DNF ( )

This book was a bit weird and it took me a while to get into it.

To start with it did not seem to make sense. But the further into the story I got, the more it started to come together and make sense.

Definitely worth a read, especially if you have an interest in myths and legends re-imagined. And stick with it, even if the beginning does seem rather slow. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2022/09/2022117-owl-service-alan-garner-reread.ht... ( )

Finished last night while (somewhat appropriately) waiting for Matthew to fall asleep after a scary thought at bedtime (he now recognises this as a separate thing to an actual nightmare, but still likes the reassurance of someone staying in the room until he's asleep).

Anyway, a gift from my mum after she also recently re-read this, it was a joy to read again after many many years (though the book itself is older than I am!) While clearly life has changed in that time the characters still read only a little dated, which is astonishing really. Though perhaps now no longer a teenager myself I found them frustratingly stubborn in places.

The landscapes and the Welshness felt as alive as ever. Still very very good. ( )

Considered a classic by many, I found it less so. There were some good scenes, but a lot of it is a deliberate muddle and you start to wonder if anything is going to happen. When it does, it is anticlimactic to say the least. And the ending is one that scholarly articles have been written on, since so many readers object to it. I won't spoil it for you. I did enjoy the Welsh setting very much. It makes me wan to spend time in one of those valleys, no matter how insular it turns out to be.

The audiobook was very well read by Wayne Forester. ( )