Reviews

The Mab: Eleven Epic Stories from the Mabinogi by Eloise Williams, Matt Brown

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hannahr3005's review

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

wollsocke's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

_izzi_'s review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I’ve never read the Mabinogi, but I’ve recently been wanting to reconnect with my Welsh heritage, and I thought this was a great place to start. The illustrations are lovely, and I appreciate the English/Welsh text because reading the Welsh right after the English helped me familiarize myself with the language—plus there’s a pronunciation key in the back! I’ve given 3 stars instead of 4 because while I enjoyed the down-to-Earth language, at times I thought the abundance of humor took away from the weight the stories could have otherwise had. But that’s a purely personal preference, and I would recommend this to anyone who wants an introduction to these classic Welsh myths.

jazrphillips's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

jess_esa's review

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5.0

A lovely and very accessible introduction to Welsh fairy tales. The stories also being presented in Welsh is such a nice touch as are the illustrations.

The stories are simplistic but they certainly make you want to dive in and tackle the originals. It’s clear so much love went into this retelling and I really appreciate that it exists.

jjarthur's review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

hexatrance's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

3.5 ⭐️ A really accessible introduction into the world of the Mabinogi. Very easy to fly through, especially for me who is only reading the English so it only took me 2 hours to read. Although I really appreciate the Welsh being there as it's a great learning tool, and even though my Welsh is only basic rn, I definitely found it useful matching Welsh words to the English. The English stories are written in a quite juvenile way, and you do get the sense that the author's are missing out the darker details to make them more appropriate for younger audiences. According to the reviews, the Welsh is more maturely written, so I look forward to the day when I can read the Welsh stories in this.