Bird, Blood, Snow

New Tales from the Mabinogion #8

by Cynan Jones

The eighth installment in the New Stories from the Mabinogion series transforms a classic tale into a modern Quixotian romp. The original Peredur tale recounts the adventures of a youth bent on recognition as a knight in King Arthur’s court. In true questing fashion, he defends maidens, defeats giants, and eventually overcomes the witches who have cursed him. Hoping to save him from the same fate as his father and brothers—dead, jailed, or missing—Peredur’s mother takes him from the estates. But the world won’t be held at bay in this version; when local kids cycle into his life, he follows.

Genres: Fiction, Retellings, Arthurian

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2012

About the author

Cynan Jones was born in 1975 near Aberaeron, Wales where he now lives and works.

He is the author of five short novels, The Long Dry, Everything I Found on the Beach, Bird, Blood, Snow, The Dig, and Cove.

He has been longlisted and shortlisted for numerous international prizes and won a Society of Authors Betty Trask Award (2007), a Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize (2014), the Wales Book of the Year Fiction Prize (2015) and the BBC National Short Story Award (2017).

His work has been published in more than twenty countries, and short stories have appeared on BBC Radio 4 and in a number of anthologies and publications including Granta Magazine and The New Yorker. He also wrote the screenplay for an episode of the BAFTA-winning crime drama Hinterland, and Three Tales, a collection of stories for children.

The Independent on Sunday declared "There is no doubt that Jones is one of the most talented writers in Britain” and he is frequently
acknowledged as one of the most exciting voices of his generation.

His most recent work, Stillicide, is a collection of twelve stories commissioned by BBC Radio 4 that aired over the summer 2019.

He is also responsible for 'The Fart'.

Reviews

[Sarah]

Not going to rate this because I loved the writing (Jones is one of those authors whose writing I will never tire of) but found the story a bit challenging at times. This is partially explained in the afterword by Jones himself in that the original of the story is somewhat unfinished feeling and he tried to reflect that in his re-telling of this Arthurian tale.

I'd probably recommend this for Jones completists only.

(Language related side note - I've grown up using the word "twt" without actually realising it was Welsh - seeing it in this text triggered this realisation!)

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting idea. The eleven stories of the Mabinogion have been lent to contemporary authors to retell in their own words. Cynan Jones retells the quest of Peredur as a young boy with a severe personality disorder causing havoc and death as he travels looking for Arthur. It’s an interesting take and presumably a fascinating exercise for an author, but also quite limiting in the narrative. I admit I picked this up as an admirer of the author with only a passing interest in the story. Had I been more familiar with the Mabinogion I might have got more from it, but then again maybe not.

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series seems to be quite hit and miss, with me. I rather enjoy the whole idea of it -- and even the idea here makes sense and isn't bad in itself, I suppose -- but this seemed very light, despite the heavy subject matter, and I'm not sure what to make of what the author did with Peredur.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a modern retelling of Peredur, son of Efrawg, a Welsh prose story written down in the High Middle Ages, and based on earlier oral versions. I bought it on holiday in Wales as I’d previously enjoyed a book by this author. I got it in a small shop in Aberaeron, which I later discovered is where the author now lives. It’s a difficult book to review, as I loved parts of it, but at times it felt almost disorientating. The language, however, is powerful and draws the reader into a dark and atmospheric observation of myth and human nature. It’s certainly a different book from The Long Dry, the other book of Jones’ that I’ve read. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author.

[Doug H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard-going, raw, archetypical. An ages-old mural with a modern frame (or vice-versa). A quest. Not for the easily swayed.

[Lucy Somerhalder]

I thought it felt unfinished, I'll-conceived and generally jumpy. Then I read the afterword and realised that it was, and that that was OK.

