Read: April 2009
Skellig in one Tweet-sized chunk:
Skellig is pretty much the perfect novel.
Michael has just moved to a new house. His baby sister is clinging to life in hospital having been born prematurely. His parents are exhausted with worry. He just wants things to go back to normal. Then one day he wanders into the crumbling old garage and finds an old man lying amongst the spiders' webs behind an old tea chest. At first he seems dead, but he is not. Michael brings him food – 27 and 53 from the local Chinese takeaway and a bottle of brown ale, “food of the Gods” as the man describes them – and starts to visit him regularly. And together with his new neighbour Mina, they hatch a plan to carry him out into the light and help him live once again.
There is not much more to say about Skellig really, other than that it is virtually the perfect book. David Almond's prose is lyrically delightful, easy to read, and laden with exquisite tenderness and real warmth. It is a beautifully story, universally appealing, and with an inspiring plot which will not only bring a smile to your face but put a little tear to your eye as well. Partly fable for the childhood we all dream of having and partly lesson on the beauty of life, it is a book which everyone should read.
8.5 out of 10
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