Book Review: 'The Mab' – Eleven Epic Stories from The Mabinogi
The earliest Welsh prose fiction, featuring tales of love, tragedy, fantasy, and humor
The history of these epic Welsh stories goes back a long time. Like, a really long time. Perhaps due to the verbal re-telling of witches, royalty and ghosts, these magical tales have been passed down through the centuries in various incarnations which in turn have guaranteed their narratives can not be forgotten.
With The Mab, editors Matt Brown and Eloise Williams weave a gorgeous tapestry with the eleven ‘branches’ that comprise the Mabinogi, with figures that unfold full of character and escapades that hold the imagination of a time balanced on the tightrope of history. For this collection, it is presented in both English and Welsh.
The joy in the stories that comprise the Mabinogi is the phrasing that each is given. There are no worries about relating to some archaic language or understanding history from a Welsh point of view. As a reader, the spell cast upon the pages is a result of the ways one can interpret the storyline and make it mystical and sometimes morbid. The stories envelop the reader, like a child being tucked in under a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night.
Her hair drifted like a field of wildflowers in a gentle breeze. Her eyes sparkled the green of new shoots in spring, and the heady scents of a thousand blooms kissed the air around her.
Spells that are cast are sometimes woven into older stories and are often the backbone of Welsh folklore. Wherein a child is born that is later left by the side, can storm back and influence the fate of another narrative, by choice or by coincidence. Is the devil a serpent, a dragon or some nebulous monster? And who shall be the last one standing alive?
Illustration: © Max Low
Tales of the Arthurian era have long passed down through the centuries, bathed in legendary knights and damsels in distress. However, it’s the mystical retelling of a story about a self-serving soldier who dares to slay a demon beast to become the best knight that King Arthur had ever known, that is given an amusing and modern spin, despite the foreshadowing of, shall we say, uncertainty.
A sprinkle of feminine power can be detected in nearly every story. Beauty and wisdom often blind their suitors who are unwilling to see the reality ahead. Lords and kings are left in a realm of waking unconsciousness, not fully realizing why they fight until they are given a female perspective, the little push that is needed whether on the battlefield, in a castle or the jousting arena.
There are glorious illustrations from Max Low, and the additional ‘authors’ – Sophie Anderson, Nicola Davies, Darren Chetty, Alex Wharton, Zillah Bethell, Rhian Ivory, P. G. Bell, Hanan Issa and Claire Fayers – bring to life each of their stories with insight and humor in addition to a 21st-century twist.
The Mab, edited by Matt Brown and Eloise Williams, with a foreword by Michael Sheen, is published by Unbound (UK) and also at Amazon in the US and UK.