[sylville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes very confusing and shocking, but still worth reading.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read about this series I was quite excited. The idea of a retelling of the stories from the Mabinogion sounded like a good one to me. having just read The Dig by Cynan Jones I decided to start with his version of the Peredur story. In essence the original story is that of Percival; on the death of a Welsh king his wife takes her youngest son off into the wilds, away from the violence of the world of men. The boy grows up knowing nothing about war or knights, until one day he comes across a group of knights in the forest. These men inspire him to leave his home and look for Arthur's Court. Once he finds the court he witnesses a hedge knight insult the Queen, and is mocked for his bizare appearance by the King's senschel, Kay. Percival/Peredur seeks out the hedge knight to avenge the Queen, and then spends a period questing about the countryside fighting and defeating knights, giants and witches. Eventually he returns to the court as a respected warrior, is knighted and takes up his seat at the round table. I was interested to see how this story would be translated into a modern setting. I have to say I thought Jones did really well. It is rare for modern retellings to maintain the same levels of violence as the originals, it always seems easier to read about knights or ancient warriors rushing about the countryside fighting, than to imagine it happening in the modern world. In this retelling, social services and the police are forced to become involved when Peredur starts attacking local thugs. The story is told through a selection of police transcripts, interviews and social services reports and the format seems to work. The secions seem a little disjointed to start with, but this follows the style of the original and don't distract from the story. I would suggest this would make an excellent teen read, although there is a high level of violence, no more than in the original story but it seems so much more shocking in a modern setting.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Jones' work, and admire what he did with this difficult tale. Peredur is perhaps the least accessible of Mabinogion tales and doesn't, as Jones admits, stand up to the tale of Percival, its twin-tale, if you will. But, my, the threads Jones plies here. What a complex web of forms. I'm not generally a fan of work that is more meta, more about form than character and plot but I make an exception for this work. He's a lovely writer (although be warned, there is much violence and gore here) and has clearly thought a great deal about how to approach this challenging text. It's a gift to the reader.

If you're not familiar with the Peredur tale, before your read the book you might wish to read the afterward, where the original version of the myth is told, and Jones' comments concerning his approach.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Recommended.

[Priya Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

MILD/MODERATE SPOILERS BY WAY OF VAGUE DESCRIPTIONS OF GENERAL OUTCOMES

Cyan Jones' Afterward observes the unfinished quality of Peredur's story in The Mabinogian and that it was an oral tales not yet ready to be written.

He brings that sensibility to Bird, Blood, Snow, an incompleteness, through news clippings, police reports, mobile phone footage and medical records, as well as first hand accounts. This gives his fiction an authentic feel in the sense that true stories are usually incomplete.

Cyan Jones uses the legend of Peredur to explore a lost child with an "uncommon" violence in his blood, with difficult beginnings, with a particular trigger, with delusions and no real chance at life. It charts his progress from a start with his alcoholic mum, to feral runaway, through children's homes, drug fuelled discos, and psychiatric wards.

Despite the violence of he man, my heart ached for the little boy who sets out to find Arthur's court (mishearing his mother's cry of "Go and find your father's sort"). He is a Quixotic journeyman, who dons armour (his brother's old shinpads, bright orange armbands), helmet (tin bowl), and goes on his quest riding his trusty steed ( bike, complete with stablisers, pimped up with rubbish). It could only end in sadness.

[Lowri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book because I was considering writing about the Seren retellings in my dissertation before I chose to focus specifically on those written for children (the title was Medieval Romances from Past to Present: Modern Children's Adaptations of The Mabinogion and Chrétien de Troyes). I've read the original Peredur story, and its rewritten versions, so many times that I know it like the back of my hand. I know that it's unfinished, and has some sharp twists and turns, but I'm very fond of it.

From his afterword, it sounds like Jones isn't. He thinks the original is a 'poor piece of prose', but admits that the fact it was an oral tale may explain the less polished parts. Jones thinks that his own version is all the better for 'not sanding it smooth'.

Perhaps he should've taken a sander to the attitudes towards women in his version, because they're somehow worse than in the centuries old story. So much leering has been added that it was uncomfortable to read.

I, for one, am not sure that it's a good idea to rewrite a story you think is written poorly. At least in this case, it's resulted in a poorly written re-telling which doesn't hold the attention of the reader anywhere near as well as the original.

