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Bywyd yn Nebo, ar ôl 'Y Terfyn.'
Life in Nebo, after 'The End'.
★ Llyfr y Flwyddyn, 2019, Book of the Year ★
❤ Cymraeg gwreiddiol, Welsh original ❤
Genre: Post-apocalyptic dystopian
Gwerth addysgiadol/educational value: ◉◉◉◉◎
Negeseuon positif/positive messages: ◉◉◉◎◎
Themau trist,anodd/upsetting,tough themes: ◉◉◉◎◎
Trais, ofn/violence, scary: ◉◉◎◎◎
Iaith gref/language: ◉◎◎◎◎
Rhyw/sex: ◉◎◎◎◎
Her darllen/reading difficulty:: ◉◉◉◎◎
Dyfarniad/verdict: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Dwi ddim yn meddwl mod i wedi gweld cymaint o ‘hype’ a chyffro am lyfr Cymraeg ers talwm iawn… os erioed! Cafodd y llyfr yma ei grybwyll gan nifer fel llyfr gorau’r ddegawd! Ers iddo ennill y Fedal Ryddiaith yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol 2018 a Llyfr y Flwyddyn 2019, mae o wedi cael ei ail-argraffu droeon!
Yn ddiweddar iawn, wrth i gwmni theatr Frân Wen baratoi i fynd ag addasiad llwyfan o’r llyfr ar daith ledled Cymru, mae yna unwaith eto gyffro mawr am lyfr sydd wedi creu argraff enfawr ym myd llyfrau Cymraeg.
Mae gen i sawl rheswm i ddiolch i Manon Steffan Ros. Yn gyntaf, am sgwennu whopar o nofel, ac yn ail, am ennyn fy niddordeb i fod eisiau darllen mwy o nofelau Cymraeg. I esbonio - cyn Llyfr Glas Nebo, anaml iawn fyddwn i’n dewis llyfr Cymraeg i’w ddarllen. Dwi wedi sylwi ar sawl un yn nodi sylwadau tebyg ledled Cymru. Dyma lyfr sydd wedi llwyddo i daro deuddeg hefo darllenwyr selog, ond hefyd, efo darllenwyr newydd. Mae hefyd yn boblogaidd ymysg dysgwyr Cymraeg.
Dw i’n tybio eich bod yn gofyn pam ei fod yn cael ei gynnwys ar wefan adolygiadau ar gyfer plant a phobl ifanc. Wel, er mai nofel i oedolion oedd o yn wreiddiol, mae o’n llawer mwy na hyn bellach. Nofel yw hon sy’n gweithio i bawb gan ei bod mor hawdd i’w darllen. Stori sy’n ddigon ysgafn i’w mwynhau ar ôl diwrnod caled o waith, ond sydd hefyd yn cyflwyno negeseuon dwys sy’n aros yn y cof ymhell ar ôl cau’r clawr.
Nofel post-apocalyptaidd dystopian ydi hi ar ffurf dyddiadur, sy’n trafod bywyd rhai blynyddoedd ar ôl ‘Y Terfyn.’ Swnio’n ominous dydi! Er bod manylion yn brin, down i ddeall fod gorsaf niwclear Wylfa ym Môn wedi ffrwydro neu ei tharo gan fom. Pwnc sy’n fy nychryn gymaint achos mae o mor gredadwy ac yn hollol bosib. Yn nyddiau Trump a thensiynau gydag Iran, Rwsia a Gogledd Korea; mae’n dod yn fwyfwy posib pob dydd!
Heb ddatgelu gormod o fanylion, rydan ni’n cwrdd â Siôn, bachgen yn ei arddegau a’i fam, Rowenna. Mae bywyd yn anodd wedi’r Terfyn - prinder bwyd, nwyddau meddygol, diffyg trydan ac ati. Fodd bynnag, yng nghanol hyn i gyd, mae yna obaith ac mae yna gyfoeth newydd i’w bywydau. Ceir nifer o sylwadau sy’n beirniadu’r ‘hen ffordd o fyw’, y prysurdeb, y gwastraff a phawb ar ei sgriniau digidol. Tydi Manon Steffan Ros byth yn pregethu chwaith. Er bod hi’n gyfnod anodd a llwm, mae ’na brydferthwch a pharch tuag at y byd newydd. Mae’r ddau yn dod i werthfawrogi’r pethau bach syml mewn bywyd.
Drwy’r nofel mae’n ddiddorol gweld Siôn yn tyfu ac yn aeddfedu, gan ddod yn fwyfwy annibynnol. Mae penodau Rowenna yn ddiddorol gan iddi sôn am y gorffennol, cyn Y Terfyn ac yn cyferbynnu’n dda gyda Siôn, sy’n trafod y presennol. Erbyn diwedd y nofel, mae’r ddau gymeriad yn bobl wahanol ac mae eu perthynas wedi newid. Roedd amrywio pwy oedd yn ’sgwennu yn y dyddiadur bob yn ail pennod yn cadw pethau’n ddifyr.
