3 of 3 copies available
Together with his wonder-working friend, Ailsa Spink, and the fire-eating illusionist McNulty, Bobby will learn to believe in miracles that will save the people and place he loves.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
May 11, 2004 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739386194
- File size: 112332 KB
- Duration: 03:54:01
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 520
- Text Difficulty: 1-3
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Reviews
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It's September 1962--the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis--and Secretary of State Dean Rusk declaims to a globe perched on the brink of nuclear annihilation, "We're standing at the gates of hell." Just so, metaphorically speaking, is the existence of Bobby Burns in the coal-mining British countryside of Keely Bay, as depicted by David Almond in this unique young adult novel. Daniel Gerroll's powerful reading captures the mystery of the three leading characters: Bobby, the working-class schoolboy narrator who is just beginning to comprehend the menace in the world; McNulty, the fire-eater/ escapologist, whose scarred and tattooed body and growling commentary depict a weighty symbolism; and Daniel, the genteel classmate, whose passion for justice infects Bobby, leading him into new psychological and philosophical territory. By turns earnest, breathy, terrifying, and reverent, Gerroll's reading is compelling, his pacing masterful, his narration entirely faithful to the emotional truth of Almond's outstanding text. T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine -
May 3, 2004
Although this distinctively British novel contains a dark quality and mystical overtone that will be familiar to Almond's (Skellig
; Kit's Wilderness
) fans, the story's underpinnings are very much grounded in reality. In September 1962, Bobby Burns enters a new, elite school (for which students must qualify by exam) in his coal-mining community outside Newcastle. Bobby's reflections, enhanced by powerful images of nature ("And all the time the careless stars looked down and showed how tiny we were and how insignificant we were and how maybe we just didn't matter at all"), convey the young protagonist's uncertainties and a sense of the world itself being on the cusp of change. Bobby is worried about his survival at school, where corporal punishment is practiced indiscriminately, and how this "opportunity" may affect his future. He is also concerned about the well-being of his father, who has become ill, as well as new acquaintance Mr. McNulty, a half-crazed fire-eater who performs various forms of torture upon himself in exchange for a few tossed coins. Bobby's growing tensions mirror the fears of the townspeople as the Bay of Pigs drama plays out, drawing families, friends and strangers together for a brief but intense period of time. Besides providing a moving portrait of a boy's growing pains, the author expresses the camaraderie within a working-class community and the love within Bobby's family. Sensitive readers will marvel at Almond's ability to show, not tell, with his highly introspective—at times enigmatic—writing style. Ages 8-up. -
December 12, 2005
"Bobby's reflections, enhanced by powerful images of nature, convey the young protagonist's uncertainties and a sense of the world itself being on the cusp of change, in the fall of 1962," according to PW
. Ages 8-up.
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