A Toy Epic

Seren Classics

by Emyr Humphreys

: A Toy Epic is the story of three boys moving towards the threshold of adult life in the Thirties. From differing backgrounds, their lives cross and touch until they become firm friends. Each of them, Michael, Albie and Iorwerth, take up the story in turn, creating their own particular world and contributing to the composite picture of 'one of the four comers of Wales'. Emyr Humphreys has written a challenging novel of childhood and of Wales in the 1930s. First published in 1958, A Toy Epic is now viewed as a classic of writing from Wales. This new edition is introduced by M. Wynn Thomas, and includes an Afterword and a fragment from an earlier version of the novel.

Genres: Fiction

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Emyr Humphreys was a leading Welsh novelist, poet and author, writing in both English and Welsh. His career spanned from the 1940s until his retirement in 2009.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought A Toy Epic would be quite difficult to read. There are three narrators, and nothing apparently marking them out as separate. It's easier than it looks, though, because each section starts with some mention of their names, and as you get into it you learn their distinct voices. It's a very Welsh book: one main character is a Welsh nationalist, the other wants to become a priest, the third doesn't know what he wants to be at all... The first two, especially, are pretty emblematic of Welsh experience at the time of writing.

Despite the three narrators, Emyr Humphreys' style is easy to follow, and the book was over before I knew it. Also, this edition contains a helpful introduction which explains the process of writing the book -- which sheds more light on the book itself, and how it came to be, and the Welsh context of it -- and also has an afterword and parts from an earlier draft. Very interesting.

[Shawn Mooney (Shawn Breathes Books)]

I read about half of this and I didn’t care for the writing and didn’t feel the characters came nearly alive enough on the page. So I bailed.

[Sue Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the style and structure of this book. Cleverly written and the content realistic.

[Rhys Llwyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wedi ❤️ darllen hwn wythnos yma. ‘Y Tri Llais’ gan Emyr Humphreys sef fersiwn Gymraeg o rhan o’i nofel enwog Saesneg ‘A Toy Epic’. Hanes tri ffrind yn dod i oed yn yr 1930au, ond yn bortread mewn gwirionedd o Gymru’n newid a dod i oed a cholli sicrwydd yr hen Gymru anghydffurfiol a’r byd modern a chysgod rhyfel yn agor o’u blaen. Yn nofel farcsaidd hefyd, mewn ffordd, yn dangos dyraniad dosbarth cymdeithasol gwahanol y bechgyn a sut roedd hynny’n effeithio eu golwg ar y byd. Hefyd, mae’n alarus am y shift ieithyddol a colli lle’r Gymraeg yn y gymuned ddychmygol sy’n amlwg seiliedog ar ardal Y Rhyl, bro enedigol yr awdur. Mae’r byd modern sy’n agor i’r tri ffrind (a’u gwlad) yn llawn potensial ond yn gymysg gyda’r amheuaeth a’r ansicrwydd sy’n dod o ollwng gafael ar yr hyn a fu gyda’u ffydd yn y ffae. A’r frawddeg derfynnol iasol: “Roedd y ddaear yn troi cyfandir newydd at yr haul, ac yn dangos i ni y tywyllwch eithaf.”

Ond… o blith dosbarth Ysgol Ramadeg Y Rhyl y cyfyd yr awdur ei hun, Emyr Humphreys - ein awdur mwyaf (yn Saesneg o leiaf) yn ôl rhai, ei gyfaill bore oes R Tudur Jones ein hanesydd a’n diwinydd mwyaf a John Houghton y gwyddonydd a dry sylw’r byd at argyfwng cynhesu byd eang am y tro cynta! Oes unrhywbeth da wedi dod o’r Rhyl? Oes! A dyma nofel i ddathlu magwrfa’r mawrion hyn.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emyr Humphreys’ concept for A Toy Epic was to follow three boys from schooldays to adulthood, each boy exemplifying a different strand of Welsh social life in the 1930s. He wrote a first draft in 1940, then expanded it, contracted it, translated it, expanded it again, and re-translated it before finally publishing it in 1958.

I can’t say the original concept was all that exciting and by the time the book eventually saw print, any trace of excitement had certainly been whittled away. What remains is carefully and competently written in the style of the modernist writers Humphreys admired, but that’s rather faint praise. It’s like being asked to appreciate the skill, craftsmanship, and attention to detail that went into making a dull piece of furniture. You can see it’s well-made, but it’s still dull.

I would hope the author’s later novels are less over-worked and have more originality and vitality in them. Unconditional Surrender is certainly a better book. Perhaps one day I’ll try another, but after A Toy Epic I’m in no great hurry.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a used bookstore while traveling in Wales. Set on the eve of WWII the novel has three different narrators. The three are teenage boys, all in school together and all from different backgrounds. Though somewhat dated, it's interesting to note the anxieties felt by adolescent boys in 1930s Wales is no different than it was for 1970s U.S. (and probably today - hard to know what the social media impact is on that of course). The author does a great job of capturing the setting and the characters are so real - both in how the interact with each other and the world around them in their smallish Welsh town.

[Jan Priddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The three protagonists are interesting portraits of Welsh types, the country boy, the nonconformist, the entitled son. I did not love it, maybe three and a half stars, but I enjoyed the book very much and thought about it a great deal. I will read more of him.

I spent almost three weeks with this book because I was busy with other things, and also because it is not exciting and only rarely gorgeous. It is short. It is barely a novella, and the front and back matter, while often interesting, is not entirely useful. Calling the character Michael a "schizoid," for example, and blaming his mother for causing that is just weird. His parents are surely to blame, but "schizoid"? Seriously? I wish I had read someone else's take on the work. I'll look around.

[Ben Huxley]

A masterpiece of literature. Nationalism, philosophy, death, and the ephemeral yet eternal nature of youth - it's all examined, quite lyrically, in this miniature epic.

[Ben Clode · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice book, lovely

[Luke Owain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece