The Life of Rebecca Jones – The Review
Written by Nikki-ann on Sunday, 26 February , 2012 at 4:18 pm
Author: Angharad Price
Translator: Lloyd Jones
Publisher: MacLehose Press
ISBN: 978-0-85705-136-3
As the title may give away, The Life of Rebecca Jones tells the story of Rebecca Jones and her family’s journey through the twentieth century.
In 1905, Rebecca was born into a Welsh family in the rural community of Maesglasau valley, in Dinas Mawddwy, Wales. It has been her family’s ancestral home for a thousand years, but the changes of modern life threaten not only her family’s way of life, but their language too.
Three of Rebecca’s younger brothers are born with a genetic blindness and, while Rebecca and her brother Robert stay at home and help with the farm, it is they who are given the opportunities of education and life beyond the Welsh mountains.
Originally published in Welsh as ‘O! Tyn y Gorchudd’ (‘O! Pull aside the veil’) and now translated into English, The Life of Rebecca Jones is both a work of fiction and biography. The family’s story is told auto-biographically by the character of Rebecca Jones and it is written in such a way that you can so easily imagine the family’s life and the surrounding landscape.
I found the book particularly interesting for a number of reasons. We travelled through the Dinas Mawddwy area every summer on our way up to Criccieth for our summer holiday when I was a child and we still go up there now on odd occasions. The landscape is steep and unforgiving, yet beautiful at the same time. With a family tree full of agricultural labourers, my ancestors on both sides of the family would have lived a similar way of life to that of Rebecca’s family.
The English title is perhaps a little misleading as I found the story to be more about Rebecca’s family’s life than that of her own, but upon reaching the last pages the reader discovers a final and unexpected revelation of why that is.
The Life of Rebecca Jones is a wonderful and interesting read for anyone, especially if interested in rural Welsh life (a way of life that has vanished in all but possibly deepest, darkest, rural Wales) and family history. The story has been beautifully written and translated, and I think it is one that will stay with me for quite some time.
The Life of Rebecca Jones by Angharad Price is due for release on 19th April 2012. Pre-order your copy now.
Many thanks to Nicci Praça for recommending this book to me. She was right, I did love it!
This is the 6th book I’ve read for The British Books Challenge 2012.
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Please note: I received this book free of charge from MacLehose Press. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.
Comments (3)
Category: Biography,Books,British Books Challenge,Historical Fiction,History
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Comment by Yvonne
Made Sunday, 26 of February , 2012 at 10:15 pm
Hi Nikki,
As you know, I seldom read memoirs, yet this one has me intrigued and seriously thinking about giving it a try.
The fact that it is part memoir, part fiction has me hooked first of all.
Then the fact that her three less able brothers are allowed to leave the mountains and try to make better lives for themselves, is also interesting. Is this opportunity a genuine one, or might it be that only the sighted children are of use to the family and are therefore tied to the traditional way of life?
Like yourself, I have visited this area and was struck by both its beauty and harshness. For us however, it was only in passing, as we visited our friends in Llandudno, North Wales and decided on this particular occasion to travel up through Wales, stopping off in Barmouth to visit one of their elderly relatives.
We keep promising ourselves to make a return journey, however, so far we have only made it to the south west coast, around the Tenby and Mumbles area.
Definitely a book I might consider reading, so thanks for the recommendation.
Comment by Petty Witter
Made Monday, 27 of February , 2012 at 4:15 pm
Hmm interesting, I’m intrigued to learn that this is part fact, part fiction. So glad you enjoyed it, I’m certainly keen to read more about rural Wales as all the other books I have read that are set here have been tales of miners.
Comment by Kathleen
Made Thursday, 1 of March , 2012 at 11:51 pm
I’ve never read anything with this setting so I’d be interested to give it a try.
