‘That is the big question . . . Why is there a me in the universe? And there is no answer, but it is a kind of question we must ask ourselves, time and again.’ (p97)
Newly imagined
David Almond is one of the very finest living writers for young people. His stature is right up there with the greats of the past like Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, Lois Lowry and Ursula Le Guin, although his canon of exceptional work for a wide range of age groups is actually far more extensive. A new publication from him is something very exciting indeed.
It does need to be noted, though, that his novella, Island, is not itself completely new. It was first published back in 2017, as one of the little £1 titles issued for World Book Day. However, despite its short length, it is a wonderful, almost quintessential, piece of David Almond writing. Indeed it must be amongst the most distinguished of these tiny books ever produced. Nonetheless, whilst these physically slight paperbacks are vitally important for the occasion, they are easily lost and forgotten as the years pass. It is therefore thrilling to have a new edition of this significant work now re-published in splendid hardback - and with copious, wonderful new illustrations by David Litchfield to boot. It finally gives this title the presence it merits and allows it to take a proud, permanent place on the David Almond shelf.
Much of his writing is deeply and significantly rooted in specific place, most often his native North East. This novella is no exception. The ‘island’ of Lindisfarne is central to a story that digs sensitively and passionately into our common humanity. Place, characters and themes are intimately interrelated in an exquisitely written narrative that is both thoughtful and affecting.
Novella
The novella format, can often feel somewhat unsatisfactory, a short story that outgrew itself, or a promising novel idea that didn’t quite have the legs for the full Monty. But this is most certainly not the case with Island. It is a perfectly formed, rounded miniature, complete and satisfying in and of itself.
Essentially, a teenage girl, Louise, who has lost her mother, arrives with her father on Lindisfarne, the location of many previous family holidays. Although she has lived without her mother for several years, the visit highlights that she is not completely ready to move on herself, or to allow her father to do so either. The subsequent story is that of her growing into acceptance and seeing a positive future. The catalyst for this development is a mysterious boy, ‘Dark Star’. He is an an enigma, an acrobat, perhaps even a sorcerer, and even a threat in some eyes, Although Syrian, he is in many ways a symbol of the strange ‘magic’ of the place, but also of the dangerous excitement of Louise’s potential. Yet he is also a fully rounded character with his own background and issues.
A big journey on a small island
It is quite remarkable how many important themes David Almond manages to thread through this relatively brief narrative: loss, grief and family, identity, war and displacement, prejudice, memory, wild nature, mystery, beauty, history, pilgrimage, freedom, the universe, healing, love. Even so, the piece never feels contrived or congested. Although the ideas are huge, the language is simple, but so apt, so potent. Place and story are alive with subtle but resonant images: the island itself, its causeway and isolating tides; a hut that is an upturned boat; a deer, alive and dead. As with David Almond’s writing, the sights, sounds, and even smells, the ‘holy’ air of Lindisfarne all refract and reflect, but never distort. And, ultimately, they let through shafts of sea-sparkling light that are hope and promise.
It is a miniature masterpiece and no less a masterpiece for being miniature. In fact it is in its smallness that its greatness lies. It is hard to conceive a more satisfying novella. It is fiction. It is poetry. It is Lindisfarne, which is ‘Also called Holy Island, because of the miracles that were supposed to happen there, for the masterpieces that were supposed to happen there, for the atmosphere that still lingers there.’ (p 5)
It is a transcendent journey in a place that is almost, but not quite, cut off from reality, in a boat that sails upside down across the sky. It is an inverted voyage ‘through the astounding stars’.
The power of pictures
David Litchfield is a wonderful choice to illustrate this (almost) lost David Almond treasure. He has already produced images for several stunning jackets of David Almond books, including two of my absolute favourites, the recent masterpieces, The Colour of the Sun and Bone Music. I also much prefer his cover for the 2012 reissue of the fine story collection, Counting Stars, to the original one. In addition, he also complemented the simple but very moving text of War is Over with images that catch perfectly the affecting memories it conjures, childlike, but never childish.
Beyond David Almond’s work, David Litchfield has also created a number of deservedly acclaimed picture books, both in his own right and with others. Further, his stunning illustrations for Gregory Maguire’s delightful Cress Watercress are a very significant element of an absolutely treasurable book that does not always seem to be known as well as it deserves.
His stunning contributions to Island are another triumph. Apart from the cover, his images are entirely greyscale, but have immense impact. His simple figures, often silhouettes, are generally set against impressionistic, evocative backgrounds, displaying rich imagination, yet generously leaving much for us to imagine ourselves All are redolent with meaning and deeply sensitive to David Almond’s text. I have seen few more potent images of the island of Lindisfarne itself that that on page 5. And if it were possible to capture the essence of David Almond’s work in a single image, then I think the cover depiction of a human face melded with the topography of an island (repeated on the title page) would come pretty close. Inscape and landscape. Deep humanity grounded in particular place.
This new edition is breathtaking - and so very welcome.