Back to Prydain

 When I was a boy, one of my favorite authors was the American Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007). I read all the books by him that I could find at the local library, including, naturally, what must be his most famous work: The Chronicles of Prydain.

For those not in the know, The Chronicles of Prydain are a series of five YA (I'm not sure the term existed back then, but that's what they are) fantasy books inspired by Welsh mythology. They chronicle the various adventures of Taran, assistant pig-keeper of Caer Dallben and his companions in the land of Prydain.

Seeing as how it had been almost twenty-five years since I last read these books, I figured that it was high time that I revisited them, this time in their original language (last time, I read them in Swedish). 

I finished the first two books in the series (The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron) recently and was gratified to find that they've held up really well. No, they are not masterpieces of the fantasy genre, but, I wasn't really expecting them to be. They are, however, enjoyable reads, with engaging and likable (except when they aren't meant to be) characters. My only real complaint is that some of the running gags, such as the strings on Fflewddur's harp snapping whenever he tells a lie, or exaggerates his accomplishments gets old fairly quickly. 

I suppose I should write something about the Disney film. Frankly, the movie is no substitute for the books, being one of Disney's weaker efforts. I know that the movie has its fans (is there any movie that doesn't have at least one person who genuine loves it?) and that's fine, but I'm not really one of them (though I will admit that its version of the Horned King is a memorable - if not top-tier- Disney villain).

The Books are a different matter though. I'm glad that I returned to Prydain and will continue journeying with Taran, Eilonwy and the other denizens of this country for a while longer. From what I remember, the last two books: Taran Wanderer and The High King, were the best ones, so I'm looking forward to revisiting them in particular.