud yn ffilm!’ (I rai yn eu harddegau / oedolion ifanc)

Lightning Mary gan Anthea Simmons (argymhellwyd gan Mair) – ‘Adroddiad ffuglennol, gwefreiddiol o stori bywyd go iawn Mary Anning, gwyddonydd a chasglwr ffosilau.’  (I blant hŷn a rhai yn eu harddegau).

Mis nesaf, bydd staff y llyfrgell yn argymell teitlau ar gyfer oedolion. Tan hynny, mwynhewch eich darllen!