Mae ’na ran ohonof yn teimlo rhwystredigaeth fod y nofel yn fyr, gan nad oedd amser i ymchwilio mwy ar y cyfnod sy’n arwain at y Terfyn a’r digwyddiad ei hun. Yn bersonol, byddwn wedi hoffi gwybod mwy am sut y bu i gyfraith a threfn ddadfeilio ar ôl i’r bomiau cyntaf daro Llundain a Manceinion. Fodd bynnag, nofel fer yw hi, ac yn y pen draw, dwi’n meddwl ei bod hi’n gweithio’n well fel hyn a bod hynny’n rhan fawr o’i llwyddiant.
Fel y dywedodd Mark Twain, “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Mae’n hawdd iawn ’sgwennu llwyth, ond mae angen mwy o grefft wrth ysgrifennu’n gynnil. Dyma sgil y mae Manon Steffan Ros wedi’i mireinio i’r dim.
Nofel yw hon sy’n gwneud i chi feddwl a sy’n codi cwestiynau dilys am ein ffordd o fyw presennol. Fyddwch chi ddim yn hir yn gorffen y llyfr, dwi’n gaddo. Un-put-downable. Mi wnes i ei gorffen mewn 3 eisteddiad!
Bydd y nofel hefyd yn destun gosod ar gyfer TGAU Llenyddiaeth Cymraeg o 2021 ymlaen a dwi’n sicr y bydd nifer o ysgolion yn dewis ei hastudio.
I don't think I've seen so much 'hype' and excitement about a Welsh book for a long time... if ever! This book is thought of by many as the ‘book of the decade!’ Since winning the prose medal at the National Eisteddfod, 2018 and the Book of the Year Award 2019, it has been reprinted many times and continues to sell well.
Currently, as Cwmni Frân Wen prepares to take a stage adaptation of the book on tour across Wales, there is again a great excitement about a book that has created a huge impression in the world of Welsh books.
I have many reasons to thank Manon Steffan Ros. First, for writing a whopper of a novel, and secondly, for engaging my interest in wanting to read more Welsh novels. To explain- before Llyfr Glas Nebo [The Blue Book of Nebo] I rarely chose a Welsh book to read. I have noticed a number of similar comments across Wales. This book has hit a note with faithful consumers of Welsh literature as well as bringing new readers on board. It is also very popular with Welsh learners for it’s easy-reading appeal.
Why is an adult book included on this website I hear you ask! Well, even though it technically started as a book for adults, it has become much more than this. It’s a novel which works for everyone because it’s an easy read. A story that is light enough to be read after a hard day's work, but which also presents deeper, emotional messages that remain in the reader’s thoughts long after the covers are closed.
We have here a dystopian, post-apocalyptic novel in the form of a diary, which discusses life some years after 'Y Terfyn’ [the End]. Sounds ominous doesn’t it! Although there isn’t great deal of detail, we understand that Wylfa nuclear power station in Anglesey has exploded – possibly hit by a bomb. It is a subject that frightens me so much because it’s both credible and entirely possible. In these days of Trump and tensions with Iran, Russia and North Korea; it is becoming increasingly possible every day! Right, enough doom-mongering!
Without revealing too much detail, we meet Siôn, a boy in his teens and his mother, Rowenna. Life is difficult post-nuclear apocalypse. Food shortages, limited medical supplies, no electricity, etc. However, in the midst of all this, there is some hope and a new richness to their lives. There are a number of comments that criticise the old way of life; the busyness, the wasteful throw-away culture, everyone glued to their digital screens. The author shines a light on these aspects without ever preaching. Despite the bleakness of life, there is also beauty and respect for the new world. Both have come to appreciate the simple things in life.
Throughout the novel it is interesting to see Siôn grow and mature, becoming increasingly independent. Rowenna's chapters are interesting as she talks about the past, and this contrasts well with Siôn’s writing, which discusses the present. By the end of the novel, the two characters are different people and their relationship has changed.
A part of me feels a tad frustrated that the novel was so short, as there was little time to probe deeper into the period leading up to ‘Y Terfyn’ and to an extent, the event itself. Personally, I would have liked to know more about how law and order fell apart after the first bombings hit London and Manchester. This is however, a short novel and, ultimately, I think that was part of its appeal.
As Mark Twain once said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." I think it’s much easier to write at length, but more skill and control is needed when keeping things brief. Manon Steffan Ros knows how to keep things succinct and breviloquent.
This is a novel that makes you think and it raises legitimate questions about our current way of life. You won't be long finishing the book, I promise. You could say it is un-put-downable. I finished it in three reading sessions!
I am happy that the novel will also be a set text for GCSE Welsh Literature from 2021 onwards. I’m hopeful schools will choose to study it and thus giving the book a whole new audience.
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