Torch

by Jill Paton Walsh

Their parents have decided; young Cal and Dio will marry. On the wedding day, they follow the village custom of going to visit the old man who lives in the marble fields, so that he can bless their marriage. But the old man has hurt himself and is dying, and his last words reveal his secret: he was the guardian of the last Olympic torch, and now Dio must carry on in his place. And so Cal and Dio, along with a few of their friends, set out on an extraordinary journey to discover the torch's true meaning and to find its home.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens

175 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Jill Paton Walsh was born Gillian Bliss in London on April 29th, 1937. She was educated at St. Michael's Convent, North Finchley, and at St. Anne's College, Oxford. From 1959 to 1962 she taught English at Enfield Girls' Grammar School.

Jill Paton Walsh has won the Book World Festival Award, 1970, for Fireweed; the Whitbread Prize, 1974 (for a Children's novel) for The Emperor's Winding Sheet; The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1976 for Unleaving; The Universe Prize, 1984 for A Parcel of Patterns; and the Smarties Grand Prix, 1984, for Gaffer Samson's Luck.

Series:
* Imogen Quy
* Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane

Reviews

[Adrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I need to teach it to my year 9 students and it turns out that I really enjoyed it. It poses some questions that have the potential to change your outlook on life in general, especially in terms of tecnological advances. What would happen if we had nothing else to invent or create. It puts life in perspective in a sense.

This book looks at a world that has regressed due to having done everything before and ruined life as we know it because of that. The torch is of course the olympic torch, which in itself is a symbol for life in a constant state. The kids in the book are entrusted with taking the torch around the world in order to find races. In doing so they find different types of people, cultures and ways of living.

I have often read books just because they were a good story. I also love the classics. This book falls half way between both of these for me. It is a quick read but leaves you thinking. I enjoyed it alot.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was 13, and it was the first time that I had encountered the idea that the future might not always mean forward progress, that there may be a limit to how far humanity can go before we regress. This really, really got inside my head, and to some extent it has changed how I view the future.

For the past 6 years I have been searching for this book, unable to recall the title or author. Now I've finally connected the story I remember with this book, and am the happy owner of a copy. It's like having a piece of my history back.

[Heather Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I remembered reading as a child over 25 years ago, but had no recollection of finishing it, so I assumed I didn't. I have thought about it on and off since then and the Olympics this year reminded me of it and so I sought it out.

The prose is interesting and engaging. I had forgotten it was set in a postapocalytpic future and had it pegged as an historic novel.

I was glad I found it and glad to finish it although it didn't finish as expected which I loved about it.