Cyfres Amdani: Stryd, Y

by Helen Naylor

Llyfr o gyfres Amdani, i ddysgwyr Lefel Sylfaen. Un noson. Un stryd. Ac mae gan bob person ym mhob ty broblem. Sut mae Nina yn mynd i ddweud ei newyddion wrth Dafydd? Pam mae Magi yn gorfod ail feddwl am Xavier? Beth mae Sam yn mynd i wneud am y broblem fawr? Sut mae bywyd Huw yn mynd i newid am byth? Bydd un nos Wener yn newid popeth. A novel which has been translated especially for Welsh learners level Sylfaen. One night. On street. And everyone in every house has a problem. How will Nina tell Dafydd the news? Why does Magi have to rethink her relationship with Xavier? What will Sam do about his big problem? How will Huw's life change forever? One Friday night will change everything. Part of the Amdani series for learners.

Genres: Fiction

64 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2018

Reviews

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An English note follows. I should say that I tried to post this in the Welsh Literature Group but couldn't work out how to do it!

Mwynheais i'r llyfr yma. Mae’n addas i’r cwrs “Sylfaen” i ddysgwr. Ro’n y llyfrau “Mynediad” yn rhy hawdd i fod yn ddiddorol fel storïau, ond ro’n y llyfr hwn fel edrych ar “Pobl y Cwm” ar y teledu!
Darllenais i e dros tair noson, achos dw i’n darllen yn araf yn Gymraeg. Ond ro’n i’n gallu teimlo am y bachgen oedd yn dianc o’r teulu ac o’r ei gariad, am y tad doedd ddim yn gallu ennill digon o arian i’r teulu, am y gŵr oedd yn mynd symud tŷ fel y gallai ei wraig dderbyn swydd newydd - ro’n ddiddorol, fy mod yn gallu uniaethu â’r cymeriadau gwrywaidd yn hytrach na’r benywod, pan yr awdur oedd gwraig.
Roedd “tro” ar y diwedd y stori pan mae’n popeth yn newid! Byddai i’n darllen mwy gan yr awdures yma.

The Street
There are probably lots of mistakes in the above but I wanted to convey my enjoyment of this little book in Welsh. If my Welsh is not comprehensible, what I wanted to say was that while the books at Entry Level are too simple to be interesting, there was enough in this at Foundation Level Learners to be interesting as a story, and not just for the language (which is North Walian). It was like watching the Welsh soap, “The People of the Valley”!
I read it through quite quickly for me in Welsh, and was able to feel for the boy who ran away from his family and girlfriend, the father who couldn’t earn enough money for his family, and the husband who was ready to move away so that his wife could accept her new job offer – I found it interesting that I could identify more with the male characters than with the women, when the author is a woman.
I liked the twist at the end of the book that changed things for all these people with problems! I’d read more by this author.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my eighth book in the Cyfres Amdani. It's terrifically satisfying to be able to just read a book entirely in Welsh, but simultaneously excruciating to have to read so slowly since I'm still a beginner. I'm four months into Sylfaen now, having completed Mynediad last year. The only things I really needed to look up were gogledd versions of things here and there. It's good to get the goggy books since I'm learning de, but sometimes I just don't know a particular gogledd word at all.

[Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y Stryd’ gan Helen Naylor yw stori am bobl sy’n byw yn Stryd y Parc a beth ddigwyddodd un nos Wener. Dw i’n edmygu sut mae’r awdur yn creu storïau gymhleth a ddidderol sy’n addas at fy lefel o Gymraeg i.

[Anthony Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this, just finished lefel mynediad (De) and read it with relatively little effort. There were some words and phrases that I had to look up and it was good to learn more. I enjoyed the story (ies) as well. Could have been longer, but it must be a challenge for the authors to come up with good stories within the confines of the vocabulary of lefel Sylfaen.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Sylfaen level book and I couldn’t wait to get started! My reading in Welsh is coming along nicely and it’s so affirming to feel like you’re getting better. I’m having to rely on the ‘help’ vocab at the end of each chapter less and less and starting to get quicker and quicker as I go along.

I also enjoyed the challenge of reading a more northern dialect as I have been focusing on southern (I would would eventually like to find ease with both) so this was great to pick out and start noticing those differences.

I seriously loved reading Stryd y bont in Mynediad so I was happy to read another that ran along the same ilk as we get a glimpse into the lives of those who live on the street.

Hopefully soon I’ll be able to start writing book reviews in Welsh! But let’s not run before we can walk 😂

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Llyfyr arbennig a diddorol

[Mark Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant for Welsh learners.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read but I wish it was longer. Good book for learners, perffaith.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mae Cyfres Amdani yn ddefnyddiol iawn i bobl sy'n dysgu Cymraeg. Mae'r llyfr yma'n ddiddorol iawn.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ideal for those on Sylfaen, foundation course. I'm in year 1 of 2 but can still follow sufficiently with the book glossary and Google translate.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Gem Beryglus, Y Stryd was originally published as an ESL book (original title 'One Day') with a few name and place conversions to better suit the situations. The cover art is the same for both languages. The postal service does play a pretty big part in the tale but the colour scheme makes it look like a thriller! As with other Amdani titles, it's around 60 pages with a geirfa at the back and footnotes throughout, and all chapters are short and easy to digest.

I liked it. In fact, the only problem (if you can call it that) with Y Stryd is that it's too short. Another reviewer likened it to a set of plot outlines from Pobol y Cwm or Rownd a Rownd, and I quite agree - all of these scenarios could be easily expanded to make a more immersive read, even within the limits of Sylfaen.

From all the stories I liked Huw's the most. It ticks off a good chunk of soap-opera bingo boxes, but there's surprisingly a lot of raw emotion when he wanders around in a rainstorm to roam the streets after his dreadful evening. There's also some foreshadowing when he lights a cigarette to calm down when he's in hiding: it's implied that the butt sets the van alight.

I also liked Magi's story, even though there was obviously quite a lot left unexplained with a sad conclusion. It's left up to the reader to decide whether they think Xavier was innocent, and I quite like endings that are left a little messy, especially when the other story arcs are tied up nicely.

Sam's ending also has some ambiguity as well. As much as things are looking up for them, will the will be contested by the brother and sister? Did he buy back his mother's jewellery, and if not how are his family going to react to that - especially his brother, who's been nagging him to take control of his own finances for years?

In every soap there are a few characters that seem to be an oasis of calm (or at least calmer), and that's Dafydd and Nina. Not saying their problem isn't a problem, but their story was probably the most straightforward, no angsting, and is resolved pretty much how you'd expect it to be, so I don't have much more to say on that.

Four stars, and definitely recommended for fellow Sylfaen folks - I'll happily re-read this one again every so often.