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A String in the Harp
In an ideal blend of absorbing fantasy and realistic fiction, A String in the Harp tells the story of 12-year-old Pete Morgan who, on a visit to Wales, finds a harp key that shows him scenes from the life of the ancient bard Taliesin. Set in both present-day and ancient Wales, this Newbery Honor title has become a contemporary classic.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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1532 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Bond
29 books28 followersChildren's writer Nancy (Barbara) Bond was born in Maryland and was raised in the United Kingdom and Massachusetts. She received her B.A. in English Literature from Mount Holyoke College in 1966 and a graduate degree from the College of Librarianship in Wales in 1972. She taught at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979 to 2001.
In 1977 Bond received the Newbery Honor for A String in the Harp. Her second book, The Voyage Begun, won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
In 1977 Bond received the Newbery Honor for A String in the Harp. Her second book, The Voyage Begun, won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
December 29, 2020
A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond is one of those novels I love so much it almost hurts. It concerns the Morgan family – Jen, Peter and Becky - who, after their mother is killed in car crash, move from Massachusetts to Wales. Still reeling from the blow, the family is falling apart. Peter, in particular, is homesick, bitter, overwhelmed with anger and misery. The portrait of his alienation and isolation is very well done.
Peter finds a mysterious artifact washed up on the beach, a harp key, and feels a curious attachment to it. He begins to get visions of another life, the story of the dark ages bard Taleisin. As Peter becomes more absorbed in Talesin’s story, the family slowly knits back together, bonding with each other and the countryside. Then past and present begin to combine in unsettling ways, as a museum curator threatens to take the key and lock it up behind glass forever.
It is full of little, knowing details, like Rhian’s orange-peel smile, Jen’s bewilderment over a raw chicken, and Gwilym’s sudden interest in mugs when his mother stops by.
Both stories – the everyday, slice-of-life of an American family living in 1970s Wales and the more mystical connection Peter develops with Talesin – integrate with each other perfectly. The point of view alternates between that of Peter, and his older sister Jen, who is both exasperated and terribly worried by her brother’s behavior.
I love everything about this novel, the characters, the setting, the writing style, the plot. It is one of my favorite books of all time.
Peter finds a mysterious artifact washed up on the beach, a harp key, and feels a curious attachment to it. He begins to get visions of another life, the story of the dark ages bard Taleisin. As Peter becomes more absorbed in Talesin’s story, the family slowly knits back together, bonding with each other and the countryside. Then past and present begin to combine in unsettling ways, as a museum curator threatens to take the key and lock it up behind glass forever.
It is full of little, knowing details, like Rhian’s orange-peel smile, Jen’s bewilderment over a raw chicken, and Gwilym’s sudden interest in mugs when his mother stops by.
Both stories – the everyday, slice-of-life of an American family living in 1970s Wales and the more mystical connection Peter develops with Talesin – integrate with each other perfectly. The point of view alternates between that of Peter, and his older sister Jen, who is both exasperated and terribly worried by her brother’s behavior.
I love everything about this novel, the characters, the setting, the writing style, the plot. It is one of my favorite books of all time.
February 13, 2009
I picked this one up in my meanderings through past Newbery Award and Newbery Honor winners. I'm beginning to think that the main criteria for Newbery's is that they include children dealing with some difficult emotional trauma. This one has three children who have recently lost their mother in a car accident. It is very well-written. I was impressed with the writing to begin with and thought it had hope as a story. I feel that the story fell flat and the struggles of the children in the family were somewhat irritating to me. I felt the two youngest children behaved as I felt they would in the circumstances, the oldest child and the remaining parent were frustrating and, in my opinion, responsible for the disfunctionality of the family. The book ends in a much better place but only after a rather disjointed and often unrelated story in between. The highlight of the book for me was the author's description of the Welsh countryside. I really got a feel for the wild, sometimes desolate, unpredictable landscape and the independence of this small but very old country.
February 6, 2023
Is A String in the Harp... historical fiction? fantasy? family drama? I suppose that it could be labeled a work of all three of those genres, plus multicultural lit, mystery and possibly even suspense. For a debut author, Nancy Bond does well in morphing the varied story elements into a cohesive narrative that should keep one's attention, while at the same time providing an excellent introductory education on the subject of ancient and contemporary life in Wales.
After the death of their mother about a year ago, siblings Peter (age twelve) and Becky (ten) are taken to the small nation of Wales with their father (David), who has accepted a job there at a university. The oldest of the three siblings, Jen (age fifteen), is allowed to stay on in America with her aunt and uncle, but is temporarily reunited with her family in Wales during Christmas vacation from school. As happy as Jen is to be back with her family, she quickly realizes that there is little peace to be found among her father and siblings. Becky has maintained a bravely positive attitude about her life being disrupted by the move to a foreign country, but Peter has become enshrouded in bitterness, rarely talking to his father except in short, emotionless bytes. Jen had already been aware that there was trouble with Peter, but she hadn't completely understand how fractured the family was, and walking into the middle of the drama as a veritable outsider makes things even more awkward for her.
Peter, though, has a secret that could turn the entire family situation upside down. While out walking one day in the Welsh countryside, he came across a strange, glowing artifact. He initially had no idea of the y-shaped object's purpose; however, after deciding to keep it anyway, Peter begins to experience strange visions that seem to sweep him backwards through the mists of time to a much younger Wales, one filled with the adventure and daring of the nation's romantic past in the sixth century. Peter is only a spectator in these visions, yet he always comes back to his own time still feeling the full emotional impact of what he has witnessed, and knows that the vivid scenes can't possibly be just fantasies.
When Jen comes to Wales for vacation, Peter makes up his mind to share his big secret with her; however, things don't go according to plan, and telling Jen about the key leads to the magical artifact being put in serious jeopardy of confiscation by a third party. By this point, Peter still doesn't fully understand the importance of the mysterious piece that he holds, but he has the growing sense that he is being depended upon to do something with it as a means of setting to rest a portion of Welsh history that has remained unfinished for more than a thousand years. The question is, what must he do?
Overall, the parts to A String in the Harp that really leap out at me most are the arguments between the kids and their father, especially the ones that occur between Peter and David. In my opinion these are easily the most exciting sections of the book, capable of generating real emotional heat in even a generally impassive reader. Nancy Bond knows how to write some pretty provocative dialogue, and this is where the story shines most brightly.
One other detail that I noticed about A String in the Harp is the way that David is always referred to in the narration by his first name, rather than "their father" or "their dad", or something along those lines. This approach is notably unconventional in comparison to most other young-adult books, leading me to wonder if the author's original intent may have been to write the story for an adult audience. Of course, that's just speculation on my part, but the narrative does read somewhat differently than most young-adult and children's books that I have read.
Having experienced all three hundred seventy pages of A String in the Harp, it's fair to say it has some interesting qualities, and I'm glad I made time to read the book.
After the death of their mother about a year ago, siblings Peter (age twelve) and Becky (ten) are taken to the small nation of Wales with their father (David), who has accepted a job there at a university. The oldest of the three siblings, Jen (age fifteen), is allowed to stay on in America with her aunt and uncle, but is temporarily reunited with her family in Wales during Christmas vacation from school. As happy as Jen is to be back with her family, she quickly realizes that there is little peace to be found among her father and siblings. Becky has maintained a bravely positive attitude about her life being disrupted by the move to a foreign country, but Peter has become enshrouded in bitterness, rarely talking to his father except in short, emotionless bytes. Jen had already been aware that there was trouble with Peter, but she hadn't completely understand how fractured the family was, and walking into the middle of the drama as a veritable outsider makes things even more awkward for her.
