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The Awakening
Kate Roberts wrote this novel in 1956, but the background is the immediate post 1939-45 war period. Like all the novelist’s works, it is set in the slate quarrying areas of Arfon where she was born and grew up. Although there is unhappiness, poverty, illness and jealousy here, it is a positive novel with friendship, kindness and love much in evidence.
The main character is a woman called Lora Ffennig. This is typical of the author’s work. All her novels deal with women’s trials and tribulations. Lora Ffennig has two children and is an efficient, well-organised wife. Suddenly, without any warning, she learns that her husband has run away with another woman. We follow her plight for the first year, coping with one problem after another.
By the end of the year, Lora Ffennig feels that she was asleep before the nightmare of losing her husband, but that she is now fully awake. She has learned that all may not always be as they appear. She now knows who her friends are, but people change, nothing is permanent. She alone can take responsibility for her own and her children’s lives.
The main character is a woman called Lora Ffennig. This is typical of the author’s work. All her novels deal with women’s trials and tribulations. Lora Ffennig has two children and is an efficient, well-organised wife. Suddenly, without any warning, she learns that her husband has run away with another woman. We follow her plight for the first year, coping with one problem after another.
By the end of the year, Lora Ffennig feels that she was asleep before the nightmare of losing her husband, but that she is now fully awake. She has learned that all may not always be as they appear. She now knows who her friends are, but people change, nothing is permanent. She alone can take responsibility for her own and her children’s lives.
- GenresFiction
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
1 person is currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Kate Roberts
51 books23 followersKate Roberts was one of the foremost Welsh-language authors of the twentieth century. Known as Brenhines ein llên ("The queen of our literature"), she is known mainly for her short stories, but she also wrote novels. Roberts was also a prominent Welsh nationalist.
Roberts was born in the village of Rhosgadfan, Caernarfonshire (Gwynedd today) where her father (Owen Roberts) was a quarryman in the local slate quarries. She graduated in Welsh at the University College of Wales, Bangor and then trained as a teacher. She then taught in various schools in South Wales.
An early member of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, it was at their meetings that she met Morris T. Williams, whom she married in 1928. Williams was a printer, and eventually they bought the printing and publishing house Gwasg Gee, Denbigh, and moved to live in the town in 1935. The press published books, pamphlets and the Welsh-language weekly Y Faner, for which Roberts wrote regularly. After her husband's death in 1946 she carried on working the press for another ten years.
She remained in Denbigh after her retirement and died in 1985.
It was the death of her brother in the First World War that led Roberts to writing. She used her literary work as a means of coming to terms with her loss.
Her first volume of short stories appeared in 1925 O Gors y Bryniau ("From the Swamp of the Hills") but perhaps her most successful book of short stories is Te yn y Grug ("Tea in the Heather") (1959), a series of stories about children. As well as short stories Roberts also wrote novels, perhaps her most famous being Traed mewn Cyffion ("Feet in Chains") (1936) which reflected the hard life of a slate quarrying family. In 1960 she published Y Lôn Wen, a volume of autobiography.
Most of her novels and short stories have as a background about the region where she lived in north Wales. She herself said that she derived the material for her work, "from the society in which I was brought up, a poor society in an age poverty ... it was always a struggle against poverty. But notice that the characters haven't reached the bottom of that poverty, they are struggling against it, afraid of it." Her work deals with the uneventful lives of humble people and how they deal with difficulties and disillusionments.
Her work is remarkable for the richness of her language and for her perception. The role of women in society and progressive ideas about life and love are major themes in her work.
She also struck up a literary relationship with Saunders Lewis which they maintained over a period of forty years through the medium of letters. These letters give us a picture of life in Wales during the period and the comments of these two literary giants on events at home and abroad.
Many of her works have been translated into other languages.
Roberts was born in the village of Rhosgadfan, Caernarfonshire (Gwynedd today) where her father (Owen Roberts) was a quarryman in the local slate quarries. She graduated in Welsh at the University College of Wales, Bangor and then trained as a teacher. She then taught in various schools in South Wales.
