Customer Reviews

Flint

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This was a good book, and a sad book in a way. Or maybe I as the reader was sadden by it. She has a good way of writing, a very easy style, that says much but at the same time not. I like the style, and it does draw you in.

It's a story about two boys, Ned who is sometimes looked down upon cos he is not right in the head, and his younger brother Will who looks after his brother. Or perhaps it's just the other way around. The story is told by Will as an old man, looking back at what happened back then. We get to see the march towards Wales and sometime things that happened before the march. This time told in another way. He is sent with them to be at his brother's side, and Ned longs to meet the Welsh bard again who visited their village. Ned is a master at playing, and his music echoes though out the book, and I wish I could hear it too. It's supposed to bring tears to your eyes.

Now why did I get sad at times, well I do like Wales, the name says it all. And here Edward I is hunting down Prince Llywelyn, and he will meet an sad end. The people is suffering. Then there are the diggers, English men from all over who has to prepare the grounds and build the castles the king wants. Horrible conditions and taken way from those they love. Always at risk since there is a war going on.

I like Will, he is a strong child, and even if he is scared at times he puts on a brave face. There are other memorable characters as well in the book. Some good, some rather bad. Some we meet just for a moment before they are swept away.

The book is short, but there is a nice conclusion, but I do wonder about Will afterwards. He seems to have lived a memorable life. I would like to read more, at the same time the book have to end where it does so he can grow up. As for Ned, everything is seen trough Will's eyes, and I sometimes wonder what goes on in his head. perhaps there is just the sweet music of the bard. I am so happy when he gets to play.

This is a historical book, set in a turbulent time. We don't get to see noble men fight and so on, instead we get to see what those behind, far, far behind are doing while people are fighting and negotiating. Life at the other side.

I liked the tone of the book, her easy way of writing. It's a book that can be read by all, no age limit either, well there is one bloody scene but people are used to everything these days. The language flows easy also.

To serve as a stronghold, Edward I of England (1239-1307) built a castle in Flint, Wales as he pressed to conquer Welsh territory. Although not followers of Edward, brothers Will and Ned, Fen lads, were forced to prepare the foundations for his castle. This is their story.

If written in present times, Flint would be seen as a coming of age novel. The story chronicles Will's pre-teen years through his amazing journey from home to north eastern Wales for their work as fossatores (ditch-diggers), and beyond. But truly, Will, shovel in hand, had little chance at a childhood as he looked out for his older brother during their travels.

A very affecting novel. Masterfully woven together with true tales, folklore, music and mystique, Flint is a satisfying read that will gratify a wide array of readers. With its vivid imagery, you'll be digging in the foul trenches with the Fen lads by day and enjoying the soulful music of Ned's swan pipe by night. The brilliant use of figurative language adds to the ambience of the story. Rich underlying themes tie the novel together beautifully, such as "the same, yet not the same": This theme haunts the book, and the characters' and readers' thoughts on the same subject transform as the plot develops. A must read for lovers of history, fraternal love and music alike. Historical fiction at its best!

Flint a short read at less than two hundred pages was anything but an easy read in the beginning. A enticingly challenging tale of two deeply bonded brothers named Will and Ned. The first challenge was the dialect of the story: Welsh, at times it was hard for me to follow. I had noticed that around page thirty the story took a turn and I became fully immersed in Ned and Will's trials. The final part I struggled with was each section had a symbol: a swan, cross, shovel, and boat. I had figured that the cross was the narrator, which I presume is Will. The swan was Will throughout the tale. The shovel I am not positive is Ned. The others I could not figure out and it bothersome. Now that is out of the way we can get to the good points.

The favorable points of the book was the relationship between the brothers. The unconditional love between them was moving. Will was the younger brother being about ten, Ned the older in his early teens. Ned was a mute, not really being able to speak except to Will in a special way. Will had all his life taken to looking out for his big brother, which made him exceptionally feisty. Ned reminded me of what we would view as highly intelligent, a savant for music, a whisperer to animals and nature itself. He spent most of his tale being a aloof wanderer, Wills feelings and emotions being more than enough for insight. I think Ned was curious and that would lead to wandering. The brothers wandering beginning is them being commandeered into King Edwards army and marched from their comfortable safe homes in the Fens.

The army was called upon to build the kings new castle. Once in North Wales they went to Flint to start the foundation and dig out the moat. King Edward had ordered them to work, they had no choice, and no where to run to, so they made the best out of the situation. All that mattered was they had each other. Things became cloudy and stormy once the work began, and many suffered. I had to remind myself of what year this was to have taken place, no real convinces. England was was a dark and brutal place under King Edward Longshanks rein. They called him the "leopard"who attacks it's kill and feasts on its victims still living flesh. During the time at Flint they had learned many brutal life lessons, experiencing many daily trials was the norm. While the men were forced into back breaking labor, their fellow people from the Fens were suffering. Ned being of the mind he was had knowledge of herbs potions and plants. He would use them to help his comrades. When they suffered they began to seek comfort.

Ned was keen to his surroundings, given that any opportunity would arise, he would not hesitate to pounce on it. Which is how he was able to get permission to go to the sacred well of holy water. They were allowed there once but Ned had the taste in his mouth and could not leave it alone. It was famous for its healing powers and he needed more to help his comrades. Ned would end up sneaking off with Will in the dark of night in pursuit of more holy water. Sneaking off would cause ripples of consequences like a pebble does as it is dropped into the water for them both of them.

Ned was always looking for something or was it trouble, or that he was so smart he saw life in a different light. A higher level of understanding is what he craved. Their surroundings changed, people changed, died or ran off, but the brothers stood strong in their love and used it as armor to protect them selves at times. Holding fast to each other making it through the aversion of Flint only to be on the run for their lives. Running from the "bull" that struck sheer terror deep in their hearts. Would the brothers find their way or is that not the right way I wondered.

I enjoyed Flint even if it had a slow start. The unexpected twist ending made up for everything that Will and Ned survived through. I would personally like to challenge anyone interested in Flint to give it a go and see if you can figure out who the shovel and boat are. It also gave me a deeper point of view of how many people suffered building for the king. People forget about the little guys who have to work for everything in an unforgiving environment. It was refreshing from a different point of view. Another wonderful feature of this book is that it is published by Honno books. Honno is a welsh women's press group who help welsh women publish their books. Which get kudos in my book.

Brothers Will and Ned and other men from their village are conscripted into Edward I's army, marched to Wales and set to digging ditches to prepare for the building of his new castle Flint. Will is the younger brother, but in many ways the elder as Ned is mute, although he has unique talents of his own, from horse whispering, to his musical talents (which he gained from Welsh barb Ieuan ap y Gof) and knowledge of herbs.

Their time is Wales has some unusual ups and downs and I really don't want to give much away as this is a very short novel. The book is narrated in four POV's, three are first person from Will at different points in his life and one in third person and the switches are marked by icons indicating who the narrator is. Probably my only complaint about the book is that I found the switches in POV's rather distracting and I never could get a handle on who narrator #4 was (or perhaps *he* was no one and it went over my head again). Other than that, a quick, enjoyable read, and gives the reader a different look at Wales, its music and ole' Longshank's efforts to subjugate the Welsh people. The writing is just lovely and I do recommend it but still, the be-all to end-all on Llywelyn ap Gruffydd is always going to be Penman's fabulous The Reckoning.

FTC, don't you worry your pretty heads at all. I got it from the library.