Peter, though, has a secret that could turn the entire family situation upside down. While out walking one day in the Welsh countryside, he came across a strange, glowing artifact. He initially had no idea of the y-shaped object's purpose; however, after deciding to keep it anyway, Peter begins to experience strange visions that seem to sweep him backwards through the mists of time to a much younger Wales, one filled with the adventure and daring of the nation's romantic past in the sixth century. Peter is only a spectator in these visions, yet he always comes back to his own time still feeling the full emotional impact of what he has witnessed, and knows that the vivid scenes can't possibly be just fantasies.
When Jen comes to Wales for vacation, Peter makes up his mind to share his big secret with her; however, things don't go according to plan, and telling Jen about the key leads to the magical artifact being put in serious jeopardy of confiscation by a third party. By this point, Peter still doesn't fully understand the importance of the mysterious piece that he holds, but he has the growing sense that he is being depended upon to do something with it as a means of setting to rest a portion of Welsh history that has remained unfinished for more than a thousand years. The question is, what must he do?
Overall, the parts to A String in the Harp that really leap out at me most are the arguments between the kids and their father, especially the ones that occur between Peter and David. In my opinion these are easily the most exciting sections of the book, capable of generating real emotional heat in even a generally impassive reader. Nancy Bond knows how to write some pretty provocative dialogue, and this is where the story shines most brightly.
One other detail that I noticed about A String in the Harp is the way that David is always referred to in the narration by his first name, rather than "their father" or "their dad", or something along those lines. This approach is notably unconventional in comparison to most other young-adult books, leading me to wonder if the author's original intent may have been to write the story for an adult audience. Of course, that's just speculation on my part, but the narrative does read somewhat differently than most young-adult and children's books that I have read.
Having experienced all three hundred seventy pages of A String in the Harp, it's fair to say it has some interesting qualities, and I'm glad I made time to read the book.
February 4, 2013
Ahh, I had SO much fun reading this book! It was like a long vacation in Susan Cooper's Wales.
So, I got this one at a garage sale because it was a Newberry Honor book. It's high Welsh fantasy in the vein of Susan Cooper's The Grey King and Silver on the Tree (two of my favorite favorites) and deals with a lot of the same mythology. I relished every word of the book like a long refreshing vacation in a favorite place.
The magical element in this book is much more understated than in a Susan Cooper or Lloyd Alexander book, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. As a younger reader, I might have hated the slower pace of the narrative, but as an adult with a long attention span, I relished the slow unfolding of the story. While the story had obvious fantastical elements, the core of the story was about a family and their learning to love each other and cope with their mother's death.
I've never been to Wales, but this book makes me long for it. It deserves a place of honor (and rereading) with some of my favorites.
Incidentally, here are the first three Tir na n-Og award winners for best English Language work (dealing with Welsh Culture):
1976 - Susan Cooper - The Grey King
1977 - Nancy Bond - A String in the Harp
1978 - Susan Cooper - Silver on the Tree
So, I got this one at a garage sale because it was a Newberry Honor book. It's high Welsh fantasy in the vein of Susan Cooper's The Grey King and Silver on the Tree (two of my favorite favorites) and deals with a lot of the same mythology. I relished every word of the book like a long refreshing vacation in a favorite place.
The magical element in this book is much more understated than in a Susan Cooper or Lloyd Alexander book, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. As a younger reader, I might have hated the slower pace of the narrative, but as an adult with a long attention span, I relished the slow unfolding of the story. While the story had obvious fantastical elements, the core of the story was about a family and their learning to love each other and cope with their mother's death.
I've never been to Wales, but this book makes me long for it. It deserves a place of honor (and rereading) with some of my favorites.
Incidentally, here are the first three Tir na n-Og award winners for best English Language work (dealing with Welsh Culture):
1976 - Susan Cooper - The Grey King
1977 - Nancy Bond - A String in the Harp
1978 - Susan Cooper - Silver on the Tree
May 31, 2016
This book is about the aftermath of 3 siblings when their mom dies, and 2 of them has to stay with their dad in Ireland, while the oldest stays back to live with their aunt and uncle in New England, but then reunite for the holidays at their dad's house. During the holidays, one of the siblings find a mysterious object that allows myth and history to be seen.
This book is not so great because I felt there was no conflict within the book, and what was there was made up in order to fill the void of needing one. I felt no danger or be connected with the characters more because of the so called conflict.
P. S. I didn't like or find it great that in child's book when they call adults by their first name, especially with a parent, and then other adults are called by their last name like they should be.
This book is not so great because I felt there was no conflict within the book, and what was there was made up in order to fill the void of needing one. I felt no danger or be connected with the characters more because of the so called conflict.
P. S. I didn't like or find it great that in child's book when they call adults by their first name, especially with a parent, and then other adults are called by their last name like they should be.
October 2, 2008
I loved this book and found myself bitterly regretting not having read it when I was 12. It is the perfect book for the 12-year-old me, but it was also pretty great for the 44-year-old me. Bond weaves her version of Taliesin the Bard's story with the story of 3 modern kids trying to come to grips with their mother's death and their move to Wales from the US. One of the kids finds the key to Taliesin's harp and is granted the ability to see the story of the bard's life. Juxtaposed with these otherworldly visions is the quotidian life in a small Welsh town. Masterfully done. Highly recommended to those of you who missed it the first time around. This would be a good book to broaden the horizons of the Harry Potter kids, I think.
July 1, 2025
After their mother dies in a car accident, the Morgan family move from America to Wales, and the children have trouble adjusting to their new community. Their father, David, throws himself into his work as a professor. The littlest daughter, Becky, tries to stay cheerful all the time, afraid to express her sadness. The eldest daughter, Jen, feels that she must step into her mother's shoes and take care of everyone in the family, trying to diffuse any conflict, but she is overwhelmed, knowing that she doesn't have any answers. They are all struggling and trying to put in an effort to adjust, but Peter withdraws into himself. He doesn't even try to adjust to Wales or support his family. He closes himself off with a wall of snide remarks.
When Peter finds an ancient harp tuning key, he finds himself drawn into the life of a bard who lived centuries before on the Welsh coast. Peter seems to travel back in time, seeing glimpses of the bard and experiencing his life. These visions only separate Peter even further from his family as he withdraws into these magical manifestations. His family try to figure out what is wrong with him, but can they help him solve the mystery of the key before it is taken from them forever?
This book is a wonderfully raw exploration of grief. Each family member is dealing with their grief in different ways, and they have to learn to listen to each other and support each other. I really disliked Peter's character in the beginning because he is so selfish. He purposefully creates problems and conflict in the family, never caring how he is hurting his family. He is thoughtless and self-centered, but later through the book he gets some character development. He matures and begins to think more of others with compassion. But by then, I already disliked him, so I didn't enjoy his story.
I also disliked how the narration jumps from Jen's perspective to Peter's so often. The POVs are not delineated by chapter, so I did not like that disorganization in the narration. It even hops into David's head and Becky's sometimes too, so it was very inconsistent.
The writing is powerful, but the pacing is very slow and sort of repetitive. This book could have been condensed. However I loved all the explorations of family dynamics and siblings relationships and how we each fulfill a role in our family. I liked that each of the characters are trying to find a way forward through their grief, and grief is messy and difficult. This story doesn't shy away from some difficult subjects.
I was surprised that there was so much profanity in a children's book. That really got on my nerves.
To see all the cursing and other objectionable content in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/a-stri...
