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بندبازان
داستان زندگي دو نوجوان كه با هم كودكي ميكنند؛ بندبازي ميكنند؛ بزرگ ميشوند؛ جدا ميشوند و تاريكيهايي را تجربه ميكنند... بايد ديد كه آيا دوباره در مسير زندگي با هم روبرو ميشوند؟
335 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2014
32 people are currently reading
2113 people want to read
About the author
David Almond
121 books823 followersDavid Almond is a British children's writer who has penned several novels, each one to critical acclaim. He was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia. When he was young, he found his love of writing when some short stories of his were published in a local magazine. He started out as an author of adult fiction before finding his niche writing literature for young adults.
His first children's novel, Skellig (1998), set in Newcastle, won the Whitbread Children's Novel of the Year Award and also the Carnegie Medal. His subsequent novels are: Kit's Wilderness (1999), Heaven Eyes (2000), Secret Heart (2001), The Fire Eaters (2003) and Clay (2005). His first play aimed at adolescents, Wild Girl, Wild Boy, toured in 2001 and was published in 2002.
His works are highly philosophical and thus appeal to children and adults alike. Recurring themes throughout include the complex relationships between apparent opposites (such as life and death, reality and fiction, past and future); forms of education; growing up and adapting to change; the nature of 'the self'. He has been greatly influenced by the works of the English Romantic poet William Blake.
He is an author often suggested on National Curriculum reading lists in the United Kingdom and has attracted the attention of academics who specialise in the study of children's literature.
Almond currently lives with his family in Northumberland, England.
Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2010).
His first children's novel, Skellig (1998), set in Newcastle, won the Whitbread Children's Novel of the Year Award and also the Carnegie Medal. His subsequent novels are: Kit's Wilderness (1999), Heaven Eyes (2000), Secret Heart (2001), The Fire Eaters (2003) and Clay (2005). His first play aimed at adolescents, Wild Girl, Wild Boy, toured in 2001 and was published in 2002.
His works are highly philosophical and thus appeal to children and adults alike. Recurring themes throughout include the complex relationships between apparent opposites (such as life and death, reality and fiction, past and future); forms of education; growing up and adapting to change; the nature of 'the self'. He has been greatly influenced by the works of the English Romantic poet William Blake.
He is an author often suggested on National Curriculum reading lists in the United Kingdom and has attracted the attention of academics who specialise in the study of children's literature.
Almond currently lives with his family in Northumberland, England.
Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2010).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 178 reviews
June 1, 2015
Sometimes you pick up a book, and the language doesn’t just draw you in... it knocks you over completely. The Tightrope Walkers is one of those books. Told partially in Northern English dialect, the words roll over you until suddenly you’ve completely convinced yourself that you could do the accent perfectly, (you try it out later on your friends to find that you can’t). As the narrator says:
I loved the way the words moved in the air, the way they set up such rhythms and disturbances in my body and brain. And I loved the silence afterwards, in which the words continued.
The story is about Dominic Hall, the son of a ship corker. As Dominic grows from a child into a man he’s torn between the many worlds the people in his life represent. The hardworking world of his father. The rough and violent world of his friend Vincent McAlinden. The world of poetry and music shown to him by Holly Stroud, the girl next door. With its beautiful language, constantly surprising characterizations, and wonderfully realized world, The Tightrope Walkers is an absolute must-read.
“Words,” he breathed to us all. “Words words words. Ha!
I loved the way the words moved in the air, the way they set up such rhythms and disturbances in my body and brain. And I loved the silence afterwards, in which the words continued.
The story is about Dominic Hall, the son of a ship corker. As Dominic grows from a child into a man he’s torn between the many worlds the people in his life represent. The hardworking world of his father. The rough and violent world of his friend Vincent McAlinden. The world of poetry and music shown to him by Holly Stroud, the girl next door. With its beautiful language, constantly surprising characterizations, and wonderfully realized world, The Tightrope Walkers is an absolute must-read.
“Words,” he breathed to us all. “Words words words. Ha!
March 4, 2017
"I was born in a hovel on the banks of the Tyne, as so many of us were back then."
This is the second novel that I've read by David Almond, and also his second novel for adult readers. The first one which I read by him was Kit's Wilderness, which was a beautifully written coming of age story with suggestions of fantasy set in northern England. Despite being marketed for younger audiences, I thought that the book can and should be read by adults as well - I have truly enjoyed it and went into The Tightrope Walkers with high expectations.
