June 28, 2009
I’m afraid my reading diary is slightly confused at the moment. When I was writing up my last book-related entries something didn’t feel quite right and then I remembered that I’d forgotten to include a couple of recent reads. All I knew about Skellig when I bought it was that Sky had trailered its onscreen version (featuring Tim Roth as Skellig) to bits over Christmas and that it just didn’t appeal. But I couldn’t avoid the fact that David Almond’s children’s book was very highly thought of and given that I love children’s books I decided not to hold Roth against Almond and splashed the cash during one of my Saturday constitutionals with Jacob. It’s a genuinely lovely book that tells the story of Michael as his family moves to a new house and his newborn sister falls ill. Almond uses some of the familiar motifs of children’s literature but does so with such a lightness of touch and empathy for the lives of those portrayed that Skellig rises above the vast majority of similar books. I won’t ruin the story by going into more detail but if you’re looking for a light yet filling read this summer I can heartily recommend Skellig. And not just if you’re a “child”.

I’m afraid my reading diary is slightly confused at the moment.

When I was writing up my last book-related entries something didn’t feel quite right and then I remembered that I’d forgotten to include a couple of recent reads.

All I knew about Skellig when I bought it was that Sky had trailered its onscreen version (featuring Tim Roth as Skellig) to bits over Christmas and that it just didn’t appeal. But I couldn’t avoid the fact that David Almond’s children’s book was very highly thought of and given that I love children’s books I decided not to hold Roth against Almond and splashed the cash during one of my Saturday constitutionals with Jacob.

It’s a genuinely lovely book that tells the story of Michael as his family moves to a new house and his newborn sister falls ill. Almond uses some of the familiar motifs of children’s literature but does so with such a lightness of touch and empathy for the lives of those portrayed that Skellig rises above the vast majority of similar books.

I won’t ruin the story by going into more detail but if you’re looking for a light yet filling read this summer I can heartily recommend Skellig. And not just if you’re a “child”.

• •
blog comments powered by Disqus