When Peter finds an ancient harp tuning key, he finds himself drawn into the life of a bard who lived centuries before on the Welsh coast. Peter seems to travel back in time, seeing glimpses of the bard and experiencing his life. These visions only separate Peter even further from his family as he withdraws into these magical manifestations. His family try to figure out what is wrong with him, but can they help him solve the mystery of the key before it is taken from them forever?
This book is a wonderfully raw exploration of grief. Each family member is dealing with their grief in different ways, and they have to learn to listen to each other and support each other. I really disliked Peter's character in the beginning because he is so selfish. He purposefully creates problems and conflict in the family, never caring how he is hurting his family. He is thoughtless and self-centered, but later through the book he gets some character development. He matures and begins to think more of others with compassion. But by then, I already disliked him, so I didn't enjoy his story.
I also disliked how the narration jumps from Jen's perspective to Peter's so often. The POVs are not delineated by chapter, so I did not like that disorganization in the narration. It even hops into David's head and Becky's sometimes too, so it was very inconsistent.
The writing is powerful, but the pacing is very slow and sort of repetitive. This book could have been condensed. However I loved all the explorations of family dynamics and siblings relationships and how we each fulfill a role in our family. I liked that each of the characters are trying to find a way forward through their grief, and grief is messy and difficult. This story doesn't shy away from some difficult subjects.
I was surprised that there was so much profanity in a children's book. That really got on my nerves.
To see all the cursing and other objectionable content in this book, check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/a-stri...
July 7, 2013
While searching the bookshelves of my librarian daughter for a book to read I came across the 1976 Newberry Honor Award Winner, "A String in the Harp." In this book, we find a family torn apart emotionally and physically after the death of the mother. Hoping a change of scenery will help the family heal David, the father, accepts a position as a professor at a University in Wales moving his young family across the ocean. Peter, the middle child who is having the most difficult time adapting to Wales and missing his mother, finds an artifact along the coastline that magically transports him back thousands of years, leaving clues to solve an ancient mystery. As a reader we are woven between the centuries of Welsch Folklore and watching this young family come to terms with the death of their mother. Of course, there is the "evil" professor who wants this ancient artifact for his collection. This conflict is resolves, as are many others throughout the book, by honest and respectful dialogue. The gender roles are not stereotypical, with the exception of the oldest daughter, Jen. She spends a lot of time learning housekeeping skills to replace the role of her mother, however, she still plays a pivotal role in the healing of her family. Keeping in mind the story was written in the 1970's there are no cell phones or internet, so the children and adults combine their imagination and wisdom to solve these multi-layered mysteries together.
February 11, 2015
Clueless as to how this earned a Newbery Honor back in 1977. It had so much potential to flesh out into a good story. Sigh.
What I liked: set in Wales, referenced Taliesen-- a 6th century bard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin)
what I didn't like: the flaky father who was clueless about parenting and his kids called him David (not Dad), that it straddled reality and fantasy but as with oil and water the two would not blend, the belligerent son who sullenly punished his father the first half of the book, and that there was NO HELP in pronouncing any of the Welsh names used in the book.
The story was about the family and how they came together as a family, which was okay but not enough to sustain this completely implausible tale. I could not extend to it my "willing suspension of disbelief".
p.s. And who came up with the title for this book? There was NO STRING ever mentioned. There was a HARP KEY, guys. Why didn't the title reflect this? How about "THE KEY TO THE HARP"? Huh?
What I liked: set in Wales, referenced Taliesen-- a 6th century bard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin)
what I didn't like: the flaky father who was clueless about parenting and his kids called him David (not Dad), that it straddled reality and fantasy but as with oil and water the two would not blend, the belligerent son who sullenly punished his father the first half of the book, and that there was NO HELP in pronouncing any of the Welsh names used in the book.
The story was about the family and how they came together as a family, which was okay but not enough to sustain this completely implausible tale. I could not extend to it my "willing suspension of disbelief".
p.s. And who came up with the title for this book? There was NO STRING ever mentioned. There was a HARP KEY, guys. Why didn't the title reflect this? How about "THE KEY TO THE HARP"? Huh?
September 25, 2011
Oh my, what to say about this book? I think perhaps the members of the Newbery committee were smoking crack the year they awarded this a notable "Honor." It's not that it was awful - from a middle aged woman's perspective at least. It's just that it's one of those dry, slow, and very, very dull stories that teachers assign to kids in school, ensuring that they grow up to hate reading and groan the next time they're forced to pick up a book.
That being said, I happened to almost enjoy the long rants describing the Welsh countryside, and even tolerated the somewhat lame story of the ancient bard, Taliesin. And even though the kids spoke like miniature adults from England (when in fact they were a tween and two teens from America), I grew to care for them a bit, too. So all in all, I didn't want to kill myself over this one.
Still, never make your kid read it - or else, suffer the inevitable consequences (see paragraph 1.)
That being said, I happened to almost enjoy the long rants describing the Welsh countryside, and even tolerated the somewhat lame story of the ancient bard, Taliesin. And even though the kids spoke like miniature adults from England (when in fact they were a tween and two teens from America), I grew to care for them a bit, too. So all in all, I didn't want to kill myself over this one.
Still, never make your kid read it - or else, suffer the inevitable consequences (see paragraph 1.)
December 5, 2018
I chose this book from a pile in a Portsmouth, NH bookstore because it had "Harp" in the title. And those who know me also know that I play the harp. At first I thought this was charming with it's amusing details about staying at a dreary, un-insulated cottage in an ocean town with nothing to do, especially if you are a teenager. But I soon grew tired of the details and just didn't feel like picking it up again. I also wasn't really into the characters. It's always about the characters. I was a little concerned the boy was schizophrenic and maybe that was where the tale was going, but the writing just didn't pull me in. I never got to the part about the harp...
September 22, 2013
As a new children's librarian, I read this when it first came out and loved it. This time around, I found it very slow. I was also taken aback that the 15-year-old daughter becomes the family housekeeper when she decides to stay in Wales after the holidays - this felt very dated. But the fantasy worked for me. I loved Peter's glimpses of the sixth century world. And I especially loved the descriptions of the Welsh countryside and the natural world - though it might not have been so enthralling if I had not just returned from Wales.
March 23, 2008
I read this 1977 Newbery Honor Book shortly after Enchantress from the Stars and found myself wondering why the Newbery Committees hate mothers so much. Surely anybody's who's looked into the "dead mother book" phenomenon can attest to the fact that the mothers of Newbery book protagonists have an amazingly short life expectancy and a high tendency to die even before the first chapter starts. Likewise the stars of most Disney animated films and every fairytale character with an evil stepmother. My current pet theory is that a motherless main characters tend to be instantly sympathetic, are forced to be more self-reliant, and don't have as much of a support network to fall back on when things go bad--which kicks the story up a notch but still, it's a tough sacrifice on the part of all those fictional mothers.
In ASitH, Jen Morgan is not only motherless, but recently so, and members of her family are still coping with Mom's loss. At the same time, Jen's father probably isn't making things any better by moving the family from Massachusetts to the Welsh countryside, away from their friends and familiar surroundings, and then distancing himself from the children by burying himself in his work. When Jen's younger brother, Peter, starts spacing out and talking about a magical Sixth Century harp key, Jen has to believe it's an act in order to earn a ticket back home. This is the promising premise to a fantasy novel that mostly fails to deliver.
Slogging through this travelogue of a book, I learned much about the climate, culture, history, and ornithology of Wales--yes, there are frequent bird-watching expeditions. Family drama frequently weaves in and out, Jen learns how to cook and clean house, and every once in a while the fantasy elements reassert themselves.
