Yvonne
Being The Manne’s Tale
Thysse message is o’er long. It doth comprise two main parts, a briefe note from one of mie oarsmenne on the findinge of the Spaniartt’s papers and the translat’d papers themselffes. These are in onlie part sensible order as the oarsman had yet to right them and the manne that translat’d the Spanish writinge simplye retold the tale in the order receiv’d. The originale paperes have disapper’d thysse xi daie of September 1589. They were soak’d butte legible and found bound at the stern of a small craft adrift in the baie call’d Coumenole.
The baie is rough of seas as are all these parts but once trapp’d by the tide any vessel doth circle against the sands until the tide turns. The water’s edge is easily reach’d from the cliffes and mie man hath some strength. He caught the boat, gain’d the papers and sent them for translation that very daie. He has since sent them to me with hysse note attach’d, in case there was newes of Felipe’s plans.
Clicking on the book’s title will link you directly with it’s Goodreads listing.
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If you are wondering at my sudden spelling style, you might want to check out the premise for this book, as you will see that it is partially written in a form of Olde English, in keeping with the timeline of the story. I haven’t started reading the book yet, but from these first sampler lines, I can tell that it is not going to be as difficult to get along with as I had feared.
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WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’?
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Visit your host, Gilion @ ‘Rose City Reader’
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
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I can’t wait to do a little blog hopping myself and check out all the great Book Beginnings you have!
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I think it will be a wonderful brain exercise to read this book! We tend to start reading in a sublime way and this type of writing might just tickle the little grey cells and still be entertaining! I am going to have a look at this book on Goodreads right now.
Thanks for sharing and have a happy weekend. Here’s my Friday Meets: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2017/12/FridayMeets15Dec.html
Hi Mareli,
I do agree that it is all too easy to rush from book to book, without really having to put too much effort into thinking about the words I read.
However, at the moment my reading pace is so slow, that the challenge of thinking about the narrative in a slightly different way, is not really going to cause me too many issues.
Also, the historical events in the book, about which I really know very little, took place quite close to home, so it will be interesting to read about them and see how the author blends fact with fiction, to arrive at Tearagh’t.
Thanks for stopping by, it was great to catch up with you again 🙂
Hi Yvonne!
Intriguing. I should imagine it will probably get easier to read once you get into it. Great choice.
Here’s mine: http://bit.ly/2Axzyok
Have a great weekend!
Luv Sass x
Hi Sassy,
I would have had no idea that Tearagh’t existed as place had I not agreed to give this book a try, even the cover wouldn’t have given me a clue.
The Spanish Armada is also a period in history about which I know very little, so the mixing if fact with fiction will hopefully expand my knowledge in a slightly kinder way, as my education was completed a long time ago now!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and if we don’t speak again before – have a Very Happy Christmas 🙂
I hope you get into this one. It looks like too much work for me. This week I’m reading Crimson Death by Laurell K. Hamilton from my TBR mountain. Happy reading!
Hi Kathy,
I must admit that I obviously didn’t read the spec. for this book very closely, when Craig’s agent contacted me, or I might well have thought twice about taking it on as a project.
However, I am now quite looking forward to the challenge of reading something completely new and different and at less than 300 pages long, I think it is going to be more than manageable and interesting to boot!
Thanks for stopping by to check out this week’s post, it wouldn’t do for us all to like the same thing, but you never know when you are going to come across one of those hidden gems 🙂
I agree with you, Yvonne. It looks manageable, but that said… I don’t think I’d want to take it on. I don’t mind “thinking” when it comes to some of my reading (as in content or meaning), but not in deciphering language.
Hi Kelly,
At the moment, my thoughts are that this probably isn’t the kind of project I would take on in the future, however I am quite willing to be persuaded about the advantages of ‘thinking’ books and I’ll see how I get along with it.
I can see why, given the subject matter of the story and it’s very barren location, Craig felt the need to change the language of the narrative to fit the period. However I do wonder why he chose to create his own ‘Olde English’ language, rather than use the authentic narrative.
I suppose that either way I will have to think about the language closely as I read and perhaps Craig’s version is slightly easier than the original!
Perhaps you will be persuaded by Craig’s guest post and my future posts as I read, but if not, I still appreciate your supportive comments 🙂
It looks interesting Yvonne, and a little challenging. It’s the kind of read you really have to pay attention to I feel like. enjoy it!
Hi Naida,
I like the idea of exploring the era of The Spanish Armada and not only does this book link fact with fiction in the storyline, but it also seems to transcend time zones, which I can’t quite get my head around just from reading the premise, so I hope that all will become clear as I begin reading!
Thanks for taking the time to visit and if we don’t speak again beforehand, have a lovely Christmas 🙂
I was wondering about your spelling! I think I’d have trouble with the Olde English at first but I’m sure I’d adapt. Merry Christmas, Yvonne!
Hi Kathy,
I know that my keyboard skills are not that good when I am in a hurry, and you have no idea how many times I spot that vital typo just as I hit the ‘enter’ key, however I do like to think that I am not THAT bad!
Mind you, some of those featured Olde English words and spellings might have made a good feature for this week’s “Wondrous Words Wednesday” post.
From what I can gather, only about half of the book is written in this complicated fashion, and as the entire story is only about 300 pages long, I think I can manage to get my head around Craig’s intriguing take on the English language!
Happy Christmas to you and yours and Best Wishes for the New Year 🙂