To view stunning photographs of breathtaking scenery and villages around Wales which inspired Welsh authors, poets and artists to create their world-famous works, I can highly recommend Visit Wales “The word trail: 8 journeys through Welsh literary landscapes” website—
Creatives, some well-known, some not so, feature on the list including my favourite Dylan Thomas, who spent his final years in Laugharne, where he lived in a boathouse down on the estuary.
Read about contemporary poet Gillian Clarke (I have already downloaded her “Collected Poems”) and Medieval European poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (14th century) who was born into a noble family in the parish of Llanbadarn.
There’s even a giant peach commemorating Roald Dahl’s eponymous children’s story.
Kate Roberts, hailed as “Brenhines ein Llên” (Queen of Our Literature) chronicled the lives of slate workers. The South Wales coalfields attracted thousands of migrant workers, but the North Wales slate mines were almost exclusively worked by Welsh-speaking local men, which had a major influence on cultural life. Yet it was a woman – Kate Roberts (Caernarfonshire 1891-1985) – who was the greatest chronicler of the lives of men, women and children in the slate-producing north.
It’s March and that means Wales Readathon time! Book Jotter has launched this exciting yearly event with an eye-opening post featuring a Royal Welsh Fusiliers regimental mascot, a Great Orme goat named Fusilier Shenkin IV. You can read his life story and details on #dewithon21 in the following post… oh, and perhaps join us as we Read Wales…
Dewithon is an opportunity for book bloggers around the world to discover Welsh writers and their works (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, in fact anything written in English or Welsh with links to the nation of Wales).
We will begin our 31 days of celebration on Monday 1st March 2021 (St. David’s Day), with an official page appearing thereafter to display all your Dewithon-related posts. There are plenty of useful links and reading suggestions at DHQ (Dewithon Headquarters) and in our Wales Readathon Library, but please do not hesitate to ask for help if you are struggling to get started. You are free to read and write on any literary subject relating to Wales, so please dechrau darllen (start reading)!
Dewithon With a Difference
It became apparent quite recently that some members of our global book blogging community were having difficulties obtaining certain UK…
Excitement! My copy of ‘One Moonlit Night’ by Welsh author Caradog Prichard has arrived safe and sound.
I could read any Welsh literature but now I have the opportunity to air my views in the weekly discussions on Book Jotter’s Dewithon20 in conjunction with Wales Readathon 2020.
Interested in Welsh literature? Maybe even dragons? This is for you! Wales Readathon and Dewithon20 offer the opportunity for book bloggers around the world to discover Welsh writers and their works.
The list includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, in fact anything written in English or Welsh with links to the nation of Wales.
This 31-day literary celebration commences on Sunday 1st March 2020 (St. David’s Day) and ends Tuesday 31st March 2020. All ages welcome, dragon optional!
Imagine a world where human inhabitants must bulk-up and hibernate through brutally cold winters, watched over by armed Winter Consuls, a group of officers who diligently guard the susceptible sleeping citizens. Or do they?
“Early Riser” is the latest novel from bestselling author Jasper Fforde.
A unique and inventive writer, Welsh resident Jasper Fforde creates a mystery novel with skewed social values, high level corruption, bureaucratic cover-ups, bad dreams, mindlessness and the ever-present fear of freezing to death, all set in a bleak yet frighteningly droll otherworld in Wales.
Perfect for the cold northern hemisphere and a cool read for the hot southern hemisphere.
SPOILER ALERT – Jasper Fforde should have his own genre, writing a review is difficult! Please note the book contains references to real food brand names.
Jasper Fforde is known for creating strong female characters and in “Early Riser” he does not disappoint. Aurora and Toccata immediately spring to mind but I won’t go into details. Let’s just say they are not related to Thursday Next, although there are a couple of fan-fic moments.
In this speculative postmodern standalone, the protagonist is Charlie Worthing, a novice Winter Consul who has been trained to stay alive through the bleakest of winters.
Although rather young and innocent, Charlie is chosen to accompany notable Winter Consul and hero, Jack Logan, to the Douzey, a remote sector in the middle of snow-covered Wales. It’s an honour but Charlie is not at all prepared for what awaits in frigid Sector Twelve.
