Powell

by Manon Steffan Ros

Nofel yw Powell am berthynas taid a'i ŵyr sy'n cyffwrdd ar berthynas Cymru gyda chaethwasiaeth, ac sy'n trafod sut i gydnabod erchyllterau ein hanes mewn ffordd sensitif. Ar ôl archwilio achau'r teulu, mae Taid ac Elis yn mynd i Virginia yn yr Unol Daleithiau i aildroedio llwybrau Edward Powell.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Of Manon Steffan Ros's other books so far, I've read Stryd y Bont.)

An excellent read.

I've been curious about Manon Steffan Ros for months - I've read a couple of her contributions to Welsh-learners' literature, but her most well-received works are her full-sized novels (Llyfr Glas Nebo, Blasus). I've considered these too advanced for me until very recently, but upon completing Powell I'm going to bump all of these up my list.

For the learners amongst you, I'm early Canolradd and managed with most of this, but I'd recommend getting the GPC app or an equivalent close to hand especially given the emotive subject. The dialogue does switch from Welsh to English fairly often, given that Elis is mostly conversing with non-Welsh speakers in America - to switch between the two mentally in this fashion (as opposed to a textbook) feels quite odd but rewarding to me!

I'm not sure when Powell is meant to be set other than 'modern day'. It was published in 2022, social media brands are namechecked, but no reference is made to who the President is or any other identifying features that pin down a specific timeframe. I bring this up as Elis seems quite naive for a teenager in the 2020s. This is later on bluntly lampshaded by his new friend Hera, and it's this destruction of his naivety that drives him to change. I can't help but wonder if the History teacher 'back home' knew about the ancestral Powell's actions - if she did, did she keep that particular knowledge to herself, given she's teaching one of his descendants in Trefair? Did she want to avoid potentially upsetting Jac, the community or the school governors? What exactly did she want to say to Elis when his report ended, before he ducked out of the room?

Other reviewers have questioned Jac's own knowledge before boarding the plane, but I think it would have been easy for him to suspect it deep down, yet still live in denial. To then be confronted with the sheer gravity of the matter, face-to-face with a descendant of one of the men Powell enslaved, while standing in the slave quarters Powell erected - the visit to Bryn Mair is one of the strongest scenes in the book. Perhaps Jac had hoped it would never come up. Perhaps, like George, he thought Powell's contributions to his chosen communities should outweigh his transgressions, no matter how awful they were and are.

I cannot understand the lionising of a specific ancestor the way the Powells do, but can entirely understand wanting to have a connection to something bigger, something both Jac and George felt. It's what humans tend to do, especially when relationships with close relatives have ended (whether through death or estrangement) or you worry about the mark you'll leave on the world when you yourself pass on. George's kids keep him at arm's length, and his own mother died a year before the plot takes off. Elis's mum and dad are implied to be long dead - all Elis and Jac have is each other. But, as Elis shouts at his Taid on that fateful afternoon, while a storm brews overhead in the Virginian countryside: none of that is an excuse to brush the truth under the rug.

While Manon Steffan Ros pulls no punches, the last few pages (through Hera's grandfather, PawPaw) make a point of reassuring Elis that the actions of an ancestor were not the fault of the descendants living now, but he can choose how to move forward in this day and age, with the information he has. Wise words to mull over - Trefair and Ellis Powell may be fictional, but the history is not. We as readers are left with that question too: what will we do next?

5/5

[Mared Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nofel fach hynod o amserol.

Mae bod yn Powell yn fraint yn Nhrefair, Ynys Môn, ar ôl i Gymro anfon pres yn ôl i’r pentref yn yr 1800au wedi gwneud ei filiynau yn yr UDA.

Bron i ddau gau ganrif yn ddiweddarach, mae Elis Powell a’i daid yn barod i deithio i Virginia i hel achau - ond ydy bod yn Powell yn beth da wedi’r cyfan?

Dyma lyfr gwych sydd ddim yn cuddio cysylltiad Cymru â chaethwasiaeth ac yn mynd yn erbyn y hen ddadl mai ‘dyna sut oedd pethau yn yr hen ddyddiau’.

Fy unig broblem oedd y ffaith bod neb o Drefair wedi gwneud y cysylltiad rhwng Cymro cyfoethog yn byw yn Virginia a chaethwasiaeth; digon teg i Elis efallai sy’n ifanc a ddim yn un i wrando llawer mewn gwersi Hanes, ond sut wnaeth ei daid ddim gwneud y cysylltiad wrth ymchwilio cyn y trip?

Fel arall, llyfr hynod o dda sydd angen cael ei ddarparu i bob dosbarth Cymraeg yn y wlad.

[Eleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dw i ddim yn darllen lot o nofelau yn y Gymraeg, a bendant dim digon. Des i o hyd i Powell ar ap y llyfrgell a hedfan trwyddo mewn llai na dau ddeg pedwar awr.

Dyma nofel ardderchog, yn enwedig ar gyfer plant yn eu harddegau, sy'n ein gorfodi ni i edrych ar Gymru trwy lens gwahanol. Mae'n hawdd anghofio neu anwybyddu rôl Cymru yn y fasnach gaethweision ond mae Manon Steffan Ros wedi dod â'r pwnc mewn i deulu Elis Powell. Stori am berthynas yw hon. Perthynas bachgen a'i daid. Perthynas bachgen a'i ffrindiau. Perthynas teulu. Perthynas rhwng bachgen a'i gyndeidiau. A mwy na hynny, perthynas rhwng Cymru a'i hanes tywyll.

[Vcmc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dw i'n falch iawn mod i wedi darllen y llyfr hwn yn enwedig ar ôl darllen Huckleberry Finn yn ddiweddar. Mae neges bwysig yn y llyfr ac mae Manon Steffan Ros wedi dangos yn fedrus y newidiadau sy'n digwydd i'r prif cymeriadau pan maen nhw'n dysgu am eu cyndaid, Ellis Powell.

Dyw'r nofel ddim yn berffaith yn fy marn i - mae'n rhy hir ac yn araf iawn hyd at chwarter olaf y nofel.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diddorol a dirdynnol ar adegau. Nofel i’r arddegau wedi ei saernio yn gelfydd. Darllen yn rhwydd a’r berthynas arhwng Elis a’i daid yn arbennig. Balchder yn troi yn siom.
Dangos ymwneud Cymru a chaethwasiaeth yn y gorffenol a’r cywilydd a deimla Elis oherwydd hynny.

Manon Steffan Ros yn feistrogal fel arfer.
Darllenwch!