A review by vinpauld
Clay by David Almond

3.0

Having loved 'Skellig' and 'Kit’s Wilderness,' and having read some glowing reviews for this book, I began ‘Clay’ with high expectations. I’m sorry to say I was somewhat disappointed. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly what didn’t work for me in this story, so I’ll start with what I liked about it. David Almond is great when it comes to writing natural sounding dialogue. He seems to understand the rhythm of how children and teenagers speak and his conversations between characters are always believable. This book does manage to contain some genuine chills, especially when the author begins to reveal Stephen’s sinister intentions. One of the themes of the book is whether or not evil (and God for that matter) actually exists. A discussion of this subject between Davie, the main character and his confessor comes late in the book, but it is something I wish had been brought up earlier. I liked the portrayal of friendship between Davie and his friend Geordie, but it gets shuffled to the sidelines once Davie becomes more under the influence of Stephen. I felt there was missed potential in developing the relationship between Davie and Stephen. Stephen is portrayed as a one-note, creepy, Svengali-like character and Davie seems to follow him too easily. Early on Davie questions acts he sees Stephen perform, but as the events get more fantastic, he never seems to wonder if maybe these things might only be happening in his own mind. Davie never seems to question the hypnotic influence that Stephen might have over him. This seems somewhat odd especially after Davie has witnessed Stephen manipulating his aunt through what seems to be some sort of hypnosis. The book is hard to put down, but for me it lacked the pathos and the sympathy for the characters that I have enjoyed in some of Almond’s earlier works. It’s not a bad book, it is certainly worth reading, but I think you will enjoy it more if you’re not expecting something great.