Part of Charlie’s job is to deal with Tricksy Nightwalkers whose consciousness has been eroded by hibernation and, first up, there’s the care and delivery of a vacant Nightwalker Mrs Tiffen which causes an unexpected disaster.
With a deformity which quickly earns a nickname, poor Charlie learns dreaming is not encouraged. Especially not about a mysterious blue Buick or a large beach parasol, part of the main “Early Riser” plot. There’s floating in and out of another Charlie’s dream, and also problems with a young woman, Jonesy, who decides to create their own backstory.
Winter Consuls carry a Thumper and a Bambi which are deadly guns or, for extra grunt, a Vortex Canon is deployed when necessary to blast snow and anything in it. Thus Deputy Charlie begins Pantry Duty, guarding the winter pantry, under the tutelage of seasoned campaigner Fodder – and things get even weirder!
"Dark humour and entertaining pseudo geek-speak punctuate an otherwise intense novel which touches on community issues relevant today" GBW.
In “Early Riser” prominent themes are human relationships, mental health, bad coffee and sugary food as the isolated enclave carbo-load in preparation for the enforced SlumberDown. Certain behaviour, although legal in this story, is reprehensible by our standards. In Sector Twelve nothing is wasted, so-called Vacants become unpaid workers or body-farmed for those who have lost limbs due to rat gnawing or frost bite.
In most of Jasper Fforde’s tales, the world is run by an evil corporation and here we have HiberTech which supplies Morphenox drugs and encourages the growing of a winter “coat” for hibernation. Charlie encounters The Notable Goodnight, shivers hearing the maybe-less-than-mythical Gronk, and has a shock meeting with posh Villains. Snowy dangers abound, like WinterVolk and Campaigners For Real Sleep. Classic Fforde!
First I listened to the “Early Riser” audio book and narrator Thomas Hunt does a variety of accents which keep the pacing levels high. His Attenborough-like chapter introductions are hilarious, a blend of hushed tones and Fforde’s dry humour. Wales comes across as a kind of decimated never-never land, and I’m sure it’s not, but thankfully snow is a rare commodity in Australia otherwise I’d be shaking in my shoes.
+ PLUS Innovative story with a world in a world, the snowbound and the dream-state. – MINUS Some repetition and some chapters are heavy with world-building.
Book rating 5-Star and recommended for readers who can handle comprehensively quirky writing.
My foray into reading Welsh authors began with Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next) Paula Brackston (Shadow Chronicles) and Bill James (Harpur & Iles) and now, thanks to Book Jotter Paula Bardell-Hedley and Dewithon19, I have a wonderful list to continue reading in more depth. “dw i’n hapus iawn!”
Find more about reading, writing, reviewing Welsh literature on Dewithon19–––
Welcome to DHQ (Dewithon Headquarters), the nerve centre for Reading Wales 2019!
The people of Wales celebrate St David’s Day annually on 1st March – the date of our patron saint’s death in 589 CE. In honour of this traditional anniversary, and also in recognition of the time of year when daffodils (the national flower of Wales) explode into bloom, we will hold the very first Dewithon – Dewi being the diminutive form of the Welsh name Dafydd (David).
Throughout March 2019 the international book blogging community will be invited to write about the literature of Wales. This will include reviews and articles about novels, non-fiction publications, short story anthologies, biographical works (by or about Welsh writers), travelogues, volumes of poetry (or single poems), essay collections, or indeed any texts with a meaningful connection to Wales.
Excited beyond belief when I found out Jasper Fforde, my all-time favourite post-modern author, has some cool events coming up! Including another book. And the eponymous Fforde Ffiesta rolls around again next year.
If any reader attended a US event, or may be attending a future UK event, I’m jealous but hoping I will read your WordPress review. Of course, I will be writing about Jasper Fforde’s Brisbane Writers Festival 2019 special guest appearances in September! See itinerary below—
♥Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Jasper Fforde
(Photo Mari Fforde 2006)
Jasper Fforde
(Photo Mari Fforde 2011)
Jasper Fforde
(Photo Mari Fforde 2018)
Photos by Mari Fforde (hover to see date) Information from Jasper Fforde website (see below)
APPEARANCES
Jasper Fforde says: As usual, please call the venue to check times and dates before you set out just in case I am kidnapped by badgers, eager to promote their dangerous monochrome agenda. Gretchen says: New book “Early Riser” is now available. Read my review here https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2018/12/14/early-riser-jasper-fforde-book-review/\
2018
Feb 21st-22nd, Casper, Wyoming:
Wyoming Humanities Festival 2018
Book signing and lectures. I’ve never been to Wyoming, and the frightfully pleasant people at Casper have been asking me for a while. Talk and Book Signing Courtesy of Windy City Books, and a lecture plus Q&A the following day. Full details at the Humanities Festival website.
