Musings: Skellig

I completely forgot that Skellig, by David Almond, was on my wish list until I was going through it the other day looking for audiobooks that were available for digital download from the Chicago Public Library.  I downloaded it, but I had no recollection of what the book was about or where I had heard about it.  A quick search on my GoodReads made clear to me that I heard about Skellig from MANY people, and it's a little bizarre that I forgot about it so completely.

In any case, I read it and was a bit taken aback to learn in the forward to the book that this is a story that has been adapted into a radio show, a movie, and an opera.  In fact, the audiobook features music from the opera.  Obviously, I was reading a book that had become a Big Deal.

Skellig is about Michael, a 10-year-old boy who has just moved to a new home with his parents and baby sister.  But his baby sister was born prematurely and is very ill, and there is a heavy burden of worry on Michael's family.  One day, he goes into the creaky, unused garage and discovers that there is a man there, Skellig, who is cranky and in pain and not doing much of anything.  Michael confides his discovery to his new friend Mina, and the two of them help the man recover from his sufferings.  And that leads to a friendship and the belief that you should always have faith in the extraordinary.

I enjoyed this book, but I must admit that I think it suffered a bit for me in comparison to A Monster Calls.  The two are similar enough in my mind to warrant comparison, and while A Monster Calls had me curled up on the couch bawling my eyes out, Skellig did not have the same effect (thank goodness, as I listened to it on my commute to work).  I think this is because Skellig is more subtle.  Michael has a lot to deal with- his baby sister is dying.  But the book doesn't dwell on that.  We see Michael playing soccer, learning about evolution, helping his dad around the house, and exploring his new home with his new friend Mina (who is an awesome, smart, and charming young woman well worth her own full-length novel).  While the mystery around Skellig is integral to the story, it is not the center of the story.  Similarly, Michael is very aware that his sister is sick, but he goes about his day trying to think about other things, too.  This makes the story even more ethereal.

Almond also touches upon the interplay between science and religion, of faith in medicine and in prayer.  I enjoyed that he provided no answers but showed that both sides of the coin have value and people deal with situations beyond their control in different ways.

The language, too, is quite lyrical, and I loved David Almond's narration of this audiobook.  He gives Skellig an excellently gritty and tired voice, and all of the other characters are well defined and differentiated as well. I enjoyed listening to the operatic pieces and the short story about Mina that were provided at the end, too.