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hayleybeale's review
4.0
Atmospheric, strange and powerful. Reminded me of A Monster Calls, though would work for younger readers. Not for kids who like their books to be straightforward!
missbookiverse's review against another edition
3.0
Das war mein zweites Mal mit Skellig. Das erste Mal ist viele Jahre her, mein Alter war womöglich noch einstellig, ich wusste nicht, was das Internet ist und habe mir deshalb ständig spannend klingende Bücher aus der Bibliothek ausgeliehen, darunter auch Zeit des Mondes, die deutsche Skellig-Fassung. Ich wusste noch, dass mich das Buch damals fasziniert hat und verwirrt. Da es inzwischen eine Art Fortsetzung ([b:My Name is Mina|8526585|My Name is Mina|David Almond|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519SYyEoqpL._SL75_.jpg|13393596]) gibt, habe ich mich an alte Tage erinnert und beschlossen das Buch noch mal zu lesen.
Es war keine schlechte Leseerfahrung, aber ich glaube manche Bücher sind einfach besser in der Erinnerung aufgehoben.
Die Geschichte ist sehr kurz, was einerseits funktioniert, andererseits unendlich viele Fragen offen lässt. Wer oder was ist Skellig wirklich? Wie lange saß er schon in Michaels Garage? Was hat er für Kräfte? Natürlich gehört es auch zum Charme des Buches, dass keine dieser Fragen vollständig beantwortet wird und man sich das meiste selbst ausmalen kann.
Den Schreibstil fand ich gut. Er klingt teilweise sehr naiv und simpel, was passt, weil der 10jährige Michael aus der Ich-Perspektive erzählt. Als „umwerfend lyrisch“, wie viele Kritikerstimmen schreiben, würde ich ihn aber nicht bezeichnen.
Ich fand es interessant, dass ich Skellig am Anfang überhaupt nicht leiden konnte. Er ist unhöflich, fordernd und ein kleiner Schluckspecht. Zum Glück ändert sich sein Verhalten im Verlauf der Geschichte, aber so richtig geheuer war er mir am Ende immer noch nicht. Dazu war er wohl einfach zu alt, gruselig und ungewaschen.
Der heimliche Star des Romans war für mich Michaels Freundin Mina. Sie ist sehr reif für ihr Alter und weiß nicht, wann es besser ist seine Meinung zurückzuhalten. Ich bin gespannt auf das Buch, was sich allein auf sie konzentriert: [b:My Name is Mina|8526585|My Name is Mina|David Almond|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519SYyEoqpL._SL75_.jpg|13393596].
Es war keine schlechte Leseerfahrung, aber ich glaube manche Bücher sind einfach besser in der Erinnerung aufgehoben.
Die Geschichte ist sehr kurz, was einerseits funktioniert, andererseits unendlich viele Fragen offen lässt. Wer oder was ist Skellig wirklich? Wie lange saß er schon in Michaels Garage? Was hat er für Kräfte? Natürlich gehört es auch zum Charme des Buches, dass keine dieser Fragen vollständig beantwortet wird und man sich das meiste selbst ausmalen kann.
Den Schreibstil fand ich gut. Er klingt teilweise sehr naiv und simpel, was passt, weil der 10jährige Michael aus der Ich-Perspektive erzählt. Als „umwerfend lyrisch“, wie viele Kritikerstimmen schreiben, würde ich ihn aber nicht bezeichnen.
Ich fand es interessant, dass ich Skellig am Anfang überhaupt nicht leiden konnte. Er ist unhöflich, fordernd und ein kleiner Schluckspecht. Zum Glück ändert sich sein Verhalten im Verlauf der Geschichte, aber so richtig geheuer war er mir am Ende immer noch nicht. Dazu war er wohl einfach zu alt, gruselig und ungewaschen.
Der heimliche Star des Romans war für mich Michaels Freundin Mina. Sie ist sehr reif für ihr Alter und weiß nicht, wann es besser ist seine Meinung zurückzuhalten. Ich bin gespannt auf das Buch, was sich allein auf sie konzentriert: [b:My Name is Mina|8526585|My Name is Mina|David Almond|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519SYyEoqpL._SL75_.jpg|13393596].
grace1994's review against another edition
3.0
3/5
"We thought of Persephone for a while in silence. I imagined her struggling her way toward us. She squeezed through black tunnels. She took wrong turnings, banged her head against the rocks. Sometimes she gave up in despair and she just lay weeping in the pitch darkness. But she struggled on. She waded through icy underground streams. She fought through bedrock and clay and iron ore and coal, through fossils of ancient creatures, the skeletons of dinosaurs, the buried remains of ancient cities. She burrowed past the tangled roots of great trees. She was torn and bleeding but she kept telling herself to move onward and upward. She told herself that soon she'd see the light of the sun again and feel the warmth of the world again."
I decided to buy this book when I saw it in a charity shop about a year ago and remembered it vaguely from studying it in English in primary school. It's probably the first time I've properly read a kids book since I was a child so reviewing this is kind of difficult.