Bang! A magical artifact is found! Zam! Strange things begin to happen! Kapow! Our modern world is bumping up against Wales of the past! We can expect an exciting collision of worlds any time now... any time now... any time now... Or not. The end?!!
ASitH is the rare time travel story in which characters from the present and characters from the past move around the timeline but never actually interact. If this book were a movie, I'd demand a refund. But since it's a book, I'll just do another Book Review Theather!
INTERIOR - DRAFTY OLD WELSH HOUSE DURING A BAD STORM AT NIGHT, CIRCA 1976
Professor David Morgan stands in the doorway, looking out at the bog.
DAVID: Say, it's sure a bad storm. What do you suppose all those people are doing out on the bog?
JEN: Probably looking for a lost cow.
DAVID: With torches and swords?
JEN: Those cows can be deadly if they sneak up on you. It certainly has nothing to do with magical time-altering harp keys.
Jen looks over at her brother Peter, who is staring intently into the glowing metal harp key he has taken to wearing around his neck.
DAVID (peers harder into the gloom): Maybe it's a festival, like a Welsh version of Guy Fawkes Day or the Fourth of July.
A Sixth Century Welsh warrior stumbles toward the house, wearing armor, bleeding profusely from a battleaxe stuck into his back.
WARRIOR (pleadingly): [Something we can't understand because it's in Welsh.:]
DAVID: How exciting! Their festival incorporates costumes and trick-or-treating like Halloween! Jen, run and fetch us some chocolate bars!
In this case, Book Review Theater is only a slight exaggeration. During the book, an entire Sixth Century battlefield is magically transported to the Twentieth Century complete with hundreds of corpses and rivers of blood and people barely take notice. Sure, television has made us jaded about violence, but come on!
Bottom Line: If you're looking for a fun time travel story that perhaps features a living, breathing mother, this is not the book for you. But I would recommend it to anyone who needs to write a report on Wales in the 1970s, keeping in mind that things have surely changed a lot in the past three-plus decades. "Torchwood", a BBC series I particularly like, is set in modern 21st Century Wales and you'd hardly know it's the same place!
In ASitH, Jen Morgan is not only motherless, but recently so, and members of her family are still coping with Mom's loss. At the same time, Jen's father probably isn't making things any better by moving the family from Massachusetts to the Welsh countryside, away from their friends and familiar surroundings, and then distancing himself from the children by burying himself in his work. When Jen's younger brother, Peter, starts spacing out and talking about a magical Sixth Century harp key, Jen has to believe it's an act in order to earn a ticket back home. This is the promising premise to a fantasy novel that mostly fails to deliver.
Slogging through this travelogue of a book, I learned much about the climate, culture, history, and ornithology of Wales--yes, there are frequent bird-watching expeditions. Family drama frequently weaves in and out, Jen learns how to cook and clean house, and every once in a while the fantasy elements reassert themselves.
Bang! A magical artifact is found! Zam! Strange things begin to happen! Kapow! Our modern world is bumping up against Wales of the past! We can expect an exciting collision of worlds any time now... any time now... any time now... Or not. The end?!!
ASitH is the rare time travel story in which characters from the present and characters from the past move around the timeline but never actually interact. If this book were a movie, I'd demand a refund. But since it's a book, I'll just do another Book Review Theather!
INTERIOR - DRAFTY OLD WELSH HOUSE DURING A BAD STORM AT NIGHT, CIRCA 1976
Professor David Morgan stands in the doorway, looking out at the bog.
DAVID: Say, it's sure a bad storm. What do you suppose all those people are doing out on the bog?
JEN: Probably looking for a lost cow.
DAVID: With torches and swords?
JEN: Those cows can be deadly if they sneak up on you. It certainly has nothing to do with magical time-altering harp keys.
Jen looks over at her brother Peter, who is staring intently into the glowing metal harp key he has taken to wearing around his neck.
DAVID (peers harder into the gloom): Maybe it's a festival, like a Welsh version of Guy Fawkes Day or the Fourth of July.
A Sixth Century Welsh warrior stumbles toward the house, wearing armor, bleeding profusely from a battleaxe stuck into his back.
WARRIOR (pleadingly): [Something we can't understand because it's in Welsh.:]
DAVID: How exciting! Their festival incorporates costumes and trick-or-treating like Halloween! Jen, run and fetch us some chocolate bars!
In this case, Book Review Theater is only a slight exaggeration. During the book, an entire Sixth Century battlefield is magically transported to the Twentieth Century complete with hundreds of corpses and rivers of blood and people barely take notice. Sure, television has made us jaded about violence, but come on!
Bottom Line: If you're looking for a fun time travel story that perhaps features a living, breathing mother, this is not the book for you. But I would recommend it to anyone who needs to write a report on Wales in the 1970s, keeping in mind that things have surely changed a lot in the past three-plus decades. "Torchwood", a BBC series I particularly like, is set in modern 21st Century Wales and you'd hardly know it's the same place!
November 28, 2024
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A STRING IN THE HARP
by Nancy Bond, published in 1976, under 400 pages.
THE PROMO: When 15 year-old Jen Morgan flies to Wales to spend Christmas with her family, she's not expecting much from the holiday. A year after her mother's death from a car accident, her father David seems preoccupied with his new professorship, the University position that has brought him and Jen's younger siblings to Wales for the year. Her brother, Peter, is alternately hostile and sullen and her little sister Becky, misses Jen terribly.
Then Peter tells Jen he's found a strange artifact, a harp key that produces songs just before giving him visions from the life of Taliesin, the great bard whose life in sixth-century Wales has been immortalized in legend. At first Jen doesn't believe him, but when she questions Professor Rhys, an expert on the ancient bard, he casts doubt on her certainties. - edited
The story of Peter Morgan, a 12-year-old in the 1970s whose family moves from their New England home in Amherst, Massachusetts to Borth a Welsh seaside village where he finds an unusual ancient object, a harp-tuning key. Mysteriously the Key gives Peter realistic visions of Wales back during the 6th century and he discovers it originally belonged to Taliesin the king's chief bard.
Kind of a timing-traveling adventure that details the history and culture of ancient Wales. Written primarily for early teen readers and may be enjoyable for all ages. Wales is the country located along the Southwest coast of England, the United Kingdom (UK).
.
When the story begins, Peter, his dad David Morgan and 10-year-old sister Becky are in Wales for the school year. Dad had accepted a position at the University of Wales just months after the death of his wife. Mom died tragically in a car wreck and Jen the oldest stayed in the States for high school, living with Aunt Beth and Uncle Ted. They plan for Jen to come to Wales for a family get together during the Christmas holiday and when she arrives the seaside town is not at all what she'd been expecting and they're living in a poorly heated drafty house. Of course they all miss mom. Becky appears to be making the best of it and is her cheerful self as she gets to know the people in the area, but Peter seems miserable in this place, endlessly longing to just go back home.
Peter already found the odd object in the rocks at the beach and feels a connection with it. He doesn't know exactly what it is, but it reminds him of some kind of key. He's now wearing it on a chain around his neck and tucked inside his shirt. At first when he held it and the Key heated up and sang and seemed to give him visions, it was a bit alarming, but he's gotten used to it. Soon enough the viewings of this ancient bard and his life becomes an obsession.
Eventually his sister notices Peter has lapses of awareness where he seems oblivious to those around him, as if he's lost in a daydream. It's at those times he is experiencing one of those visions. At first the visions are of Taliesin as just a lad and student of an accomplished bard. He receives a small harp of his own and is given the Key. Eventually he grows up and is a professional bard. At one point Taliesin and the king's son are both kidnapped by Irish Raiders, but he manages to escape.