An early member of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, it was at their meetings that she met Morris T. Williams, whom she married in 1928. Williams was a printer, and eventually they bought the printing and publishing house Gwasg Gee, Denbigh, and moved to live in the town in 1935. The press published books, pamphlets and the Welsh-language weekly Y Faner, for which Roberts wrote regularly. After her husband's death in 1946 she carried on working the press for another ten years.
She remained in Denbigh after her retirement and died in 1985.
It was the death of her brother in the First World War that led Roberts to writing. She used her literary work as a means of coming to terms with her loss.
Her first volume of short stories appeared in 1925 O Gors y Bryniau ("From the Swamp of the Hills") but perhaps her most successful book of short stories is Te yn y Grug ("Tea in the Heather") (1959), a series of stories about children. As well as short stories Roberts also wrote novels, perhaps her most famous being Traed mewn Cyffion ("Feet in Chains") (1936) which reflected the hard life of a slate quarrying family. In 1960 she published Y Lôn Wen, a volume of autobiography.
Most of her novels and short stories have as a background about the region where she lived in north Wales. She herself said that she derived the material for her work, "from the society in which I was brought up, a poor society in an age poverty ... it was always a struggle against poverty. But notice that the characters haven't reached the bottom of that poverty, they are struggling against it, afraid of it." Her work deals with the uneventful lives of humble people and how they deal with difficulties and disillusionments.
Her work is remarkable for the richness of her language and for her perception. The role of women in society and progressive ideas about life and love are major themes in her work.
She also struck up a literary relationship with Saunders Lewis which they maintained over a period of forty years through the medium of letters. These letters give us a picture of life in Wales during the period and the comments of these two literary giants on events at home and abroad.
Many of her works have been translated into other languages.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 19, 2011
The Awakening is the story of a Welsh woman, Lora, who has to get over her husband's desertion of her when he runs off with another woman, and steals some of her and his employer's money on his way. It's not a dramatic story, but a quiet sad coming to terms with things and going on alone. It's a very real picture of a woman's life and concerns in a small Welsh town shortly after the second(?) world war. Her brother in law has tuberculosis, made worse by his quarry-work, and she has to scrape together money from somewhere to look after her children well.
Sian James' translation seems good to me: easy to read and clear. I don't speak Welsh, though, to compare.
Sian James' translation seems good to me: easy to read and clear. I don't speak Welsh, though, to compare.
December 29, 2016
Given the obvious importance of this writer, I did expect I would be more engaged and impressed by this novel. It seems very gentle and understated--the characters did not become vivid for me. Perhaps part of the problem is that it is a translation, always difficult, and that the novel may not be her best showcase. Kate Roberts is best known for her short stories and non-fiction. An easy read, and definitely worth it, but, for me, it was somewhat bland.
August 30, 2013
This is one of those books where nothing and everything happens. While there are no real big climatic scenes or in-your-face drama, there is lots going one just beneath the surface of the story as we follow Lora Ffennig as she deals with the fact that her husband has run off with another woman (his boss's housekeeper no less). Set in a small Welsh town shortly after World War 2 there is a noticeable stigma attached to Lora and her family as people are at a loss as to what to say and do to help her through and the normally tight-knit community begins to pull apart. On top of that Lora's brother-in-law has TB, which worsens as he continues to work in the local quarry in order to make ends meet at a time when rationing was still in force. This is very much a real life story and the translation is easy to read and seems to capture the essence of life in Wales after the War. The characters are a little difficult to relate to given the difference in attitudes and life styles but this doesn't detract from the story too much as they are very well written. Overall a pleasant little read.
July 12, 2018
Kate Roberts (2006) THE AWAKENING
London. Seren
🌟 🌟 2 out of 5 stars
The sleeve reads, "The happy family life of Lora Ffennig is shattered when her husband abruptly and unexpectedly leaves her for a colleague. The world she has taken for granted is suddenly unfamiliar, and Lora must find a new compass to guide her and her children. Set in a tight-knit Welsh-speaking community at a time when separation, adultery and divorce carried huge social stigma, The Awakening is a novel full of insight into human character and changing social mores.”
Third book from my newest book bucket list and it is the 2008 translated version of Kate Roberts’s 1956 Welsh language original, “Y Byw Sy’n Cysgu”.
