Martha, Jack & Shanco

by Caryl Lewis, Gwen Davies (Translation)

Bound together by blood ties, Martha, Jack, and Shanco live on a farm in Wales, where their lives unfold in the eerie half-presence of their dead parents.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, British Literature, The World

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2006

About the author

Caryl Lewis is an award winning Welsh language novelist. She was raised in Aberaeron before moving at the age of twelve to her family's farm in the parish of Dihewyd. She is an alumnus of Durham University and University of Wales Aberystwyth. Her first novel, Dal hi!, was published in 2003.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

just extra-ordinarily moving. It's descriptive passages are very beautiful and the characters are powerfully drawn and you feel so strongly for them, the injustice of their lives and the strange bonds they form even in amidst the disappointments and stupidities that are inflicted upon them and sometimes by them. An amazing novel. fantastic. I only wish i could read welsh so as to be able to read it in its original language

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Bernadette Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent this book to read by a friend. I'd never heard of this Author before and from reading about the Author and the book prior to reading it, I found out that the book has been translated from Welsh.

The story is a very bleak tale, about three unmarried siblings who all live together on a farm in the Welsh Hills. The writing is sparse and beautiful, I hope that the translater has done the original justice. The writing and tale reminded me of The Beacon by Susan Hill.

The family ties and loyalties among the three run deep, but there is also an underlying tension too.

I found this a thought provoking read, it's not overly long but it sure does pack a punch or two. How would we have reacted to the family situations if we had been in their shoes?

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joyfully depressing book, intercepted with interludes of - dare I say - quaintness of antiquity, timelessness, and how far the ties of family bonds could stretch.

[Gwilym Tudur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nofel ingol a thywyll sy'n sôn am fywyd dau frawd a chwaer ar fferm Gymreig yw Martha, Jac a Sianco. Y cymeriadau eu hunain yw prif blot y gyfrol hon wrth i Caryl Lewis gyflwyno personoliaethau cyferbyniol Martha, Jac a Sianco mewn ffordd ddwys ac emosiynol. Mae byd torcalonnus y prif gymeriadau yn gwneud i'r darllenydd ddyheu am ryw lygedyn o obaith - efallai mai dyma yw nod yr awdur neu efallai mai'r thema hon yw'r hyn sydd ar goll yn Martha, Jac a Sianco.

[Mary Rose Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story of folklore, family, time and place. Very bleak and harrowing, the ending particularly.

[brontë reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy, twisty and atmospheric. I loved this book. Have thought back to it a lot even a month later. Read it!

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unexpected delight this was. At times, it felt reminiscent of Evie Wyld's All The Birds, Singing- the depth of feelings rolling beneath the stoic surface of unsentimental country people, the remants of a fading lifestyle, and the sparseness of prose. Edrych ymlaen at ei ddarllen o yn y Gymraeg- roedd y cyfieithiad yn gynnil a phrydferth, ond dw i'n gobeithio meddru gwerthfawrogi'r ceinder am y llyfr cyntefig.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weirdly quiet dysfunctional family tale set among an aging set of three siblings (Jack, Martha, and Shanco, who has a developmental disability of some sort) on a farm in Wales. Found via the A Year of Reading the World blog/book - it was the book Ann chose for her UK book. The perspective shifts are occasionally fuzzy but I think that might be an artifact of translation from Welsh.

[Brian Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still do daily battle with the suicidal tendencies reading this book engendered. Superbly written, but like Hardy without the light bits - and if you can find those you're doing pretty well.

[Nellu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this tale of three siblings and their complicated relationship very much but I felt some storytelling solutions were clumsy (thus the three stars). Still, absolutely worth the read, a dark but beautiful picture of a family whose roots are too deep in the past and the land for them to move forward in time.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunningly good novel, written in Welsh, here translated into English, about a somewhat dysfunctional farming family in Northern Wales. Caryl Lewis is an absolute star of contemporary Welsh fiction. Check her out.

[Martha Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis is one of a few Welsh authors that I have read. Set on a farm in the Welsh country. Three siblings live in the parents farm. Good read.

[Ceri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well fck me. I don't know if my heart will ever recover from this.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We've all got 'ave something to live for."

Maybe if this book hadn't been hyped up so much I would have enjoyed it more, but I went into it expecting a thought-provoking experience so my expectations where high.

I think it had me reading into things that weren't there. While the story takes a while to get in to, it's also rather short. Frankly it's a really sad book. And I don't think the full impact hit me until the end and I think that's the beauty of this story - it all builds toward that tragic final line and my does it pack a punch but I didn't love the whole journey there.

Overall it's well done, but not the most intriguing book I've picked up.

[Roger Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Via H - not sure if she really liked it]

A really recognisable picture of a lifestyle that the author rightly says is fast going, and very good because of that. Cannot really say I liked it as I feel the translation let it down often, and the drama was really a little too far OTT.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so sad and then the ending was even sadder. But really good. It's the type to stay with you after you've put it down.