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I read this about ten years ago now, and I’d completely forgotten about how much I loved it at the time. As soon as I picked it up and began reading it again I remembered why. The story of the rebirth of Skellig is a wonderful little tale; it is an allegory for the ever evolving nature of man, and how perhaps he may not have reached his full evolutionary potential. I didn’t realise this at the time when I first read because I was only ten, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Therefore, this is a book that can be enjoyed by a child reader and an adult one.

There is no end to evolution

The plot follows Michael; he is a young boy and has just moved house, and in a derelict shed in the jungles he calls a back garden he finds an unexpected friend. The man doesn’t give him his name, at first, and appears to be malnourished and homeless; he is wearing rags and eating insects; he is gruff and dismissive and he has given up on life. Nobody wants to help him, but Michael does.



He builds his strength back up on Chinese takeaway, and the man slowly begins to regain his former self, which is something quite extraordinary. He has evolved beyond that of a normal human; he has become something much, much, more: he has become something very special. He change Michaels life and his name is Skellig.

The novel is allegorical for the potential of man and alludes to what he could become if evolution is still occurring. However, despite the implicit atheist message there are some religious connotations as Skellig resembles an angel. You could look at the novel is two ways: Skellig is a man who has evolved into a more angelic form or he is an angel who is simply reborn. I’m not entirely sure which side to take. In addition to this, there are also constant William Blake references that perhaps suggest that this is Michael’s journey from innocence to experience.

“What are you?" I whispered.
He shrugged again.
"Something," he said. "Something like you, something like a beast, something like a bird, something like an angel." He laughed. "Something like that.�



Perhaps I’m reading too much into it. But, either way you look at it the result is the same: a very moving book. This is a story that will stay with me forever after others have long been forgotten.