Skellig - Fantasy Novel

Skellig

 

Having very little background in science fiction or fantasy I was not sure what I was getting in to this week.  Fantasy to me usually seemed so far fetched.  Perhaps my greatest exposure to fantasy involves me helping my husband pack and unpack his numerous “forgotten realms” fantasy novels with muscled warriors, magically fierce wizards, or wise/sneaky looking elves and/or strong animals on the cover.  None of this ever appealed to me and I could never fathom why my intelligent, well-read husband would still find an interest in such childish books.  Hmmm…if I found no value in my husband reading this genre, how could I support/encourage YA who are interested in this genre?  This is one area that, as a teacher I must (even if unintentionally) show partiality.  Needless to say I am biased against fantasy without really having any exposure to actually reading fantasy – not good I know.

So, reading Skellig, I was not sure what I was going to get.  I went into it with as open a mind as possible.  There were some things I really enjoyed about Skellig, and some things I did not.  First, the positives:

The main characters - I greatly appreciated and felt like I truly “got-to-know” the main characters Mina and Michael.  The author created believable characters.  According to the Literature and the Child text, the characters of such a piece should be, “Multidimensional personalities who behave consistently, respond to events in a believable fashion, and grow and change across the course of a story” (209).  Both Mina and Michael behave consistently.  Michael is a little flatter than Mina, mainly because she contrasts his quiet introverted personality with vibrancy and eccentricity, but both remain consistent throughout the novel.  I am not certain I agree that they responded to all parts in a believable fashion; I find it hard to believe that the first time Michael encounters Skellig that he would remain so calm.  Mina’s response – because of her open-minded personality – is believable, but it seems as though Michael would have freaked out a bit more.  This is my only concern in this area though.  Michael grows in a different fashion than Mina.  Mina becomes more open and gains a friend – a person other than her mother that she has a relationship with.  She is a social recluse at the beginning and finds friendship with Michael – a person she otherwise would have judged and ignored as quickly as she did Michael’s football friends from school.  Michael seems to grow several ways – he gains confidence, faith, love, happiness, and he gains insight from Mina into knowledge and puts value on education. 

The plot idea was also good.  But…the idea was not necessarily executed as well as it could have been.  And here I go with the negatives:

There was so much foreshadowing that I found myself annoyed with all the hinting and implying and duality of meaning that I just wanted the author to get to the point.  Not only that but it all seemed pretty obvious to me while I was reading.  The first time Michael mentioned the “odd protrusions” from Skellig’s back I figured he must be an angel of sorts or something close to it who is going to have a hand in Michael’s sister’s life and then ¾ of the book later there was still hinting and no actual action, I was frustrated by that.  So my question – if this won an award it should be a rather impressive example of this genre (although perhaps, as we discussed in class, there are a lot of awards and what do they all really mean about the book any how?)  But if this is a well-received fantasy novel – are all fantasy novels this full of foreshadowing and implications?  I love figuring things out but this wasn’t hard to figure out so by the end it just seemed drawn out.  Looking at the requirements or definition of fantasy, Skellig fits perfectly in this genre – so if this had all the components and was well received – do I surmise I won’t like any fantasy or just that this story fell short for me?  As a teacher I should go with the latter, but as a reader, my gut is going with the former. 

Very nice story and story idea – just didn’t appreciate how it was told…