While Peter along with the family and friends are out walking they all see boats and a man possibly from the time of Taliesin and they look over one of those ancient old boats which supposedly no longer exist. One night they see fires, lights and some kind of activity going on way out on the bog which happens to be the same place an ancient battle occurred as seen in Peter's visions. And there are other hard to explain occurrences. Perhaps the visions are magically taking form where everyone can see them. The visions are telling Peter the life story of Taliesin and continue through ancient battles and misadventures and eventually the bard's old age and eternal resting place.
Their odd little village has one very long narrow main road with houses and shops on either side. This town is located next to the coast with a huge bog on one side of the town and a cliff that drops down to the shore on the other side. As Peter and company go about their business and the author gives details of the dreary damp town and snippets of the life of the bard, reading can get tedious. Regrettably large portions of the story are just not that interesting. I find it hard to imagine a 14-year-old reader sticking it out through the whole story, unless they're fascinated by cryptic tales of ancient Wales.
Peter and his dad are often at odds with one another with Dad complaining about his son's negative attitude and Peter just wanting to go home, back to their pleasant, warm house in Amherst, Massachusetts. David Morgan, the dad, finally reveals why they're in Wales to begin with. It would have been nice if he had talked this up prior to making what seemed an abrupt and ill conceived move to a country on the other side of the Atlantic. Apparently Mom and Dad had planned this extended trip to Wales, the family's ancestral homeland. This is the year they were to make this move, but unfortunately Mom was killed and so Dad decided to go ahead with the trip in hopes it would do them all some good.
Soon enough Jen's 3 week Christmas vacation is up and it's time for her to head back to Massachusetts for school and to her aunt and uncle's house. Becky pleads and begs with big sister Jennifer to stay with them and after thinking it over Jen decides she'll take the next 6 months off from school so the family can finish off the year abroad together. Their neighbor is a cook and housekeeper who works for Mr Morgan as well as other professors from the college and Jen is supposedly going to learn domestic skills in order to help out with the household. For some reason they are not able to arrange High School classes for Jen during these months and she'll keep busy reading books, doing lessons assigned by her father and learning to keep house.
Maybe it's a good thing Jennifer is required to learn to cook and keep house since her younger brother knows more about using the oven and making a burnt roast chicken edible. A bus ride away is the much busier town of Aber, the location of dad's University and a better place to shop since they have a Woolworth where they buy Christmas decorations and more. At one point they visit an actual big city, Cardiff.
At the national museum they meet Dr John Owen who is a friend of Professor Rhys from Dad's University. At a display of harps and tuning keys used for adjusting the strings on a harp, Jen brings up ancient artifacts and who actually owns them. Since Peter's tuning key would be considered a National Treasure it would rightfully belong to the country of Wales and should be preserved in the museum. Jen is about to spill the beans about the Key, but Becky being a true believer in Peter's Key and visions is able to put a stop to it.
.
Following are story details and exactly how it ends, for those interested.
Months pass and it's spring. Professor Rhys mentions to the family that he talked with Dr Owen from the museum and he's coming by to ask the family and specifically Jen, if they actually have an artifact that would be of interest, since she's the one who mentioned finding a hypothetical ancient harp key. It's an informal meeting at the house and Peter sneaks out, not wanting to be confronted by the museum guy and Jen can truthfully deny having such a key. Dr Owens is not to be put off and mentions the possibility of an investigation and delivers a veiled threat to David, mentioning the fact that he isn't a citizen, just a visiting professor at the university.
Peter and company witness another one of those visions that everyone can see. A procession with torches walking in the hills near the reservoir. It's a funeral procession and now Peter knows the location of Taliesin's grave and what he's ment to do with the Key. In the night Peter talks the neighbor kid with a motor bike into giving him a ride out to the reservoir. As they approach, he sees the reservoir is no longer there, just the valley and large burial mound from long ago and that's where he finds the arranged stones concealing the bard's grave. Moving one of the stones, Peter drops the Key into Taliesin's grave, completing the task he'd been compelled to carry out. Once they've left the area the reservoir is back and the grave site unseen.
Dr Owen from the museum is back and speaks with Peter about the harp key they are sure he possesses, but he no longer has it and Owen believes him and lets it go. Peter told Owen that he never possessed the Key. It's a bit of a fib because "The Key had possessed him, never the other way around."
David's position at the University in Amherst is still waiting for him. Here in Wales they offer him to continue on at the University for another year. Surprisingly the kids including Peter are not that anxious to leave and dad agrees to talk over the decision with all of them. Again the story mentions the difficulty of Jen missing High School which is odd, as if kids in Wales don't have high school.
.
The title A String in the Harp, is a line from a poem attributed to Taliesin from "The Book of Taliesin."
An okay story, but the details of the life of the poet bard harpist Taliesin are not compelling, at times confusing. As for the numerous words and Welsh names, there is absolutely no hints at pronunciation. You're on your own or you could listen to the audiobook. How do you say the neighbor boy's name, Gwilym? The University town is Aberystwyth. And how do you say Ynyslas or Foel Goch? Dr. Rhys is pronounced "Rees."
..
.
A STRING IN THE HARP
by Nancy Bond, published in 1976, under 400 pages.
THE PROMO: When 15 year-old Jen Morgan flies to Wales to spend Christmas with her family, she's not expecting much from the holiday. A year after her mother's death from a car accident, her father David seems preoccupied with his new professorship, the University position that has brought him and Jen's younger siblings to Wales for the year. Her brother, Peter, is alternately hostile and sullen and her little sister Becky, misses Jen terribly.
Then Peter tells Jen he's found a strange artifact, a harp key that produces songs just before giving him visions from the life of Taliesin, the great bard whose life in sixth-century Wales has been immortalized in legend. At first Jen doesn't believe him, but when she questions Professor Rhys, an expert on the ancient bard, he casts doubt on her certainties. - edited
The story of Peter Morgan, a 12-year-old in the 1970s whose family moves from their New England home in Amherst, Massachusetts to Borth a Welsh seaside village where he finds an unusual ancient object, a harp-tuning key. Mysteriously the Key gives Peter realistic visions of Wales back during the 6th century and he discovers it originally belonged to Taliesin the king's chief bard.
Kind of a timing-traveling adventure that details the history and culture of ancient Wales. Written primarily for early teen readers and may be enjoyable for all ages. Wales is the country located along the Southwest coast of England, the United Kingdom (UK).
.
When the story begins, Peter, his dad David Morgan and 10-year-old sister Becky are in Wales for the school year. Dad had accepted a position at the University of Wales just months after the death of his wife. Mom died tragically in a car wreck and Jen the oldest stayed in the States for high school, living with Aunt Beth and Uncle Ted. They plan for Jen to come to Wales for a family get together during the Christmas holiday and when she arrives the seaside town is not at all what she'd been expecting and they're living in a poorly heated drafty house. Of course they all miss mom. Becky appears to be making the best of it and is her cheerful self as she gets to know the people in the area, but Peter seems miserable in this place, endlessly longing to just go back home.
Peter already found the odd object in the rocks at the beach and feels a connection with it. He doesn't know exactly what it is, but it reminds him of some kind of key. He's now wearing it on a chain around his neck and tucked inside his shirt. At first when he held it and the Key heated up and sang and seemed to give him visions, it was a bit alarming, but he's gotten used to it. Soon enough the viewings of this ancient bard and his life becomes an obsession.
