Shadow Bringer by David Calcutt - Revision history

Sue at 13:07, 26 September 2020

2020-09-26T13:07:42Z

Sue at 12:50, 21 August 2020

2020-08-21T12:50:27Z

Sue at 15:15, 25 February 2018

2018-02-25T15:15:30Z

Sue at 15:22, 23 November 2014

2014-11-23T15:22:39Z

Sue at 14:21, 8 September 2012

2012-09-08T14:21:55Z

Keith at 17:22, 27 January 2010

2010-01-27T17:22:26Z

Keith: 1 revision

2009-10-24T17:32:16Z

1 revision

Jill at 10:09, 6 January 2009

2009-01-06T10:09:57Z

New review

{{infobox
|title=Shadow Bringer
|author=David Calcutt
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=A lovely piece of magic realism in which the supernatural element is a metaphor for coming to terms with loss, family crisis and growing up. It's beautifully written and will appeal particularly to fans of David Almond.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|format=Hardcover
|pages=224
|publisher=OUP Oxford
|date=February 2009
|isbn=0192728806
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192728806</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0192728806</amazonus>
}}

Nathan's not having a very good time. He doesn't want to be staying with his aunt and uncle. He doesn't like his loathsome cousin Kevin. He doesn't see why his mother needs a holiday away from him and he misses her. He also misses his father, whose absence, it seems, is likely to be permanent. And to make matters worse, Nathan can't shake the awful feeling that he's being watched. Something is out there; at the bottom of the pool in the lime pits and up in the attic at his aunt's house. It's dark, it's menacing, and terrifyingly, it seems to be growing in power, taking almost any form; smoke in the sky, a rat in the woods, a beloved pet, even, horror of horrors, a family member.

And the worst thing of all? Nathan knows he was the one to call it.

I love a bit of magic realism, and I think it's particularly apropos for children. Perhaps that's why I like David Almond so much. As they grow and mature, children are constantly outwith their experience, aren't they? And the various rites of passage - baby to child, child to adolescent, adolescent to adult - are imbued with great emotional meaning and tension. These things create a fertile ground for supernatural and spiritual elements in otherwise realistic fiction written for them.

Here, the bogeyman, the monster, is real to Nathan. It's a face that he knows, even before he sees it. And the reader can accept this, or see it as a metaphor for his coming of age and for his emotional reconciliation with the painful fact that his father has left home. His blackouts might be otherworldly, but they could also simply be a meaning he's attached to an epilepsy he doesn't want to accept. Both could be both. Either could be neither. Children feeling their way though life can identify perfectly with Nathan - and this style of writing generally. Their emotional landscape is heightened, and it wasn't so very long ago they were believing in the Tooth Fairy and Father Christmas.

It's to Calcutt's credit that he wraps up the main narrative on a positive note - in fact, it's positively uplifting - but doesn't see the need to tie up every tiny loose end. Readers can take what they want from it, what they need, even. And life is never tidy. He has a great ear for dialogue, too. His characters say more in shade than in word, and there's a wealth of recognisable and tremendously comforting familiarity in his throwaway phrases.

''Shadow Bringer'' is a lovely, lovely book. Part psychological thriller, part supernatural dream, part coming-of-age story, I'd recommend it to any thoughtful reader of books aged about ten to fourteen or so. Their parents will love it too.

My thanks to the nice people at OUP for sending the book.

The obvious further reading is [[Skellig by David Almond]] for the ultimate in magic realism, but they might also [[The Wind Tamer by P R Morrison]] or [[Cold Tom by Sally Prue]], both of which have supernatural elements.

{{amazontext|amazon=0192728806}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6308202}}

{{commenthead}}

{{comment
|name=Lynn Huggins-Cooper
|verb=said
|comment=I’d agree – this is an excellent book. May I also recommend [[Crowboy by David Calcutt|Crowboy]], by the same author? David Calcutt is a great writer- and playwright. He has transferred his skill with writing and adapting plays with spare but lyrical language to his novels. I’d recommend his work wholeheartedly.
}}

{{comment
|name=Sue
|verb=replied
|comment=We liked it too, Lynn.
}}

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ''Shadow Bringer'' is a lovely, lovely book. Part psychological thriller, part supernatural dream, part coming-of-age story, I'd recommend it to any thoughtful reader of books aged about ten to fourteen or so. Their parents will love it too.
-My thanks to the nice people at OUP for sending the book.
+My thanks to the nice people at OUP for sending the book.  We also have a review of [[The Map of Marvels by David Calcutt]].
 The obvious further reading is [[Skellig by David Almond]] for the ultimate in magic realism, but they might also [[The Wind Tamer by P R Morrison]] or [[Cold Tom by Sally Prue]], both of which have supernatural elements.  You might appreciate [[What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Maguire]] - if they're not too old for the tooth fairy!

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:21, 8 September 2012
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	\|comment=We liked it too, Lynn.		\|comment=We liked it too, Lynn.
	}}		}}
		+	[[Category:Thrillers]]

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-{{infobox
+{{infobox1
 |title=Shadow Bringer
 |author=David Calcutt
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |date=February 2009
 |isbn=0192728806
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192728806</amazonuk>
+|cover=0192728806
-|amazonus=<amazonus>0192728806</amazonus>
+|aznuk=0192728806
 }}

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |buy=Yes
 |borrow=Yes
 |pages=224
 |publisher=OUP Oxford
@@ Line 33: / Line 32: @@
 The obvious further reading is [[Skellig by David Almond]] for the ultimate in magic realism, but they might also [[The Wind Tamer by P R Morrison]] or [[Cold Tom by Sally Prue]], both of which have supernatural elements.
-{{amazontext|amazon=0192728806}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6308202}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=0192728806}}
 {{commenthead}}

← Older revision	Revision as of 17:32, 24 October 2009
(No difference)