Whilst on holiday this summer in Portugal, my two eldest nephews, Robert and Griffin, read David Almond’s The Savage at great speed and with vocal excitement !
Robert devoured the book after his evening meal and then Griffin eagerly read The Savage the very next day forsaking the pool and being late for the beach!
It was a real tribute to David Almond and his Savage that although both agreed that the book was excellent, they also disagreed in several ways about the book’s messages too.
Lively debate showed that The Savage was truly ALIVE to them!
There was definitely a real energy, a real ‘buzz’ about their appreciation of the novel and that is why I decided to ‘interview’ them to find out more about how they read The Savage and what stood out as important for them both.
The fact that they readily agreed emphasized the book’s emotional power
The Savage is certainly a novel which emboldens readers ( my Ladybridge High School teenage reading group had really enjoyed the story too-particularly the bully Hopper’s comeuppance ) , so I was very curious to hear Robert and Griffin’s opinions about the story.
In general Robert and Griffin seemed to love the book for its strange and powerful story telling, that meshes together haunting images with a very ‘strange’ perhaps magical narrative!
Robert and Griffin were kind enough to take time to discuss the book with me and their mum Meredith, and what follows is a write up of their different reactions to the story.
The first thing that both Robert and Griffin commented upon about the novel was its mixture of misspelt writing and strong images. Robert and Griffin were intrigued by the misspellings and both appreciated the way such writing made the hero and his experiences more real. It showed them genuinely that the hero Blue was young and that the story was written at a time when spelling didn’t matter!
They both admitted that though the book was a fast read, it was ‘complicated’ too.
Fast and complicated-a great combination!
The book made them feel ‘better’, and apart from the bully Hopper’s comeuppance as I have mentioned, Griff particularly enjoyed the way that Blue’s sister Jess played such an important part in the story, as she brings together the narrator Blue with the character he feels he has created through his writing, namely the Savage.
Robert by contrast loved the coming alive part of the story towards the end where Blue goes to the ruin’d chapel he feels he has created and then finds out that perhaps it has created him!
He particularly enjoyed the magical in the tale, accepting its existence and finding the magic irresistible. The idea that both characters were writing each other was most intriguing!
The flow in their discussion and the enthusiasm was palpable and proved the book’s emotional repertoire. For the book could sustain and interest two very bright and lively young boys through its daring combinations of visual and written narrative.
Griffin mentioned the smell of the Savage and the magic of the mud. They both enjoyed the images revealing the Savage’s rodeo encounter with a large pig.
It’s got meanness, bullying and death in it.
”Read this book” they suggested, ‘because then you know how people can feel”
What a great compliment!
B rilliant!!!!