1-2nd March 2018, Cardiff Library:
Crime & Coffee Festival, Cardiff
First Crime and Coffee Festival at Cardiff Library. More details to follow, but I am assured the coffee is the crime, and there will be no actual murders of crimes taking place. Either days, or both, details to follow. Cardiff Library Website.
24th May-3rd June 2018
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Wales:
“May or may not be attending this year––One of the UK’s most imaginative and entertaining authors creates hilarious, often absurd but always compelling adventures within bizarre and zany worlds. Jasper Fforde’s hugely popular The Last Dragonslayer series is packed with trademark magic and invention.”
Information brochure Hay Festival, Wales.
Gretchen’s book review The Last Dragonslayer.
August 2018
Launch of Early Riser in the UK:
About bloody time too, say I. Likely 1st to 12th August. More details to follow.
August 13th – 18th, 2018, Wales:
Ty Newydd writing retreat, Wales
With Belinda Bauer, the course is called: Crime Fiction: A Twist in the Tale and from their website: “This course is designed for those who would like to write best-selling crime fiction – with a twist. Whether you’re writing your first novel, are switching from another genre, or have only dreamed of being a published author, we hope you’ll enjoy this down-to-earth, fun, and practical course. In workshops and one-to-one mentoring sessions, we will be sharing our tried and tested methods of creating character, plot and tension, while helping you to avoid some common pitfalls. We’ll offer advice on a range of issues, from writer’s block and the art of pitching, to how to cope with bad reviews!”
For more details, please mouse you way to the Ty Newydd Website.
2019
25th-26th May 2019, Swindon, UK:
Fforde Ffiesta VIII, Swindon, UK
These Festivals are held biannually and oh, what ffun we have – and hopefully a lot more to talk about this year as I will have at least one more book published… Their website is here.
NEWS FLASH !!
THURS 5 SEPTEMBER TO SUN 8 SEPTEMBER 2019, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Event 1 – Workshop ‘Writing Futures’ with Jasper Fforde at QWC: Learning Centre, State Library of Queensland.
Event 2 – Panel ‘Dream Worlds’ at Cinema B, Gallery of Modern Art, South Bank.
Event 3 – Conversation ‘Early Riser’ at The Edge, State Library of Queensland.
Event 4 – Book Club ‘Meet Jasper Fforde’ River Decks, State Library of Queensland.
Event 5 – Lecture / Special Closing Address by Jasper Fforde, The Edge, State Library of Queensland.
FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS
March 02031: Asteroid belt and Saturn (technology permitting) More details TBA.
October 02042: 81-year-old Fforde talks to other members of old people’s home: “I used to be a novelist, no really, I did. Is it lunchtime?” More details TBA.
July 02175: Semi-lifelike cloned Ffordesque replicant to tour Gamma Quadrant in the Cygnus Cluster. More details TBA.
Setember 03431: Much improved Fforde cloned back to life to face execution for sedition; all works consigned to erasure.
Janfebry 008910: Last evidence of Fforde’s books vanish forever with the removal of the ‘Formerly Thursday Street’ plaque from what is now W23-61 Rd in the conurbation known as EuroWest-79.
00012972: Visiting archaeologists from Thraal-7 discover incomplete copy of Well of Lost Plots from excavation in landfill. Deciphering takes seven hundred years and a further four hundred years of academic scrutiny before being accepted as historical fact.
“Dark Reading Matter” Bookworld and Thursday Next – adult
“Dragonslayer IV” Ununited Kingdom and Jennifer Strange – young adult
“Shades of Grey II” Colours and Eddie Russett – adult
“The Constant Rabbit” Racism and Mrs Constance Rabbit – adult – available now
Thoughts Become Words 