Taran Wanderer

I have been listening to the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, a series of 5 fantasy books, with the children. I originally listened to my 3rd grade teacher read them aloud, to which I was riveted. The torturous only-one-chapter-per-day kept me in perfect attendance and begrudging of weekends, but I believe it allowed full appreciation of the books, word-for-word, due to the slowness of the process.

The fourth book, Taran Wanderer, is the one we are currently finishing. I had always believed that I had not liked Taran Wanderer as much as I had the other books, primarily because it does not contain the beautiful and clever Princess Eilonwy at all. I was gratified, years later, to discover that Taran Wanderer had been added to the other 4 books only after the entire series had been written, to pull loose ends together and allow for Taran's greater growth.

Given this 'least favorite' position of this book in the series, imagine my surprise to find myself wondering if this particular volume had the most long-lasting influence upon me. I had been an impressionable 8-year-old at the time, and I re-read the books when I was 10, on my own.


Taran is in a quest for his blood lineage. Where does he come from? Who were his people? Where? How? Why? Lloyd Alexander sweeps us up in Taran's desire to find out and discover his own genetic history, with grand and vain hopes for noble lineage.

Though I didn't draw the correlation, I began my own research into genealogy at the age of 12. I can't say what triggered my interest, though this, my far-and-above childhood favorite collection of books by my very favorite author, seems a reasonable culprit.

I noticed a couple of other interesting tweaks in the story that 'explained' a few things about my own life path. It seems this book, ironically, seemed to influence me more than the more cherished other four books in the collection.

I read a pertinent quote today, written by some other on-line blogger, I believe. Her life theory said, "I am a part of all that I have met. I can no more remember the books I have read than the meals I have eaten, yet each is a part of all that I am. " I was struck by this, and, I suppose, inspired to write this blog.