The Dark is Rising and Welsh Pronunciations.

[Amy Z]

Scott wrote:

> Now this might sound like a dumb question but how do you pronounce 
> the Welsh surname Llewellyn? As in "He Flew Like a Madman" by 
> Kennilworthy Whisp (a biography of "Dangerous" Dai Llewellyn). Not 
> our Dai, the book mentioned in QttA. I would pronounce it FOO-flinn, 
> but I'm guessing that's way off.

Oh dear.  I've known a few Llewellyns here in the US, and they and I 
all pronounced loo-ELL-en.  Is that a gross Americanization?  And what 
about my Uncle Lloyd?  Did he spend his years making whatever Welsh 
ancestors we have roll in their graves by pronouncing it Loid?  
(Actually, he took a stage name back in his youth and used that the 
rest of his life, so no one ever called him Lloyd anyway.)

> --It's been years since I've read Susan Cooper, but I remember "The 
> Dark is Rising" the only book I read as being quite interesting. It 
> was darker than HP, but maybe what made it not so good (as others 
> pointed out) was the lack of characterisation. 

You do get more if you read on (and back, to Over Sea, Under Stone).

On the "sentence level" the books are beautifully written:  excellent 
dialogue, description, imagery.  I'd definitely recommend them despite 
my disappointment.

Amy Z