Skellig Hardcover - 1999

First line

I FOUND HIM IN THE GARAGE ON A Sunday afternoon.

Excerpt

Something little and black scuttled across the floor. The door creaked and cracked for a moment before it was still. Dust poured through the flashlight beam. Something scratched and scratched in a corner. I tiptoed further in and felt spiderwebs breaking on my brow. Everything was packed in tight--ancient furniture, kitchen units, rolled-up carpets, pipes and crates and planks. I kept ducking down under the hoses and ropes and duffel bags that hung from the roof. More cobwebs snapped on my clothes and skin. The floor was broken and crumbly. I opened a cupboard an inch, shined the flashlight in, and saw a million woodlice scattering away. I peered down into a great stone jar and saw the bones of some little animal that had died in there. Dead bluebottles were everywhere. There were ancient newspapers and magazines. I shined the flashlight onto one and saw that it came from nearly fifty years ago. I moved so carefully. I was scared every moment that the whole thing was going to collapse. There was dust clogging my throat and nose. I knew they'd be yelling for me soon and I knew I'd better get out. I leaned across a heap of tea chests and shined the torch into the space behind and that's when I saw him.

I thought he was dead. He was sitting with his legs stretched out and his head tipped back against the wall. He was covered in dust and webs like everything else and his face was thin and pale. Dead bluebottles were scattered on his hair and shoulders. I shined the flashlight on his white face and his black suit.

"What do you want?" he said.

He opened his eyes and looked up at me.

His voice squeaked like he hadn't used it in years.

"What do you want?"

My heart thudded and thundered.

"I said, what do you want?"

Media reviews

Skellig is the winner of the 1998 British Whitbread Award for Children's Literature.

Praise for Skellig:

"The author adroitly interconnects the threads of the story...to Skellig, whose history and reason for being are open to readers' interpretations.... [T]he story brightens dramatically as Michael's loving, life-affirming spirit begins to work miracles."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The plot pivots on the question of what Skellig is....The beauty here is that there is no answer and readers will be left to wonder and debate, and make up their own minds.  A lovingly done, thought-provoking novel."
--School Library Journal, starred review

"The marvelous and the everyday mix in haunting, memorable ways."
--Kirkus Reviews, pointer

"Some of the writing takes one's breath away, especially the scenes in which Almond, without flinching, describes the beauty and the horror that is Skellig."
--Booklist, starred review

"I read this luminous novel with a sense of wonder, and it's left an imprint on my mind--and, yes, my heart--that will not easily, if ever, fade.  In fact, I think Skellig deserves that risky adjective--unforgettable."
--Robert Cormier, author