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paperbookmarks's review
4.0
I bought and started this book at the beginning of this academic year but I have only really sat down to read it now. This is my first Almond and really reminded me of the stories I used to read as a kid. Almond's brain works just like mine so when he starts a short story by telling me how it's inspired by his love for storytelling I was gripped. These stories are about extraordinary everyday people, and I've fallen in love with them.
aquakerwitch's review
3.0
Would have appreciated a warning that there would be a story about suicide
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
tashrow's review
5.0
In a series of short stories, master author Almond takes readers back to the magical times of his childhood as well as our own. The stories are all set in the places that Almond grew up in. The stories range in topic, but each one offers glimpses of wonder and deep understanding. They also all speak to the power of stories in our lives, whether they are to reveal or to hide the truth. The eight stories in the book give us characters living normal yet extraordinary lives. There is the girl rejected by school and society who finds it easy to believe she comes from somewhere far away. There is the home with a monster hidden inside it where you can hear its noises if you put your ear on the wall outside. There are the boys who run miles and miles to swim in the sea on one perfect summer day. There are poltergeists mixed with soccer games, bullies mixed with heroes. It is a beautiful collection of stories which put together make up a glimpse of a world past that still is relevant in our modern one.
Almond’s writing is exceptional. This shorter form allows him to create little worlds of magic, astonishing moments of clarity, decisions that reverberate in the community. He invites us into his home, revealing in paragraphs before each story the way that the story ties to his childhood or to a place that is dear to him. It gives us a look at his process, a way to understand the fictionalizing of memories and the beauty of turning everyday into amazement. The fantasy elements are there, dancing under the cloak of faith but there still, explained but also not completely fictional. There is a delicacy to this writing and yet a robustness to the setting that work particularly well together.
One of the best short story collections I have read in a very long time, this collection is exceptional. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
Almond’s writing is exceptional. This shorter form allows him to create little worlds of magic, astonishing moments of clarity, decisions that reverberate in the community. He invites us into his home, revealing in paragraphs before each story the way that the story ties to his childhood or to a place that is dear to him. It gives us a look at his process, a way to understand the fictionalizing of memories and the beauty of turning everyday into amazement. The fantasy elements are there, dancing under the cloak of faith but there still, explained but also not completely fictional. There is a delicacy to this writing and yet a robustness to the setting that work particularly well together.
One of the best short story collections I have read in a very long time, this collection is exceptional. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
scientistsinistral's review
4.0
I actually haven't read any of David Almond's works before, but this collection of short stories really tugged at my heartstrings. There's a reason I don't read short stories often, and it's because I always, always want more. Never has this rung more true with this book. I particularly loved the titular story, Half a Creature from the Sea , itself.
It is safe to say that I will be reading more of Almond's work in future.
REREAD NOTES
It's been a year since I read this book. I haven't read any of Almond's work since (though have acquired some and intend to. It's just as good the second time around.
This time, I find myself drawn to Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads. Whilst Half a Creature from the Sea had a quiet, dreamlike and utterly surreal sense buried within its very core, Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads is the story that I wish the world would read after the happenings of 2016. Like Almond, in times of such conflict, I believe that perhaps we should be grateful that we live in a world where we have the choice to be conscientious objectors, that such a choice is no longer seen as cowardly. I know that the conflicts that we have today are not going to be resolved without a struggle. But at least we have the choice to participate in such struggles.
It is safe to say that I will be reading more of Almond's work in future.
REREAD NOTES
It's been a year since I read this book. I haven't read any of Almond's work since (though have acquired some and intend to. It's just as good the second time around.
This time, I find myself drawn to Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads. Whilst Half a Creature from the Sea had a quiet, dreamlike and utterly surreal sense buried within its very core, Klaus Vogel and the Bad Lads is the story that I wish the world would read after the happenings of 2016. Like Almond, in times of such conflict, I believe that perhaps we should be grateful that we live in a world where we have the choice to be conscientious objectors, that such a choice is no longer seen as cowardly. I know that the conflicts that we have today are not going to be resolved without a struggle. But at least we have the choice to participate in such struggles.
abbie_'s review
5.0
I wasn’t expecting this little collection to make such an impact on me, but instead it became one of my favourite reading experiences of 2019! It combines eight short stories with anecdotes about Almond’s inspiration behind the stories, and you can really sense how much this man loves books and storytelling, it shines through the pages. The stories vary from a poltergeist terrorising a council estate and a girl who’s more at home in the sea than on land, to discovering what it means to stand up for what you believe in and always choosing to be good and kind.
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The stories are literally set where my grandma still lives, where I grew up, where my nana lived, where we go on holiday, where I played, where I went to school... and the feeling I had reading them was a mix of nostalgia, love, and pride at this little corner of the world being represented in this way. The news about this part of the world can often be bleak: council cuts, crime, poverty, but Almond peels back those layers and finds the magic. Kids playing out until their mams shout them back in for tea, the wild and rugged coastline, the pit villages filled with history, the people with hearts of gold... and he injects a good dollop of actual magic for good measure, until fantasy and reality become indistinguishable. His style is simple yet effective, calling the setting to mind instantly even if you haven’t been there.
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I already knew representation mattered across all nationalities, races, genders and ages but this really hit the point home. Everyone should have the chance to have an experience like this, of seeing their slice of life printed on a page. My rating might be based more on my personal experience with it, but isn’t that the whole point of reading? I hope that if any of you do read it, you can find some of the magic that I did, and see the North East of England in a new light
.
The stories are literally set where my grandma still lives, where I grew up, where my nana lived, where we go on holiday, where I played, where I went to school... and the feeling I had reading them was a mix of nostalgia, love, and pride at this little corner of the world being represented in this way. The news about this part of the world can often be bleak: council cuts, crime, poverty, but Almond peels back those layers and finds the magic. Kids playing out until their mams shout them back in for tea, the wild and rugged coastline, the pit villages filled with history, the people with hearts of gold... and he injects a good dollop of actual magic for good measure, until fantasy and reality become indistinguishable. His style is simple yet effective, calling the setting to mind instantly even if you haven’t been there.
.
I already knew representation mattered across all nationalities, races, genders and ages but this really hit the point home. Everyone should have the chance to have an experience like this, of seeing their slice of life printed on a page. My rating might be based more on my personal experience with it, but isn’t that the whole point of reading? I hope that if any of you do read it, you can find some of the magic that I did, and see the North East of England in a new light
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