Cha nel mee foast jannoo y çhalee lhaih, agh shoh kuse dy lioaryn lhaih mee rish Jerrey Geuree ta feeu coontey beg.
Aght ennagh, ta lioaryn Aqua as Aria Amano Kozue my chur gys cooinaghtyn lioaryn Albert Alison Jezard. Ta scansh eddyr oc, agh ta caslys mooar eddyr ny h-anmyn t'oc. She cooishyn laa beggey t'ayn son y chooid smoo, as t'ad loayrt er souyrid thie, barriaghtyn beggey as ceau traa marish caarjyn. She lioaryn gerjoil maynrey t'ayn, as dy liooar daue insh skeealyn beggey dy mie.
Lhaih mee Fiddler Fair er turrys barroose feer liauyr. Cha row barel fondagh aym my by vie lhiam ee ny dyn, agh myr haghyr eh hie shaghey kiare ooryn taitnyssagh gyn boirey rish lhaih y lioar shoh dys y jerrey. Ta skeealyn anaasoil, aitt as geyre nish as reesht ayn, ayns caghlaaghyn seihll feer as sheiltynagh. T'ad goaill stiagh skittyn, contoyrtyssyn as kuse dy skeealyn trome-chooishagh as groamagh. Er lhiam dy nee far-veaskeeal TE Lawrence oddagh-er-ve woaill orrym smoo - t'eh lane dy vree as hooar mee red ennagh niartal aynsyn - agh ta ymmodee jeu ennaghtagh quaagh ny keayrtyn. Va kuse elley cadjincliaghtit, as ry-yerkal my ta aght as cliaghtaghyn ny h-ughtar er enney ayd.
Ta The Coming of Bill ny Wodehouse neuyerkallit. T'ee goll foddey ass y raad cadjin echey, dy ghra myr shen, aittys ghraih eddrym y halley kiaull. Shoh drama trome-chooishagh dy liooar ta gaase rish ymmodee bleeantyn; t'eh goaill stiagh falleilys persoonagh as baase. Ta brishey cooish ghraih ny chooish cadjin Wodehouse, agh cha nee y tushtey gennal cadjin t'ayn nish. Ta Wodehouse bentyn rish y chummaght 'oddey-charrymagh t'ain er sleih elley, as rish shen t'eh ceau shilley trome ass cliaghtey er lhiasteyryn. Ta lhiasteyryn berçhagh as eddrym 'sy chree ry-akin ayns dagh lioar echey, bunnys, as t'ad co-ennaghtagh ain son y chooid smoo, agh ayns shoh ta leagh lheid yn aghtey ry-akin, as she caarjyn as mooinjer eeckys. Chammah's ooilley shen, t'eh cur geill cremeydagh da poosey ass laue, red ta lane voylleydagh ayns skeealyn elley.
Ny yei shen as ooilley, she skeeal Wodehouse t'ayn. Ta aitt ayn nish as reesht, as yn aght screeuee cadjin; ta blass er enney er ny karracteyryn, as ta feaysley y skeeal neuchramp as fondagh dy liooar (va shen beggan brasnee dou). Dy beagh fys er ve aym er ny v'ayn, er lhiam nagh yinnin er ny reih son turrys barroose (beggan trome) as er lhiam nagh neeym aalhaih y lioar, agh ta mee boggoil dy lhaih mee ee.
Ta Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime ny s'quaaghey na chreid mee. Va mee jerkal rish skeeal eddrym dy liooar erreish dou lhaih y coontey giare jee. Agh ghow mee ram soylley jee. Ta'n ard-snaie feeit ry-cheilley marish coraa elley nagh by vaghtal quoi s'lesh eh ta loayrt er cooishyn ta lieh-ventyn rish cooishyn yn ard-snaie. Hoshiaght chreid mee dy nee coraa sthie folliaghtagh yn ard-charracteyr, smooinaghtyn er cooishyn dorraghey nagh vel eh lhiggey dhyt cur geill daue 'syn ard-skeeal; agh dy leah foddee oo cur coontey elley jeu, as cha nee'm feaysley y chooish dhyt. Hug shen orrym ve fud-y-cheilley nish as reesht, agh cha voir eh orrym monney, hannee eh er çheu kiart y linney. Er lhiam dy row eh aashagh dy liooar lhaih eh ga dy nee lioar chramp t'ayn, as by vie lhiam ny karracteyryn.
