Skellig

“Truth and dreams are always getting muddled” (52). What an apt quote to frame this blog around a novel that is categorized by some as “magical realism.” As soon as Mina says this in David Almond’s Skellig, I realized how often this happens in real life, and said to myself, ‘isn’t that the truth?’ What I dream of happening in my life sometimes seems so attainable that I assume it will materialize, but then again, many of those dreams manage to slip away, unrealized.

As one who does not read a lot of fantasy, I’m a little “muddled” at what to say about the novel. It didn’t do much for me, which wasn’t a surprise. (There’s a reason why I don’t read the genre…I’ve never found much that interests me.) But, I’m supposed to say positive things, so here I go:

I liked the references to Greek mythology throughout the book, with Michael’s schoolteacher’s stories and the discussions between Michael, Mina, and her mother about Persephone. It would be fun to put this book into a student’s hands who has read a lot of mythology during my Greek Mythology unit, and have him/her analyze the allusions. Why did the author choose to allude to the particular stories of Icarus and Persephone? What other mythological references might there be? Okay, okay, I do like mythology, which I know contains elements of fantasy, so through association, I must like fantasy a little. I guess I just like the older myths better than the more contemporary fantasies. Does that make sense?

I also liked how Almond indirectly comments on different approaches to education: the traditional grade school vs. homeschooling. It’s a debate that is not often talked about, but I know that kids are curious about. There is the generalization that homeschooled children do not get as complete of an education as those who are enrolled in school systems, but Mina’s and Michael’s experiences challenge that theory (even if it is in a fantasy novel). As a teacher myself, I understand Mina’s skepticism of Michael’s leveled reading books and fill-in-the blank worksheets that test him on trivial knowledge. At the MCTE fall workshop that I just attended, Kylene Beers called such activities “Assigning students to count the vowels.” No knowledge is meaningful until it is understood in a greater context. Thus, I avoid the mundane worksheets at all costs, and encourage students to read whatever books they are interested in. Even though it was not the focus of the book, I enjoyed seeing an example of a successful homeschool environment.

I guess what I didn’t like about Skellig is the lack of character depth. Yes, it’s geared for an adolescent audience, and yes, it’s a shorter story, but I found it very hard to believe the “deep” feelings Mina and Michael experience throughout the story. They go from being strangers to best friends, to friends who absolutely hate each other, back to best friends, in very short scenes. They also go from being apprehensive of Skellig to loving him within a few chapters, without much plot or character development to help the reader understand this change of heart. Finally, Michael is supposedly worried about his baby sister for most of the novel, but for awhile I questioned if he actually cared about his sister. At first, I thought maybe he resented her. I guess, to borrow from my descriptive writing unit, Almond was telling, not showing me, Michael’s and Mina’s emotions. Therefore, I couldn’t buy into them.