LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Unrivalled in his capacity to conjure soulful truths that transcend time and place, David Almond’s writing never fails to get to the very heart of what it is to be human and, though its setting is modern, Bone Music is a sublimely timeless masterpiece - a raw, pure, measuredly lyrical story of a girl discovering deep bonds to nature and the distant past. Underpinned by a belief that the world can be made a better place, it will appeal to a broad range of 11+-year-olds (and adults), from dedicated bookworms, to more reluctant readers.
“Why had her bliddy mother brought her here?” city girl Sylvia complains. There’s no phone signal in the wilds of Northumberland, where her mother was born, where they’re currently staying. On her first night here, Sylvia is disturbed by haunting music: “It was like something she’d dreamed before, like something coming from inside her as well as from outside her, like something she’d heard before.” Then she meets a young musician, Gabriel, who wisely remarks - out of the blue - that “the world’s bloody awful, isn’t it? … It’s bloody awful and it isn’t bloody awful. It’s bloody marvellous”.
Through their forest wandering and fashioning of a bone flute from the wing of a dead buzzard, Sylvia sees the world anew and experiences life’s “bloody marvellous” aspects. As Gabriel explains, bone flutes “were used to charm the living. They were used to call the dead”, and they were used in ancient rites of passage. The magic of bone music and nature casts an unceasing spell on Sylvia (“the beauty of the world poured into her”), as does Gabriel. His wisdom has timely, timeless resonance: ‘‘Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Look at the state of the bliddy world. Look at all the anxious, troubled kids. We need more, don’t we?” And that, perhaps, gets to the heart of this remarkable book - it’s a story that stimulates reflection, provokes questions and prompts us to ask what we really need (and don’t need) while celebrating primal connections to the earth and the ancient past. What a joy.
Joanne Owen
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About
Bone Music Synopsis
This wonderful tale transports the reader from the city to the forests and fells of Northern England.
Under a boundless starry sky, the unforgettable Sylvia Carr reconnects with the ancient past and discovers what it really means to be young in the world today. Sylvia, brave hearted and rebellious, moves into wild Northumberland from the city of Newcastle. She feels alien in this huge, silent, seemingly empty landscape, but then she meets Gabriel, a strange yet familiar boy. As they roam the forests and fells together, she sees nature with new eyes. She becomes aware that the past is all around her, and is deep inside herself.
From the wing of a dead buzzard, they create a hollow bone - the kind of flute that was created and used in rituals in the distant past. This is a book of hope and joy - a book that celebrates humanity and explores the deep connections between ourselves and nature.
David Almond says: ‘This book is really important to me. At times it seemed to flow through me like music. I felt very close to the shy and rebellious Sylvia Carr as she stepped boldly into the darkness of the forest and of the past. The book is set within the wild and extraordinary landscapes of Northumberland, which in many ways form the geography of my imagination. All stories are acts of hope and of re-creation, moves against the forces of destruction that surround us all. Bone Music is an optimistic book for young people, written in the belief that together we can create a better world.’
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781444952926 |
| Publication date: |
2nd September 2021 |
| Author: |
David Almond |
| Publisher: |
Hodder Children's Books |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
199 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Young Adult Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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Press Reviews
David Almond Press Reviews
Lyrical...hypnotic and beautifully written - The Daily Mail
This tale from rural Northumberland will stick with you...He explores our place in the world, our connection to nature. At some point it becomes a rather Blakean tale of self-discovery...rich, wise, and never boring - The Times Children's Book of the Week
A breathtakingly beautiful and lyrical novel - The Bookseller
A remarkable book that already feels like a classic, it is sure to become one - The Irish Times
Mystical - Financial Times
David Almond's novels are so simple on the surface, so hauntingly mysterious in their depths - Financial Times
This is a book of hope and joy - get out of your comfort zone, explore the extraordinary, get in touch with nature and share in the belief that young & old can create a better world. - Young Writers
Author
About David Almond
In March 2010 David Almond won The Hans Christian Andersen Award which is presented every other year to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.
Julia Eccleshare on David Almond:
One of the best-loved and finest writers of today, David Almond made an immediate impact with Skellig, his first book. The moving story of a boy’s discovery of a strange creature in the shed which can be interpreted in many ways introduced some to the recurrent themes of David Almond’s writing. Infused with a touch of magic or the supernatural or ‘belief’, David Almond writes sensitively about the inner complexities of growing up. Much influenced by the landscape of Tyneside where he was brought up and still lives, David Almond’s books have a strong sense of place especially in titles such as Heaven’s Eyes, The Fire-Eater and Kit’s Wilderness. Although often clearly set in some particular time, there is a timeless quality to David Almond’s stories which give them enduring appeal.
As a child
I grew up in a large Catholic family in Felling-on-Tyne: four sisters and one brother. I always knew I'd be a writer – I wrote stories and stitched them into little books. I had an uncle who was a printer, and in his printing shop I learned my love of black words on white pages. I loved our local library and dreamed of seeing books with my name on the cover on its shelves. I also dreamed of playing for Newcastle United (and I still wait for the call!). There was much joy in my childhood, but also much sadness: a baby sister died when I was 7; my dad died when we were all still young; my mum was always seriously ill with arthritis. But it was a childhood, like all childhoods, that provided everything a writer needs, and it illuminates and informs everything I write.
As an adult
After school, I read English and American Literature. When I graduated I became a teacher – long holidays, short days, just perfect for a writer. After 5 years, I gave up the job and lived in a commune in rural Norfolk where I wrote and met my partner Sara Jane. I wrote a long adult novel that was rejected by every UK publisher. I had two collections of short stories published by the tiny IRON Press. I started another adult novel, put it aside, and suddenly, out of the blue, I found myself writing Skellig. It was as if the story had been waiting for me, and once I began, it seemed to write itself. I hadn't expected to write a children's novel, but in some way it was the natural outcome of everything I'd done before, and was the stepping-stone to everything I've done since. I now live in Northumberland with Sara Jane and our daughter Freya. I'm a full-time writer. Sara Jane makes ceramics, Freya goes to school.
As an artist
For years, I was hardly published and hardly anyone knew about me apart from a handful of keen fans. And I made just about no money at all from writing. That didn't really matter to me. I'd keep on writing, no matter what. Then I wrote Skellig and everything changed. I began to sell lots of books, to be translated into many languages, to travel, to win lots of prizes. I've written a number of novels after Skellig, including Kit's Wilderness, The Fire-Eaters and Clay. There have been stage versions of the novels, and films and an opera are on their way. I used to write in the attic at home, but there were lots of distractions – especially from email and telephone. So last year, I had a cabin built at the bottom of the garden. It's very nice, blue-grey and surrounded by trees. I have a radiator to keep me warm and I have a tap and a kettle for making tea. Every morning – when I'm at home and not travelling or making school visits or talking to people on the phone or answering emails – I carry my laptop down to the cabin and I set to work.
Things you didn't know about David Almond
• I once held the school high-jump record – 5 ft 2.5 inches.
• I have a pet rabbit called Bill who can grunt.
• I dream about football – and kick in my sleep!
• I love Japanese food – except for the thing I was given once that looked like an alien's brain.
• I've taken part in three Great North Runs (half-marathons).
• My favourite place is Upper Swaledale in Yorkshire.
• I love bikes, camping and fires.
• My first TV appearance was as an altar boy in a televised mass when I was eleven.
• My grandfather was a bookie (he took bets on horse races). His advice? "Never bet." He also told me, "Never read novels. They're all just lies."
• My nickname at school was Dai, and several old friends still call me that.
More About David Almond
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