Saturday, July 13, 2013

Skellig

by David Almond
London : Hodder, 1998.

Michael and his family have recently moved to a house that needs a lot of work, when his baby sister is born early. Meanwhile, he finds a man who seems little more than skin in bones in the broken down garage, and together he and his new friend Mina try to help him - but who is he, and what is he?

Some books are easy to read, review, and move on. This is not one of them. Skellig, though short, is one of those stories that lingers as you think about the characters and writing and events. Michael realistically feels a little bit of jealousy but also deeply cares about his sister. Mina is homeschooled and proud of it, and she's so sure of who she is that you can't help but love her. And Skellig... well, he's a bit of an enigma. He's a being that can't be explained in just a few words. In fact, I feel like I should really reread the book before I try to make any further pronouncements. I was left smiling and just a bit unsettled, in the sense that I couldn't quite wrap my brain around the story without thinking some more.

No comments: