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Stori fer drawiadol a gafaelgar.
Hard-hitting and compelling short story.
Genre: ffuglen arddegau / teenage fiction
Negeseuon positif/positive messages: ◉◉◉◎◎
Themau trist,anodd/upsetting, tough themes: ◉◉◉◉◎ (abuse/alcoholism)
Trais, ofn/violence, scary: ◉◉◉◎◎
Iaith gref/language: ◉◎◎◎◎
Rhyw/sex: ◉◉◉◉◎
Hiwmor/humour: ◎◎◎◎◎
Her darllen/reading difficulty:: ◉◉◉◎◎
Dyfarniad/Rating: ★★★★★
Mi oeddwn i’n fyr o amser felly mi oedd maint [byr] y nofel yma’n sicr yn ffactor wrth ddewis rhoi cynnig arni. Yn y pen draw, mi oeddwn i mor involved yn y llyfr ar ôl cychwyn, mi orffennais i hi mewn un eisteddiad (jyst llai nag awr).
Mae Clec Amdani yn cychwyn mewn ystafell wely budr, llawn llanast, gyda dynas yn crio yn y gwely. Mae o’n ddisgrifiadol iawn ac yn debyg i ffilm. Dwi’n meddwl fod hyn wedi apelio’n syth ata i, gan ei fod o’n rhoi darlun clir, effeithiol a thrawiadol o’r sefyllfa druenus. Mi fydd y pwnc dan sylw yn siwr o apelio at y gynulleidfa darged; mi wnes i ffeindio'r cyfeiriaidau at focsio a Rocky yn ddiddorol.
Stori ddirdynnol sy’n adrodd hanes Josh a’i fam. Mae ei rieni wedi gwahanu ac mae hyn wedi gyrru ei fam at y botel. Mae hi’n alcoholig llwyr ac mae’r sefyllfa wedi dirywio cymaint nad ydi hi’n poeni dim am ei mab, na hi ei hun chwaith. Dwi wir yn tosturio dros Josh, wrth iddo deimlo atgasedd at ei Fam am anghofio amdano. Ar ôl ceisio cuddio ei sefyllfa gartref, ni allai guddio’r peth rhagor ac mae Josh yn cael outburst yn y dosbarth lle mae’n dweud y cyfan wrth bawb.
Mae pethau’n mynd o ddrwg i waeth pan rydym ni’n clywed fod Josh wedi cael ei arestio ar ôl ymosod ar y sglyfath sy’n trin ei Fam fel baw. Beth fydd hanes Josh? Fydd o’n gallu symud ‘mlaen a dod drwy’r cyfnod anodd ‘ma?
Dwi’m yn meddwl mod i ERIOED wedi darllen llyfr sy’n llifo mor gwbl naturiol a hwn. Mae’r awdur yn deall yn union sut i sgwennu fel ac ar gyfer pobl yn eu harddegau. Mae’r defnydd o dafodiaith, bratiaith, dywediadau a pheth ddefnydd casual o’r Saesneg yn adrodd y stori mewn ffordd gwbl lafar, naturiol – dim yr hen Gymraeg stiff, artiffisial fel sydd mewn nifer o straeon!
Clyfar iawn oedd ‘sgwennu’r stori i gyd ar ffurf cwestiwn ac ateb. Fel mae’r stori’n mynd yn ei flaen, caiff mwy o wybodaeth ei ddatgelu ac rydym yn dod i ddeall pwy sy’n holi. Mae ‘mwynhau’ yn teimlo fel y gair anghywir i’w ddefnyddio, o ystyried y cynnwys graffig ac eithaf upsetting ond wir i chi, mae hi’n chwip o nofel fer. Plîs plîs plîs Esyllt Maelor, wnei di ‘sgwennu mwy ar gyfer yr arddegau? Dwi’n meddwl basa ‘na lot mwy o bobl ifanc Cymru yn darllen llyfrau Cymraeg os tasan nhw gystal â hon!
I didn’t have much time on my hands so the fact that this book was quite short was definitely a factor when I decided to give it a go. By the end, I was so involved in the book, I finished it in one sitting (just under an hour.)
It starts in a dirty, messy bedroom with a woman crying in her bed. The descriptions are almost film-like. I think this immediately appealed to me, as it conveys a clear, and striking picture of the sad situation. The topic at hand will certainly appeal to a teenage audience. I liked the references to boxing and Rocky Balboa!
A powerful and fast paced story that introduces us to Josh and his mum. His parents have separated and this in turn drove her to the bottle. She's a total alcoholic and the situation has deteriorated so much that she doesn't care about anything, other than her next drink. She has completely forgotten about her son. I really empathize with Josh, as he feels hatred towards his mum for behaving in this way. Having tried to hide his home situation, it all came to a head when he revealed all in an outburst in class.
Things go from bad to worse when we learn that Josh has been arrested after attacking the awful man who’s been mistreating his mother. What happens to Josh? Can he pull through this and move beyond this awful situation?
I don’t think I have ever read a book that flows as naturally as this one. The author understands exactly how to write as a/for teenagers. The use of dialect, slang, spoken informal Welsh and the casual use of English means the story feels very natural. This is really important in Welsh, because so many of our books are off-putting because of overly complicated, stiff, formal Welsh. Not so here.
It was very clever to write the story in a question and answer format. As the story progresses, more information is uncovered and we come to understand who is doing the questioning. 'Enjoyed’ ' feels like the wrong word to use, given the graphic and rather upsetting content, but honestly, this is one hell of a short story! Please, please, please Esyllt Maelor, can you write some more teenage fiction? I think a lot more young people in Wales would read in Welsh if the novels were as hard hitting, effective, yet utterly readable as this one.