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  • Writer's picturemikeofthepalace

"A String in the Harp" by Nancy Bond

If I ever get the opportunity to visit Wales, I'll be very disappointed if I don't get swept up into a magical adventure of some kind or another.


This was a very sedate book to read - which is a good thing. It's about an American family living in Wales, and the son finds an ancient harp key that (he eventually realizes) belonged to Taliesin. As the story progresses, he begins to see episodes of the legendary bard's life. But what will I most remember about the story? Life in the Welsh countryside, more or less.


This was overall an excellent little book, at its heart about a family coping with living in a new country and with the loss of the mother (who died shortly before the book begins). And while there's magic in this story, it left me with the feeling that the magic is more of an omnipresent thing in Wales than something localized in the harp key.


No doubt I would find Wales disappointingly mundane if I do get to visit. But for the moment, I'm content with the way it is in my head.

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