![]() ![]() While delineating characters with brilliant economy-Skellig’s habit of laughing without smiling captures his dour personality perfectly-Almond adds resonance to the plot with small parallel subplots and enhances his sometimes transcendent prose (“ ‘Your sister’s got a heart of fire,’ “ comments a nurse after the baby survives a risky operation) with the poetry of and anecdotes about William Blake. ![]() His discovery, in a ramshackle outbuilding, of Skellig, a decrepit creature somewhere between an angel and an owl, provides both distraction and rejuvenation he and strong-minded, homeschooled neighbor Mina nurse Skellig back to health with cod liver pills and selections from a Chinese take-out menu. ![]() The routines of school provide some relief, when Michael can bear to go. Almond pens a powerful, atmospheric story: A pall of anxiety hangs over Michael (and his parents) as his prematurely born baby sister fights for her life. ![]()
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