Eventually his sister notices Peter has lapses of awareness where he seems oblivious to those around him, as if he's lost in a daydream. It's at those times he is experiencing one of those visions. At first the visions are of Taliesin as just a lad and student of an accomplished bard. He receives a small harp of his own and is given the Key. Eventually he grows up and is a professional bard. At one point Taliesin and the king's son are both kidnapped by Irish Raiders, but he manages to escape.
While Peter along with the family and friends are out walking they all see boats and a man possibly from the time of Taliesin and they look over one of those ancient old boats which supposedly no longer exist. One night they see fires, lights and some kind of activity going on way out on the bog which happens to be the same place an ancient battle occurred as seen in Peter's visions. And there are other hard to explain occurrences. Perhaps the visions are magically taking form where everyone can see them. The visions are telling Peter the life story of Taliesin and continue through ancient battles and misadventures and eventually the bard's old age and eternal resting place.
Their odd little village has one very long narrow main road with houses and shops on either side. This town is located next to the coast with a huge bog on one side of the town and a cliff that drops down to the shore on the other side. As Peter and company go about their business and the author gives details of the dreary damp town and snippets of the life of the bard, reading can get tedious. Regrettably large portions of the story are just not that interesting. I find it hard to imagine a 14-year-old reader sticking it out through the whole story, unless they're fascinated by cryptic tales of ancient Wales.
Peter and his dad are often at odds with one another with Dad complaining about his son's negative attitude and Peter just wanting to go home, back to their pleasant, warm house in Amherst, Massachusetts. David Morgan, the dad, finally reveals why they're in Wales to begin with. It would have been nice if he had talked this up prior to making what seemed an abrupt and ill conceived move to a country on the other side of the Atlantic. Apparently Mom and Dad had planned this extended trip to Wales, the family's ancestral homeland. This is the year they were to make this move, but unfortunately Mom was killed and so Dad decided to go ahead with the trip in hopes it would do them all some good.
Soon enough Jen's 3 week Christmas vacation is up and it's time for her to head back to Massachusetts for school and to her aunt and uncle's house. Becky pleads and begs with big sister Jennifer to stay with them and after thinking it over Jen decides she'll take the next 6 months off from school so the family can finish off the year abroad together. Their neighbor is a cook and housekeeper who works for Mr Morgan as well as other professors from the college and Jen is supposedly going to learn domestic skills in order to help out with the household. For some reason they are not able to arrange High School classes for Jen during these months and she'll keep busy reading books, doing lessons assigned by her father and learning to keep house.
Maybe it's a good thing Jennifer is required to learn to cook and keep house since her younger brother knows more about using the oven and making a burnt roast chicken edible. A bus ride away is the much busier town of Aber, the location of dad's University and a better place to shop since they have a Woolworth where they buy Christmas decorations and more. At one point they visit an actual big city, Cardiff.
At the national museum they meet Dr John Owen who is a friend of Professor Rhys from Dad's University. At a display of harps and tuning keys used for adjusting the strings on a harp, Jen brings up ancient artifacts and who actually owns them. Since Peter's tuning key would be considered a National Treasure it would rightfully belong to the country of Wales and should be preserved in the museum. Jen is about to spill the beans about the Key, but Becky being a true believer in Peter's Key and visions is able to put a stop to it.
.
Following are story details and exactly how it ends, for those interested.
Months pass and it's spring. Professor Rhys mentions to the family that he talked with Dr Owen from the museum and he's coming by to ask the family and specifically Jen, if they actually have an artifact that would be of interest, since she's the one who mentioned finding a hypothetical ancient harp key. It's an informal meeting at the house and Peter sneaks out, not wanting to be confronted by the museum guy and Jen can truthfully deny having such a key. Dr Owens is not to be put off and mentions the possibility of an investigation and delivers a veiled threat to David, mentioning the fact that he isn't a citizen, just a visiting professor at the university.
Peter and company witness another one of those visions that everyone can see. A procession with torches walking in the hills near the reservoir. It's a funeral procession and now Peter knows the location of Taliesin's grave and what he's ment to do with the Key. In the night Peter talks the neighbor kid with a motor bike into giving him a ride out to the reservoir. As they approach, he sees the reservoir is no longer there, just the valley and large burial mound from long ago and that's where he finds the arranged stones concealing the bard's grave. Moving one of the stones, Peter drops the Key into Taliesin's grave, completing the task he'd been compelled to carry out. Once they've left the area the reservoir is back and the grave site unseen.
Dr Owen from the museum is back and speaks with Peter about the harp key they are sure he possesses, but he no longer has it and Owen believes him and lets it go. Peter told Owen that he never possessed the Key. It's a bit of a fib because "The Key had possessed him, never the other way around."
David's position at the University in Amherst is still waiting for him. Here in Wales they offer him to continue on at the University for another year. Surprisingly the kids including Peter are not that anxious to leave and dad agrees to talk over the decision with all of them. Again the story mentions the difficulty of Jen missing High School which is odd, as if kids in Wales don't have high school.
.
The title A String in the Harp, is a line from a poem attributed to Taliesin from "The Book of Taliesin."
An okay story, but the details of the life of the poet bard harpist Taliesin are not compelling, at times confusing. As for the numerous words and Welsh names, there is absolutely no hints at pronunciation. You're on your own or you could listen to the audiobook. How do you say the neighbor boy's name, Gwilym? The University town is Aberystwyth. And how do you say Ynyslas or Foel Goch? Dr. Rhys is pronounced "Rees."
..
.
June 30, 2018
A Predictable Family Drama, With Leeks
I was very disappointed by this book. This is basically an adolescent problem novel, (with not very interesting adolescents or adults, and a not very interesting problem), that has some Welsh myth content, a few countryside walkabouts, and a fanciful interpretation of Taliesin to give it what spice it has.
After Mom's death in an accident, Dad moves from America to an academic job in a dreary isolated rural village in Wales and takes his two youngest children with him. Because that's what a self-absorbed nincompoop would do to two young kids after the sudden death of their mother. The son falls into a crippling depression, but Dad just gets testy and hides in his study when the son complains or acts out. An older sister visits for Christmas and then drops out of high school in order to stay in Wales and care for the family household, because apparently school doesn't matter and that's what girls do. This takes up the full first quarter of the book and runs on and off, but still dominates, for the balance of the story.
Miraculously, the son finds the tuning key to the bard Taliesin's harp and starts having time travel flashback visions to scenes from Taliesin's life. Eventually the son does something symbolic with the key and everyone is happy again.
There are three things going on here. First, the whole family mending bit, which is shallow and wildly contrived. Someone is either moping or whinging in literally every scene. Second, many readers enjoyed the scenes of everyday Welsh village and farm life. There are a few such scenes, (mostly so the kids can mope or gripe outside), but not many and rather superficial. Anyone looking for that could do worse than read a few of Rhys Bowen's Constable Evans cozy mysteries. (Or read any chapter of "How Green Was My Valley", or look at the pictures and read her stirring prose in Jan Morris' "Wales - The First Place".) Finally, there is the Welsh mythology. I didn't think there was enough there to allow for even a flavor of the richness of Welsh folklore, but for a stirring take on similar material the reader would be wise to turn to Susan Cooper's definitive "Dark is Rising" sequence. Actually I can think of about a dozen books, (by Jenny Nimmo or Alan Garner among others), that translate classic Welsh stories into modern times with style and heart.
So, I am always reluctant to write reviews that are negative, because who am I to declare what's good or bad, but really the idea that this book is some sort of classic just set me off.
I was very disappointed by this book. This is basically an adolescent problem novel, (with not very interesting adolescents or adults, and a not very interesting problem), that has some Welsh myth content, a few countryside walkabouts, and a fanciful interpretation of Taliesin to give it what spice it has.
