YEAR OF THE CELT ~ an excellent evocation of our ancestors' stuggles and ways
Two themes dominate this fine piece of historical fiction set 2,500 years ago: savage winter weather and immigration.
Hmmm,with half-a-foot of snow on the groud in most of England these past days, I cld not have picked a more apt time to read Rob Godfrey's enjoyable yarn of a trouble time, Year of the Celt: Imbolc
And what has led the news recently? The question of how many Bulgarians and Romanians may flock to Britain in a few months when EU regulations change. 75,000? 400,000?
Everything has changed in the last 2,500 years, yet nothing has changed.
This was one of the things that made Year of the Celt: Imbolc such a fascinating read, the familiarity of the issues facing Callan, Weland and Sealgair. The red-haired tyke having a row with a Polish guy over a parking space at his local Sainsbury's in Bingley cld easily be Sealgair.
As for the weather... Global warming is making British winters far more severe is seems. Brrrrrrrrrr.
I enjoyed Year of the Celt: Imbolc It caught my imagination early on and led my curiosity throughout. I grew to like some of the characters and shared their concerns for their future. They felt very human, very real, as did the problems they were struggling to survive. Morbod, a grumpy boatman on the River Lune, and Maccus, a myopic but sage old stone carver were esp well drawn secondary characters.
Another aspect of the story that won me was that it was about a village at the back of nowhere. There must have been thousands of such places facing such survival issues in our history.
And this is our history. There are many people in Britain who are the direct descendants of the Celts. For them aspects of Year of the Celt: Imbolc are in their DNA.
Me, I am a viking from the other side of the Pennines.
There are several stories and themes artfully interwoven into the fabric of Year of the Celt: Imbolc I esp enjoyed the sense of closeness to nature, the animals, the earth, and the seasons. I found this very appealing. Perhaps we cld learn from this story.
Youth, adventure, love, adultery, courage and betrayal are all there. Everything has changes, yet nothing has changed.
The story is well constructed also. The first two thirds fascinate and jog along nicely, with some great action, but it is in the last third from Chapter 22 onwards that things really take off as the consequences of the stresses facing the characters come to a climax.
There are some absolutely charming dabs in the last part of the book also which reminded me of Hardy's love for country traditions, esp a Yule celebration Celtic style.
I will leave you with a question which is at the heart of the story asked by Sealgair:
"Friends, my family have lived here for generations as you know. We've made a good living, by and large, with little help from outsiders ... we helped build this crannog (village) with our bare hands and our sweat. We've toiled on the hillsides to clear enought grazing land for our sheep and cattle. Why should we jeopardise it for strangers?"
On the face of it Sealgair is a wise man:
"We risk everything if we start ignoring the natural order of things."
Yet, as always in human affairs, things turn twisted and bad.
I commend Year of the Celt: Imbolc to you.
Hmmm,with half-a-foot of snow on the groud in most of England these past days, I cld not have picked a more apt time to read Rob Godfrey's enjoyable yarn of a trouble time, Year of the Celt: Imbolc
And what has led the news recently? The question of how many Bulgarians and Romanians may flock to Britain in a few months when EU regulations change. 75,000? 400,000?
Everything has changed in the last 2,500 years, yet nothing has changed.
This was one of the things that made Year of the Celt: Imbolc such a fascinating read, the familiarity of the issues facing Callan, Weland and Sealgair. The red-haired tyke having a row with a Polish guy over a parking space at his local Sainsbury's in Bingley cld easily be Sealgair.
As for the weather... Global warming is making British winters far more severe is seems. Brrrrrrrrrr.
I enjoyed Year of the Celt: Imbolc It caught my imagination early on and led my curiosity throughout. I grew to like some of the characters and shared their concerns for their future. They felt very human, very real, as did the problems they were struggling to survive. Morbod, a grumpy boatman on the River Lune, and Maccus, a myopic but sage old stone carver were esp well drawn secondary characters.
Another aspect of the story that won me was that it was about a village at the back of nowhere. There must have been thousands of such places facing such survival issues in our history.
And this is our history. There are many people in Britain who are the direct descendants of the Celts. For them aspects of Year of the Celt: Imbolc are in their DNA.
Me, I am a viking from the other side of the Pennines.
There are several stories and themes artfully interwoven into the fabric of Year of the Celt: Imbolc I esp enjoyed the sense of closeness to nature, the animals, the earth, and the seasons. I found this very appealing. Perhaps we cld learn from this story.
Youth, adventure, love, adultery, courage and betrayal are all there. Everything has changes, yet nothing has changed.
The story is well constructed also. The first two thirds fascinate and jog along nicely, with some great action, but it is in the last third from Chapter 22 onwards that things really take off as the consequences of the stresses facing the characters come to a climax.
There are some absolutely charming dabs in the last part of the book also which reminded me of Hardy's love for country traditions, esp a Yule celebration Celtic style.
I will leave you with a question which is at the heart of the story asked by Sealgair:
"Friends, my family have lived here for generations as you know. We've made a good living, by and large, with little help from outsiders ... we helped build this crannog (village) with our bare hands and our sweat. We've toiled on the hillsides to clear enought grazing land for our sheep and cattle. Why should we jeopardise it for strangers?"
On the face of it Sealgair is a wise man:
"We risk everything if we start ignoring the natural order of things."
Yet, as always in human affairs, things turn twisted and bad.
I commend Year of the Celt: Imbolc to you.
No comments have been added yet.
