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A review by 1siobhan
Feet in Chains by Kate Roberts
4.0
Kate Roberts is one of the most important and best Welsh authors of the 20th century. Reading her work in translation lets one guess at how splendid her prose would be in the original language, but my Welsh just isn't good enough for that.
"Feet in Chains" is the story of a family in rural Wales, Snowdonia to be more precise, and their fight against poverty over the generations. We learn about the educational system, church vs chapel, politics, nationalism, the Great War, and most importantly about Wales, its language and relation to the English.
It is fascinating to analyse where (in the original) Welsh words are used and where English ones as it is always a statement. The fight between the traditional Welsh language and the usurping English language is fought on the very page.
The book does not receive five stars because I really hated the ending.
4 Stars and I will read more of Kate Roberts' works.
"Feet in Chains" is the story of a family in rural Wales, Snowdonia to be more precise, and their fight against poverty over the generations. We learn about the educational system, church vs chapel, politics, nationalism, the Great War, and most importantly about Wales, its language and relation to the English.
It is fascinating to analyse where (in the original) Welsh words are used and where English ones as it is always a statement. The fight between the traditional Welsh language and the usurping English language is fought on the very page.
The book does not receive five stars because I really hated the ending.
4 Stars and I will read more of Kate Roberts' works.