After Mom's death in an accident, Dad moves from America to an academic job in a dreary isolated rural village in Wales and takes his two youngest children with him. Because that's what a self-absorbed nincompoop would do to two young kids after the sudden death of their mother. The son falls into a crippling depression, but Dad just gets testy and hides in his study when the son complains or acts out. An older sister visits for Christmas and then drops out of high school in order to stay in Wales and care for the family household, because apparently school doesn't matter and that's what girls do. This takes up the full first quarter of the book and runs on and off, but still dominates, for the balance of the story.
Miraculously, the son finds the tuning key to the bard Taliesin's harp and starts having time travel flashback visions to scenes from Taliesin's life. Eventually the son does something symbolic with the key and everyone is happy again.
There are three things going on here. First, the whole family mending bit, which is shallow and wildly contrived. Someone is either moping or whinging in literally every scene. Second, many readers enjoyed the scenes of everyday Welsh village and farm life. There are a few such scenes, (mostly so the kids can mope or gripe outside), but not many and rather superficial. Anyone looking for that could do worse than read a few of Rhys Bowen's Constable Evans cozy mysteries. (Or read any chapter of "How Green Was My Valley", or look at the pictures and read her stirring prose in Jan Morris' "Wales - The First Place".) Finally, there is the Welsh mythology. I didn't think there was enough there to allow for even a flavor of the richness of Welsh folklore, but for a stirring take on similar material the reader would be wise to turn to Susan Cooper's definitive "Dark is Rising" sequence. Actually I can think of about a dozen books, (by Jenny Nimmo or Alan Garner among others), that translate classic Welsh stories into modern times with style and heart.
So, I am always reluctant to write reviews that are negative, because who am I to declare what's good or bad, but really the idea that this book is some sort of classic just set me off.
June 6, 2015
This was one of those books that made me smile to finish it... and then sigh, because I'd made several friends within these pages, and now they're leaving to return to the magical, homey lands of the public library.
I was impressed with how well Nancy Bond fit her writing style to the place and time of her story - the briny, antique freshness of Wales lent a poetic lilt to an engaging, somewhat fantastical story. It's stories like these that leave me with a curious sense of wistful satisfaction - when a deeper, different sort of magic reaches into our real world (specifically the British Isles part of our world) and touches a sensitive, hopeless or hope-filled child, it both comforts and encourages the ache; that ache that reminds me I'm a pilgrim through the "Shadowlands", the ache that coxes me into a readiness for divine mystery, the ache that ever pulls me further up and further in. Granted, this book did not give me as much of that as, say, the Chronicles of Narnia, but I felt it there nevertheless. It was worth going back to the Juvenile Classics for!
I was impressed with how well Nancy Bond fit her writing style to the place and time of her story - the briny, antique freshness of Wales lent a poetic lilt to an engaging, somewhat fantastical story. It's stories like these that leave me with a curious sense of wistful satisfaction - when a deeper, different sort of magic reaches into our real world (specifically the British Isles part of our world) and touches a sensitive, hopeless or hope-filled child, it both comforts and encourages the ache; that ache that reminds me I'm a pilgrim through the "Shadowlands", the ache that coxes me into a readiness for divine mystery, the ache that ever pulls me further up and further in. Granted, this book did not give me as much of that as, say, the Chronicles of Narnia, but I felt it there nevertheless. It was worth going back to the Juvenile Classics for!
October 14, 2018
I unexpectedly loved this. The setting feels magical and really makes me want to visit Wales. The story itself feels timeless - apart from the fact that it is clearly pre-smartphone. The story is a good one. I loved the depiction of grief and depression here, and how each person deals with it. I wanted to kick the father in the head for not paying more attention to his grieving children (but that plotline evolved nicely, and by the end, that whole part worked too). I couldn’t put this down!
July 25, 2012
This is one of my favorite books. I read it every Christmas, and I've kept that tradition for about 10 years. I love the atmosphere of this book--the moody Welsh countryside feels so real. The characters are realistic and funny, and Nancy Bond writes in such a way that I feel the emotions of the characters. Love this book!
December 17, 2015
This is a beautiful book.
June 19, 2017
If I ever get the opportunity to visit Wales, I'll be very disappointed if I don't get swept up into a magical adventure of some kind or another.
This was a very sedate book to read - which is a good thing. It's about an American family living in Wales, and the son finds an ancient harp key that (he eventually realizes) belonged to Taliesin. As the story progresses, he begins to see episodes of the legendary bard's life. But what will I most remember about the story? Life in the Welsh countryside, more or less.
This was overall an excellent little book, at its heart about a family coping with living in a new country and with the loss of the mother (who died shortly before the book begins). And while there's magic in this story, it left me with the feeling that the magic is more of an omnipresent thing in Wales than something localized in the harp key.
No doubt I would find Wales disappointingly mundane if I do get to visit. But for the moment, I'm content with the way it is in my head.
This was a very sedate book to read - which is a good thing. It's about an American family living in Wales, and the son finds an ancient harp key that (he eventually realizes) belonged to Taliesin. As the story progresses, he begins to see episodes of the legendary bard's life. But what will I most remember about the story? Life in the Welsh countryside, more or less.
This was overall an excellent little book, at its heart about a family coping with living in a new country and with the loss of the mother (who died shortly before the book begins). And while there's magic in this story, it left me with the feeling that the magic is more of an omnipresent thing in Wales than something localized in the harp key.
No doubt I would find Wales disappointingly mundane if I do get to visit. But for the moment, I'm content with the way it is in my head.
March 26, 2019
A boy visiting Wales while his father has a visiting teaching position there finds Taliesin's harp key. The key somehow shows Peter events in Taliesin's life, as he (Peter) struggles to come to terms with being away from home and the tensions between him and his father and sisters. It's a lovely tale, both the story of the Morgan family and the bits about Taliesin in the past. I particularly enjoyed the homey feel to their interactions with their Welsh neighbors and descriptions of the countryside. However, Peter's sister, Jen, through whose view much of the modern plot was told, was irritating and not at all likable. Also, the story seemed to get bogged down somehow in the middle and the going was painfully slow for a good while. Could have been the narrator (I listened to an audio version); I may have had a better go of it in print.
September 19, 2021
"A String in the Harp" - written by Nancy Bond and published in 1976 by Margaret K McElderry Books. This John Newbery Honor book for 1977 was a nice trip back to that era of storytelling. Jen is left behind in Massachusetts when her father, sister and brother move to Wales for a year where dad has a year-long teaching position. Jen stays home with her aunt and uncle to attend school, but goes to visit during Christmas break. The story is one of a new way of domestic life for the family, their difficulties adapting to the new country, and then a nice fantasy element enters the picture. Twelve-year old Peter discovers an ancient harp key that seems to have belonged to the long-ago Welsh bard Taliesin and that leads to some interesting situations. I really appreciated the descriptions of the small Welsh village along with plenty of weather talk (rain, rain and more rain), and the story of Taliesin (a real person) was folded into the day-to-day life that the family soon came to love. An enjoyable book that probably few will ever read - our library had to unearth it from their stacks.
August 4, 2017
This book was unique in how the author wove the story of the sixth century Welsh bard Taliesin into a modern story of family problems and made everything come out all right. I was confused at times as to what was going on, but it seemed that the characters in the book were puzzled, too, until the end.
June 3, 2020
Amazing! This book taught me a lot about the history of Wales and how to persevere in hard times.
Read
July 18, 2021This was a childhood favorite of mine - I used to reread it every summer - and I still think it stands up. It's a bit slow at first, but when it takes off it really takes off. I am fascinated with and hope to visit Wales because of this book!
