[Susan] Skellig by David Almond

[cirquedesgeeks]

Skellig by David Almond // Hodder Children's Books, 1995 // Borrowed from the library // Read October 2011, reviewed December 2012

Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage and encounters a strange being who changes his world forever.

I really liked this! It is a very nice, simple story, with the fantastic elements built on a lovely foundation of reality that makes me happy. It has perfectly believable characters, from things as big and important as Michael's conflicted feelings about the baby, to the moments of his school friends being believably annoying.

I also like that there isn't just Strange Occurances: Fantasy, in this book; everything in Michael's life is in upheaval, so much of what's happening to him falls under Strange Occurances or Strange People. And all of these things - his new neighbours, the baby, the man in the garage - seem to have equal effect on him and tie together really well in the end.

My favourite part of the book though is the fact that it still made me think and still made me look at things in new ways. For example, the owl-like aspects and comparisons, or the sections about Persephone - seriously, I studied Ancient History, I've gone over the Persephone myth more times than I can remember, and this book still offered me a perspective on it that I'd never considered.

It's also interesting the difference in perspective age brings to this story. On the one hand, I think it's a good and comforting story, but on the other hand I ended up chatting to another student on my course about this book, and we agreed that as an adult, there's an extra layer of creepy in the discovery of Skellig that just wouldn't be there in a child's reading. It's a really odd feeling.

That said: this is a really good read with imagery that is beautiful or gross and sometimes both, and I really enjoyed it. Definitely recommended, and I'm planning to pick up the prequel when I can find it at the library.