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Nofel am fyw gyda anorecsia.
Novel about living with anorexia.
Genre: iechyd a lles / health & wellbeing
Gwerth addysgiadol/educational value: ◉◉◉◎◎ Negeseuon positif/positive messages: ◉◉◉◎◎ Themau trist,anodd/upsetting, tough themes: ◉◉◉◉◉ Trais, ofn/violence, scary: ◎◎◎◎◎ Iaith gref/language: ◉◉◉◎◎ Rhyw/sex: ◉◉◉◉◎ Hiwmor/humour: ◉◉◎◎◎ Her darllen/reading difficulty: ◉◉◉◉◎ Dyfarniad/Rating: ★★★★☆
⭐️Cymraeg gwreiddiol - Welsh Original ⭐️
❗ Rhybudd/warning: cynnwys sensitif a themau heriol/aeddfed.
sensitive topic and mature/challenging themes.
Adolygiad gan Llio Mai Hughes
Madi ydi nofel gyntaf yr awdur Dewi Wyn Williams. Dyma nofel sy’n trafod bywyd merch ifanc wrth iddi ddatblygu a delio efo’r anhwylderau bwyta (eating disorders) anorexia a bulimia.
O oedran ifanc iawn mae Madelyn wedi poeni am bwysau ac am sut mae hi’n edrych. Mae ganddi hefyd ddychymyg byw iawn, ac wrth geisio cofio ei hatgof cyntaf un, mae hi’n mynd yn ôl i’r adeg pan oedd hi’n ffoetws yn y groth. Mae’n rhaid i mi gyfaddef nad oeddwn i’n hollol siŵr o’r nofel ar y pwynt yma, ond fe wnes i ddal ati i ddarllen ac fe ddaeth pethau’n gliriach.
Llwydda’r awdur i gyfleu’r anhwylderau bwyta yn effeithiol iawn yn y nofel, a hynny trwy eu gwneud yn gymeriad - Llais. Llais ydi’r ffrind dychmygol sydd gan Madi ers pan oedd hi’n blentyn bach. Llais sy’n gwneud sylwadau beirniadol am bwysau Madi, am sut mae hi’n edrych ac am bob rhan o’i bywyd hi. Mae Madi’n credu fod Llais yn ffrind, ond dydi’r cyfeillgarwch yn gwneud dim lles iddi.
Nid yr anhwylderau bwyta yn unig sy’n cael eu trafod yn y nofel yma gan Dewi Wyn Williams. Mae’n plethu nifer o themâu eraill i’r stori fel rhyw, unigrwydd, perthnasau, cymhlethdodau teulu a galar. Perthynas Madi efo’i rhieni ydi’r brif thema arall, ar wahân i’r anorexia a’r bulimia, ac mae ei pherthynas efo’i rhieni yn bendant wedi cyfrannu at ei anhwylderau bwyta. Mae ei thad i ffwrdd am ddyddiau neu wythnosau gyda’i waith, does gan Madi ddim perthynas dda iawn efo’i mam, mae perthynas ei mam a’i thad yn amlwg dan straen ac mae’n amlwg fod rhywbeth wedi digwydd ar ryw adeg gan fod ei mam yn amlwg yn anhapus iawn, yn yfed gormod a phrin yn gadael y tŷ.
Gwaethygu mae anorexia Madi, gan wedyn ddatblygu’n bulimia. Wrth i’r bobl o’i hamgylch wneud eu gorau i’w helpu i wella cawn wybod mwy am yr hyn sydd y tu ôl i berthynas gymhleth ei rhieni.
Mae’r nofel yn bendant yn rhoi mewnwelediad effeithiol iawn i fywyd rhywun sy’n byw efo anhwylder bwyta. Daw’n amlwg fod yr awdur wedi gwneud gwaith ymchwil manwl, ac mae’n cyflwyno rhai o nodweddion ac elfennau’r cyflwr yn dda iawn. Yn bersonol, byddwn i’n teimlo’n hapusach petai ryw fath o rybudd wedi’i gynnwys ar ddechrau’r nofel ynglŷn â’r cynnwys. I rywun sydd wedi profi anhwylder bwyta, dw i’n siŵr y byddai rhai darnau o’r nofel yn gallu bod yn anodd iawn i’w darllen, ac mae darn sy’n disgrifio hunan-niweidio hefyd, y dylid tynnu sylw ato ar y dechrau. Yn ogystal, dw i’n teimlo nad ydi rhai o’r cyfeiriadau a pheth o iaith y nofel yn gweddu i ferch ifanc yn ei harddegau. Fyddai merch ifanc heddiw yn cofio’r rhaglen deledu Fat Friends ac wrth restru rhai o fodelau prydferthaf y byd yn enwi Heidi Klum cyn Kendall Jenner? Wedi dweud hynny, dydi hyn ddim yn amharu ar y stori o gwbl mewn gwirionedd.
Mae’n bwysig bod nofelau ar gael sy’n trafod ac yn addysgu pobl am anhwylderau bwyta, ac mae Madi yn sicr yn gwneud hynny. Mi fyddwn i wedi hoffi darllen mwy am y broses o wella a delio efo bywyd ar ôl byw efo anhwylderau bwyta – deunydd am ail nofel ella?
Review by Llio Mai Hughes
Madi is Dewi Wyn Williams's first novel. This is a novel that discusses the life of a young girl as she develops and deals with different eating disorders, namely anorexia and bulimia.
From a very young age Madelyn worries about her weight and how she looks. She also has a very vivid imagination, and in trying to remember her very first memory, she goes back to the time when she was a fetus in the womb. I have to confess that I wasn't quite sure of the novel at this point, but I did keep reading and things became clearer.
The author manages to convey the eating disorders very effectively in the novel by making them a character in their own right- Llais [voice]. Voice is the imaginary friend Madi has had since she was a toddler. A voice that makes critical remarks about Madi's weight, about how she looks and about every part of her life. Madi believes that ‘Llais’ is a friend, but the friendship does not benefit her.
It’s not just the eating disorders that are discussed in this novel. The author interweaves a number of other themes such as gender, loneliness, relationships, family complications and grief. Madi's relationship with her parents is the other main theme, besides the anorexia and the bulimia, and her relationship with her parents has definitely contributed to her eating disorders. Her father is away for days or weeks with his work and Madi hasn’t got a very good relationship with her mother. Their relationship is clearly strained and it's obvious that something happened in the past because her mother was obviously very unhappy, drinking too much and hardly leaving the house.
Madi’s anorexia is worsened by developing into bulimia. As the people around her do their best to help her we know more about what lies behind her parent’s complex relationship.
The novel definitely provides very effective insights into the life of a person living with an eating disorder. It is apparent that the author has carried out detailed research, and presents some of the characteristics and elements of the condition very well. Personally, I would feel happier if some kind of warning was included at the beginning of the novel about the content. For someone who has experienced an eating disorder, I'm sure some portions of the novel could be very difficult to read, and there's a piece that also describes self-harm, which should be highlighted at the beginning.
In addition, I feel that some of the cultural references and some of the language of the novel do not suit a young teenage girl. Would a young girl today remember the television program Fat Friends and in listing some of the world's most beautiful models, would they name Heidi Klum before Kendall Jenner? Having said that, the slightly out of date references don’t impede on the story at all.
It is important that novels are available that discuss and educate people about eating disorders, and Madi certainly does. I would have liked more about the process of healing and dealing with life after living with eating disorders – enough material for a second novel?