July 30, 2024
The story was much like the setting (wales). Historic, a tad dull, but magical. I did enjoy even if it took a minute to get into it and had several lulls. Historical fiction + fantasy elements? They got me. Still boring but I dig it.
Read
April 14, 2019I read this in middle school and have never reread it! No idea what I'd think of it now.
January 7, 2018
"We all listen a lot more than we used to," says Jen, the oldest of the three children, near the end of the book. For it is, perhaps on the most important level, about child development. They have lost their mother. Their father becomes silent and takes two of the them with him, from Massachusetts to Borth in West Wales, where he immerses himself in his university work, but the oldest has to stay behind with relatives to continue with high school. She comes to visit them and the story begins. It's really about how to adjust to grief and loss, but it's shown through an incidental story that involves Welsh legend and the supernatural. The children, their two local friends, and their new tough, wet ("Ych y fi!") environment are beautifully drawn. I couldn't put this long book down, and I recommend it to everyone aged 12 and upwards.
August 28, 2015
Well, it's hard to say why I gave it a full three stars. I guess it was because I did find the story interesting, though it sure dragged on through the middle 200 pages of it.
And yes, it dragged on. The book was full of fluff, but I think it was purposeful. Lots of over-the-top descriptions of everything. I believe the author had two goals in the story, and the first was to try to give off an aura of what she feels Wales is like. She was VERY descriptive, and whether or not it was Wales I was feeling, I could definitely get a good feel for where the characters were throughout the book. The author succeeded in this goal.
The second goal of the author, I believe, was to try to tell a sort of coming-of-age story. It almost became annoying how many times Jen or Peter said they 'felt old' or 'felt like an adult' or 'felt treated like an adult.' I really think the author was forcing it though, because the children didn't really act like children. I don't think the author could really relate to real kids. Rather, they seemed like adults who randomly acted immaturely and then 'felt old' when they didn't. The author failed in this goal.
There is also an array of other annoyances in the book. One is the comma splice. I mean the author is an author for crying out loud. She should be able to avoid that and just put in periods or semi-colons instead. The other is her lack of the words 'that,' 'which,' 'who' or 'whom' where they belong. And they are not just missing in the dialogue, which would be fine. No, the book is full of sentences much like, "She talked to the owner of the store, could be counted on to help," or "Her favorite music is the kind helps her relax." Really annoying.
And lastly, the characters in the book use very strange words - not natural, even in the late 70's when this was written. For example, they call a line in the store a 'queue.' The laundromat they called the 'Washatorium,' but since they capitalized it, maybe that was the name of the establishment. And they had like 5 different words for boots, only one of which was 'boot.' And even the 10 year old used words MUCH too big for her, especially since she never did any reading besides her homework where she could learn those words.
Yet somehow the book was slightly captivating, so I'll not punish it with a 2-star rating. :-)
And yes, it dragged on. The book was full of fluff, but I think it was purposeful. Lots of over-the-top descriptions of everything. I believe the author had two goals in the story, and the first was to try to give off an aura of what she feels Wales is like. She was VERY descriptive, and whether or not it was Wales I was feeling, I could definitely get a good feel for where the characters were throughout the book. The author succeeded in this goal.
The second goal of the author, I believe, was to try to tell a sort of coming-of-age story. It almost became annoying how many times Jen or Peter said they 'felt old' or 'felt like an adult' or 'felt treated like an adult.' I really think the author was forcing it though, because the children didn't really act like children. I don't think the author could really relate to real kids. Rather, they seemed like adults who randomly acted immaturely and then 'felt old' when they didn't. The author failed in this goal.
There is also an array of other annoyances in the book. One is the comma splice. I mean the author is an author for crying out loud. She should be able to avoid that and just put in periods or semi-colons instead. The other is her lack of the words 'that,' 'which,' 'who' or 'whom' where they belong. And they are not just missing in the dialogue, which would be fine. No, the book is full of sentences much like, "She talked to the owner of the store, could be counted on to help," or "Her favorite music is the kind helps her relax." Really annoying.
And lastly, the characters in the book use very strange words - not natural, even in the late 70's when this was written. For example, they call a line in the store a 'queue.' The laundromat they called the 'Washatorium,' but since they capitalized it, maybe that was the name of the establishment. And they had like 5 different words for boots, only one of which was 'boot.' And even the 10 year old used words MUCH too big for her, especially since she never did any reading besides her homework where she could learn those words.
Yet somehow the book was slightly captivating, so I'll not punish it with a 2-star rating. :-)
December 28, 2018
I’m a sucker for transatlantic children’s low fantasy fiction — a very specific genre, but if such a genre exists then this is the epitome. Beautifully written without being verbose, Bond’s prose is subtle and sagacious. The book bursts with likable and multidimensional characters — even the antagonists — making it a extremely enjoyable (though frankly niche) read.
The book will appeal to lovers of realism and fantasy alike. She includes various small, true-to-life details throughout, such as the bad taste in Peter’s mouth after he goes to bed without brushing his teeth or Jen struggling to get her luggage out of the overhead compartment on the train (#relatable). One minute we are spectators to a very ordinary argument between Peter and his father and soon after we bear witness to a dreamlike scene from Taliesin’s life. The author’s colorful descriptions of the Welsh countryside, sympathetic (never condescending!) treatment of sibling protagonists Jen and Peter, and exploration of Wales’s oft-forgotten history and mythology are impressive and engaging. Highly recommended for fans of ‘The Dark is Rising’ and ‘A Wrinkle in Time.’
Bond’s writing style is straightforward enough to be accessible to young readers, and yet the complex themes of the novel (e.g., grief, homesickness/displacement, national identity, and ownership of history) will speak to older adolescents and adults (as well as to children, of course 😊). It sometimes took me a few scans over a passage to absorb all of its emotional undertones; this will most likely be a novel that I’ll read again for this reason.
I remember thinking at various moments while reading ‘A String in the Harp’ that this is not a novel for children. I soon realized, however, that this is a novel that a lot of middle grade readers need; stories about Wales written for children are rare. The country has a rich and devastating history that’s begging to be told and I’m grateful to Nancy Bond for adding her voice to a small but mighty canon.
The book will appeal to lovers of realism and fantasy alike. She includes various small, true-to-life details throughout, such as the bad taste in Peter’s mouth after he goes to bed without brushing his teeth or Jen struggling to get her luggage out of the overhead compartment on the train (#relatable). One minute we are spectators to a very ordinary argument between Peter and his father and soon after we bear witness to a dreamlike scene from Taliesin’s life. The author’s colorful descriptions of the Welsh countryside, sympathetic (never condescending!) treatment of sibling protagonists Jen and Peter, and exploration of Wales’s oft-forgotten history and mythology are impressive and engaging. Highly recommended for fans of ‘The Dark is Rising’ and ‘A Wrinkle in Time.’
Bond’s writing style is straightforward enough to be accessible to young readers, and yet the complex themes of the novel (e.g., grief, homesickness/displacement, national identity, and ownership of history) will speak to older adolescents and adults (as well as to children, of course 😊). It sometimes took me a few scans over a passage to absorb all of its emotional undertones; this will most likely be a novel that I’ll read again for this reason.
I remember thinking at various moments while reading ‘A String in the Harp’ that this is not a novel for children. I soon realized, however, that this is a novel that a lot of middle grade readers need; stories about Wales written for children are rare. The country has a rich and devastating history that’s begging to be told and I’m grateful to Nancy Bond for adding her voice to a small but mighty canon.
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