[Sandra Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of a series produced by Seren Books, retelling the stories of the Mabinogion in a more modern setting. I picked it up because I was in a lovely bookshop, and Cynan Jones is one of the authors speaking at Monty Lit Fest this year - normally I'd probably pass straight over a book like this.
I found this book quite difficult & frustrating and it all comes down to the style in which it’s written. I’m very glad I’m the kind of person who reads ‘Afterword’s otherwise I would not have realised that a lot of the “rough & unfinished” style was deliberate as the original tale this is based on has a rough & unfinished feel to it compared to other Mabinogion tales - as though it hadn’t had as long to mature in the oral tradition as the others before being written down, Mr Jones suggests.
All in all, I think I would have enjoyed this book far more if the Afterword had been a Foreword.

[Andy Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up at a bookshop in a Welsh village while I was at a festival for the weekend. One of a series of modern re-tellings of The Mabinogion. This is the story of Peredur, recast as a violent and disturbed misfit seeking a purpose and a community among street gangs and urban estates. We see how the savage violence of the warrior knight would appear today, with Peredur ap Efrog ("Ape Frog" to his peers) a brutal yet naive figure. He fights and kills without constraint, alienating those he'd befriend and drawing himself into conflict with the law and social services. His heroic aspirations are seen as delusions, and it's clear from the start that this story cannot end well. The author's notes say that Peredur's story in the original is fragmented and unformed, and he uses that to follow this Peredur's violent, misunderstood life path.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stabbing someone in the eye may be okay in medieval times, but it's not okay now. And so this modern retelling of Peredur's story from the Mabinogion shows the reader what happens when modern reality is applied to the events of the story - Peredur is not herioc, he is violent and mentally ill, and does no good either to himself or for others. Cynan Jones' book does incredibly well in portraying the disconnect between chivalric codes and modern life, and his words are carefully chosen for maximum impact. I definitely recommend this one to any Arthurian enthusiast.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to discover this book by an outstanding writer I only discovered this year. It is a retelling of one of the Mabinogion tales set in modern Wales rather than Arthurian times, and it is grim. The writing is as good as ever, and the format of the novel is interesting, but it is horribly violent without a hint of redemption.

[Brett Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really quite enjoyed this retelling. I think it walked the line between mystical and real that a modern telling of an ancient myth should. The weirdness of a story this old is still intact but the setting gives it new aspects that clarify themes. Really a very pleasant read and distinctly Cynan Jones-esk which is perfect for this specific part of the mabinogion

[Bronwen Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Cynan Jones' work and this re-telling of a tale from the Mabinogion does not disappoint. Jones' economy with words is his strength. There is a lot of blood and guts in this story - if that bothers you give it a miss.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A jagged, violent tale in style and content, this contemporary take on Peredur's story from The Mabinogion shocks, intrigues and saddens in equal measure.

[Mary Pomfret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant; haunting and heart-wrenching.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to enjoy this more! I found it to be very disturbing, a child with a violent streak, assaulting and murdering people, even those trying to help. I know it's a modern interpretation and I've read more violent books, but this seemed very cold and calculating. The following is the blurb from the publishers Seren

"“No matter how you build them, the world will come crashing against your fences.”

Hoping to give him a better start, Peredur’s mother takes him from the estates in hope he won’t suffer the same fate as his father and brothers, allof whom are dead, jailed or missing.

But the world won’t be held at bay, when local kids cycle into his life he heads after them, accompanied by the notion of finding Arthur – an absent, imaginary guardian.

Used to making up his own worlds, he’s something of a joke. Until he seriously maims one of the older kids. And that’s when the trouble starts.

The original ‘Peredur’ fights for recognition in King Arthur’s court, defending maidens, defeating giants, overcoming witches. Cynan Jones turns the tale into a modern Quixotian romp."

You can also read an interview with the author http://americymru.net/profiles/blogs/...

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A contemporary re-telling of one of the stories from the Mabinogion. I purchased beacuse of the cover design, but thoroughly enjoyed the writing, too.