Ta'n skeeal cur geill da cooishyn cadjinys sleih as slaynt aigney. Haink teaym neayrag er yn insheyder tammylt erash, as ta cowraghyn baghtal ny neuvaghtal ayn dy vel cooishyn slaynt aigney bentyn rish karracteyryn elley. Cha dennee mee dy row y scansh cadjin "cadjin/neuchadjin" ayn. Shegin dou gra, va cadjincliaghtey ayn nish as reesht bentyn rish ny cooishyn aigney, as ta kuse dy reddyn croghey dy trome er cohaghyrtys; er lhiam dy vel eh ry-lowal ayns skeeal eddrym, as cha nel reayrtys chamoo y skeeal hene mychione slaynt aigney. Trooid as trooid hooar mee dy row tro shen y skeeal fondagh dy liooar. Hooar mee blass aynsyn dy vel slaynt aigney cramp dy liooar, as sleih chammah, as cha nel feaysley ny freggyrt neuchramp ry-gheddyn; by haittin lhiam eh shen.
I'm no longer doing the Reading Project, but here are a few of the books I read in January that I think are worth a quick word.
Aqua and Aria by Amano Kozue remind me of the Albert books, oddly enough. Very different but a similar spirit behind them. Little everyday things happen mostly, and they're about home comforts and little victories and spending time with friends. They're comfortable, happy books that are content to tell little stories well.
I wasn't sure how good I expected Fiddler Fair to be but actually really enjoyed it to while away the bus journey. Some interesting, fun and often slightly acerbic stories in a varied set of fantasy worlds, varying from satirical tales to adventure to some rather serious and sometimes grim works. I think the alternate history TE Lawrence is perhaps the one that most struck me, but I found several surprisingly moving at times. Others were quite clichéd, and predictable if you've read any Lackey before.
The Coming of Bill is a surprising Wodehouse that deviates heavily from the well-known mould of light romantic music-hall comedy, with a rather serious drama unfolding over several years and taking in failure, death and a much less jocular take on relationship breakdown that is usual. Wodehouse touches on the long-term consequences of our influence on others, and casts an unusually harsh eye at that monied and whimsical class of idler who so often decorate the pages of his books, remaining at the same time sympathetic. The spontaneous matrimony common in other stories is critically reviewed. That being said, the solution to their woes is typically simplistic and efficacious, and that jarred. The touches of humour were still there and recognisable, and some characters felt familiar, but it felt a significant departure from his usual work. Had I known in advance I might not have picked it for a bus journey, and I probably won't re-read it, but I'm glad I have read it.
Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime was much odder than I'd expected, I was thinking it would be a fairly light book. It was very enjoyable though. The main viewpoint story is interwoven with other, related threads whose narrators aren't clear. At first I assumed this was the narrator's "secret" voice, touching on darker themes than they allowed to surface in the main narrative, but other options quickly present themselves (and I won't give it away). This was a little confusing at times, but stayed on the right side of the line. I found it quite easy to read for a relatively complex book, and found the characters enjoyable. The story also delves into some issues of normality and mental health. The narrator (a teenager) had a breakdown quite recently, and other characters are shown or hinted to have psychological issues. There's no real sense of a normal/non-normal distinction here. Some parts of it were... I mean, a couple of scenes were quite clichéd and relied on a lot of coincidences, which jarred a bit, but I can forgive coincidence in a light novel and they weren't particularly scenes about mental health. On the whole, I found that aspect fairly compelling, and I appreciated the general sense that actually mental health is kind of complicated, and so are people, and there's no trite answers or explanations to give.