You can tell this is a book of the time it was written. It's all very polite as is the lead character, Lora whose husband, Iolo has left her for another woman as well as cleared out their bank accounts. And it's steeped in patriarchal cliché. Now, if this was set in 2018, the story would be quite different. Lora would be your stereotypical rural Welsh wife and the story would be about Lora’s quest to find Iolo, lynch Iolo, and nail his testicles to the town sign.
#KateRoberts #TheAwakening #YBywSynCysgu #KateRobertsTheAwakening #KateRobertsYBywSynCysgu
#ThonysNewBucketList #BooksSetInWales
#ReadTheMabinogionSionedDavies✔️
#ReadHowGreenWasMyValleyRichardLlewellyn✔️
#ReadTheAwakeningKateRoberts✔️
#ReadUnderMilkWoodDylanThomas
#ReadTheHidingPlaceTrezzaAzzopardi
#ReadResistanceOwenSheers
#ReadFallOfGiantsKenFollett
#ReadRevenantTristanHughes
#ReadTheDigCynanJones
#ReadSubmarineJoeDunthorne
#ReadCarriesWarNinaBawden
#ReadInParenthesisDavidJones
London. Seren
🌟 🌟 2 out of 5 stars
The sleeve reads, "The happy family life of Lora Ffennig is shattered when her husband abruptly and unexpectedly leaves her for a colleague. The world she has taken for granted is suddenly unfamiliar, and Lora must find a new compass to guide her and her children. Set in a tight-knit Welsh-speaking community at a time when separation, adultery and divorce carried huge social stigma, The Awakening is a novel full of insight into human character and changing social mores.”
Third book from my newest book bucket list and it is the 2008 translated version of Kate Roberts’s 1956 Welsh language original, “Y Byw Sy’n Cysgu”.
You can tell this is a book of the time it was written. It's all very polite as is the lead character, Lora whose husband, Iolo has left her for another woman as well as cleared out their bank accounts. And it's steeped in patriarchal cliché. Now, if this was set in 2018, the story would be quite different. Lora would be your stereotypical rural Welsh wife and the story would be about Lora’s quest to find Iolo, lynch Iolo, and nail his testicles to the town sign.
#KateRoberts #TheAwakening #YBywSynCysgu #KateRobertsTheAwakening #KateRobertsYBywSynCysgu
#ThonysNewBucketList #BooksSetInWales
#ReadTheMabinogionSionedDavies✔️
#ReadHowGreenWasMyValleyRichardLlewellyn✔️
#ReadTheAwakeningKateRoberts✔️
#ReadUnderMilkWoodDylanThomas
#ReadTheHidingPlaceTrezzaAzzopardi
#ReadResistanceOwenSheers
#ReadFallOfGiantsKenFollett
#ReadRevenantTristanHughes
#ReadTheDigCynanJones
#ReadSubmarineJoeDunthorne
#ReadCarriesWarNinaBawden
#ReadInParenthesisDavidJones
August 25, 2020
Waw, llyfr anodd iawn i fi'w ddarllen. Roedd cymaint o nodiadau ar waelod pob tudalen, ond roedd e'n dal yn anodd. Ynghylch y stori, ro'n i'n dryslyd gyda'r enwau - pwy oedd pwy? Fel arfer ro'n i'n ei ddeall, ond weithiau ro'n i'n meddwl taw rhywun arall oedd yn siarad (achos does dim enwau mean llawer o'r sgyrsiau pan maen nhw'n siarad a'i gilydd). Yn y diwedd roedd popeth yn iawn ac ro'n i'n hapus iawn i orffen ac i'r prif gymeriad yn dechrau ei bywyd hi eto ar ol llawer o drafferth.
May 10, 2019
Superb. This is a wonderful read. A story with strong characters, one that takes you into their motivations, values, souls.
And a story that makes you pause. Re-reading wise and well crafted sentences. Thinking on the ideas contained within.
Kate Roberts deserves the widest of audiences.
And a story that makes you pause. Re-reading wise and well crafted sentences. Thinking on the ideas contained within.
Kate Roberts deserves the widest of audiences.
August 31, 2024
Wales holiday reading. Not much happens in this, but I lost my heart to it in a way I can't quite explain. Poor Lora Ffennig! An insight into how oppressive life in a small community can be.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews