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by Pat Clayton
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Written specifically for learners as part of the Cyfres
y Dysgwyr, Hen Ffrindiau, Hen Gelwyddau is a 95 page novella
that’s long enough for you to get your teeth into, but
not so long that it’s daunting. Each chapter is between
three and five pages long, with vocabulary at the end, so
it’s relatively easy to feel as if you’re making
progress. When I started reading this it was taking me half
an hour per chapter, but by the end I was steaming through
them in about 10 minutes, or even less at times.
Although the vocab was invaluable, I still had to refer
to my dictionary quite regularly - more words could
have been included and it wouldn’t have gone amiss. Sometimes,
the choice of vocab to put in or leave out was somewhat perplexing,
so I would guess that these
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books are pitched at learners that are slightly better than me. I
did, however, eventually settle on the most effective technique for
dealing with new vocab: scan and try to memorise the list of words
before reading that chapter, so that when you come across them in
the text you at least recognise that they’re in the list, even
if you can’t quite remember what they mean!
Nevertheless, despite having to keep my dictionary to hand, I really
enjoyed reading Hen Ffrindiau, Hen Gelwyddau. Pat Clayton’s
style is easy to read, funny, and gripping. You really do want to
know what happens to Lowri Llwyd, the arts reporter sent to cover
the Glanllyn Festival, and to author Prys Prytherch who is the easily
hated villain of the piece. The plot twists and turns enough to
keep you on your toes, but not so much that you lose your way.
Despite the fact that, for me, this wasn’t bedtime reading
- I really needed to be awake and able to concentrate on the Welsh
- I enjoyed this book immensely and learned a lot from reading it!
| Details: |
Hen Ffrindiau, Hen Gelwyddau
Pat Clayton
Gwasg Carreg Gwalch
ISBN 0 86381 349 6
£3.25
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