Overall, I thought it was a nice story. Sweet and empathetic and hopeful, helpful for kids to read who may be scared or unsure of their feelings towards something scary, especially to do with health of a family member. But it didn't blow me away. It was just nice. I will say that I loved Mina's character, she was probably the best part for me, her and the parts about the baby. Skellig himself was a bit 'meh' to me as a character. I didn't walk away from the book feeling much towards him at all. The Persephone quote from above was my favourite part of the book and really stuck with me...
All that being said, a nice enough book but nothing to shout about.
"We thought of Persephone for a while in silence. I imagined her struggling her way toward us. She squeezed through black tunnels. She took wrong turnings, banged her head against the rocks. Sometimes she gave up in despair and she just lay weeping in the pitch darkness. But she struggled on. She waded through icy underground streams. She fought through bedrock and clay and iron ore and coal, through fossils of ancient creatures, the skeletons of dinosaurs, the buried remains of ancient cities. She burrowed past the tangled roots of great trees. She was torn and bleeding but she kept telling herself to move onward and upward. She told herself that soon she'd see the light of the sun again and feel the warmth of the world again."
I decided to buy this book when I saw it in a charity shop about a year ago and remembered it vaguely from studying it in English in primary school. It's probably the first time I've properly read a kids book since I was a child so reviewing this is kind of difficult.
Overall, I thought it was a nice story. Sweet and empathetic and hopeful, helpful for kids to read who may be scared or unsure of their feelings towards something scary, especially to do with health of a family member. But it didn't blow me away. It was just nice. I will say that I loved Mina's character, she was probably the best part for me, her and the parts about the baby. Skellig himself was a bit 'meh' to me as a character. I didn't walk away from the book feeling much towards him at all. The Persephone quote from above was my favourite part of the book and really stuck with me...
All that being said, a nice enough book but nothing to shout about.
davidcrow's review against another edition
5.0
This was not what I expected. Great artwork and a lovely story.
talesofsamwise's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lattelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
I'd read part of this when I was younger, but I couldn't remember anything about it. So reading it as an adult was absolutely wonderful. It's eerie, mystical, weird--all of the things that I want in a story. Skellig was unlike anything I remembered or thought it would be, and I absolutely loved it.
Between the struggle that Michael has with his new home life and wondering whether his little sister will be okay and learning more about his new friend Mina, Skellig is easily one of the most interesting books that I've read this year, and is perfect for fans of The Nest by Kenneth Oppel--which is just as weird.
David Almond is overall just a fantastic writer who knows his craft. He knows how to hook us into his stories and knows how to keep us there. If you remember this book from childhood, I definitely suggest reading it again. You will not be disappointed.
Review cross-listed here!
Between the struggle that Michael has with his new home life and wondering whether his little sister will be okay and learning more about his new friend Mina, Skellig is easily one of the most interesting books that I've read this year, and is perfect for fans of The Nest by Kenneth Oppel--which is just as weird.
David Almond is overall just a fantastic writer who knows his craft. He knows how to hook us into his stories and knows how to keep us there. If you remember this book from childhood, I definitely suggest reading it again. You will not be disappointed.
Review cross-listed here!
alishajenkins's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Lovely
smolbean_reads's review against another edition
4.0
'Our heads were dark, then they were as huge and moonlit as the night.'!
Skellig, what a magical book. Strangely enough, David Almond, the writer, explained that he didn't really see himself as a magical realism author. But if we look at Skellig, it's as if he was creating magic without necessarily realising- it just wrote itself in.
I read this book about 8 years ago in school (which is ironic as a lot of the book is about not going to school), but decided to pick it up again to see if I would appreciate the story more as an adult reader. And I really did. I appreciated its beautiful simple lyrical prose, the atmosphere and the message of hope that runs throughout the whole book.
Skellig is told through the viewpoint of a young boy, Michael, who has moved to a new house. He has a baby sister who is ill in hospital (and may not survive) and is left to his own devices at home with his dad who is trying to do the new house up. On exploring the dilapidated garage, he stumbles across what he thinks to be an old, dying man. He and his new friend, Mina, want to help the frail man get out the garage before it is too late and it crumbles down on him.
I think the main thing that stood out to me after finishing this book was how much there was in it, how complex it was- yet how simple and almost calm it felt on the surface. Like running your hand across the surface of a still ocean and finding your fingers brushing the textured and glittering bodies of a dozen colourful fish.
This mysterious, magical book delicately covers so many looked-over subjects and really leaves a lot open to interpretation. Through Mina, an intelligent yet still a little naive, girl, David explores the themes of extroadinary in the ordinary, the power of listening, the importance of an open mind, the differences between people, and the hope, unconditional care and courage that young people have within themselves.
We also find a lot of William Blakes poetry in the book...
'Love is the child that breathes our breath/ Love is the child that scatters death'
Overall, as many previous reviews have decided, this book is wonderful for both children and adults alike. It reminds adults to look at the simple things and life and to see the beauty and depth to things, and it excites children with its dreamy and magical chapters. Yet the questions left on everyone's tongue is:
'Who and what is Skellig?'
We'll never know. But life is full of mysteries. And it is mystery that grows the imagination.
The next book in the series that David Almond wrote about 10 years later, is called My Name is Mina and is written in a journal form by Mina herself. This will be on my reading list.