Interestingly enough this is actually the book via which I discovered David Almond. I have read about it in The Guardian, where another author (can't remember the name) mentioned it as an example of a novel in which the prose really stood out, and the language conveyed the essence of time and place, meaning the English northeast. The novel was highly praised for its achievement in this regard and I intended to read it first, but then I discovered Kit's Wilderness which stole my attention - and made me even more eager to read this book.
Like Kit's Wilderness, The Tightrope Walkers is also set in the town of Tyneside in northern England, also based on the author's hometown of Newcastle. The book is also a bildungsroman, though in this case the suggestion of fantasy and supernatural is entirely absent. The story is concerned with and narrated by Dominic Hall, a young boy who grows up in a new housing estate in a city dominated by shipbuilding: his father is a shipyard worker, and most of his neighbor's work in the shipyards in one form of another. Dominic's family lives a rather modest existence, and the children of the estate struggle to find moments of happiness by playing together and having dreams: Dominic dreams of becoming a writer. He becomes friends with Holly Stroud, a draughtsman's daughter who also dreams of a different life, and wants them both to learn to walk on a tightrope. But there's another figure which begins to influence Dominic's life and choices: the mysterious and brooding bully, Vincent McAlinden, who possesses a dark charisma to which Dominic is growing more and more attracted to, despite not being able to understand it.
The tightrope is, of course, a metaphor for the situation in which Dominic finds himself in - he must carefully walk between two major influences which aim to shape his character. Throughout the novel Dominic literally and figuratively walks on this tightrope, trying to maintain his balance and not suffer a painful fall. The choices are pretty clear: Holly is the light: innocent, hopeful and dreamy, whereas Vincent is the dark: brooding, scary and cruel. Besides their morality, there's also another aspect to these two characters: they represent two different social classes. Holly's father is a draughtsman, who can afford good wine and whose daughter can afford to have dreams, whereas McAlinden comes from a very poor, broken and downtrodden family which is struggling to survive. As Dominic struggles with the nature of his own self and the forces that shape it, I felt that similar interest could have been given to the characters of McAlinden and Holly to see how their surrounding and social conditions have shaped them. But this never really happens: we are introduced to the characters are they are, and their backgrounds are presented to us but without much analysis of issues that affect them. The class issue is there, but it's in the background, and the book never really does anything with it - though maybe it never aimed to do that in the first place.
As mentioned, the language if full of local dialect which works very well in conveying the sense of the setting and time: a run-down post-war English town, where most of the people are blue-collar industry workers and from which few manage to escape, and have to remain under the grey skies and live in the soot-laden housing estates throughout all their lives. While many undoubtedly dream big, only few manage to actually live big and live out their dreams.
The setting is grim, and so can be the book. Dominic undergoes major changes in character throughout the book, but these changes are often so sudden and - truth be told - unconvincing, that they are hard to believe. This is especially evident in the ending, which I found to be rather unexpected and disappointing:
To sum up: this is in no way a terrible book, or even a bad book. However, after Kit's Wilderness my expectations were set high, and in this case they were not completely met; I don't think The Tightrope Walkers is as memorable as its predecessor, though I dearly wanted it to be. It is a well-written and engaging book, full of local lingo and atmosphere, but ultimately did not become thought-provoking and even as memorable as its predecessor.
This is the second novel that I've read by David Almond, and also his second novel for adult readers. The first one which I read by him was Kit's Wilderness, which was a beautifully written coming of age story with suggestions of fantasy set in northern England. Despite being marketed for younger audiences, I thought that the book can and should be read by adults as well - I have truly enjoyed it and went into The Tightrope Walkers with high expectations.
Interestingly enough this is actually the book via which I discovered David Almond. I have read about it in The Guardian, where another author (can't remember the name) mentioned it as an example of a novel in which the prose really stood out, and the language conveyed the essence of time and place, meaning the English northeast. The novel was highly praised for its achievement in this regard and I intended to read it first, but then I discovered Kit's Wilderness which stole my attention - and made me even more eager to read this book.
Like Kit's Wilderness, The Tightrope Walkers is also set in the town of Tyneside in northern England, also based on the author's hometown of Newcastle. The book is also a bildungsroman, though in this case the suggestion of fantasy and supernatural is entirely absent. The story is concerned with and narrated by Dominic Hall, a young boy who grows up in a new housing estate in a city dominated by shipbuilding: his father is a shipyard worker, and most of his neighbor's work in the shipyards in one form of another. Dominic's family lives a rather modest existence, and the children of the estate struggle to find moments of happiness by playing together and having dreams: Dominic dreams of becoming a writer. He becomes friends with Holly Stroud, a draughtsman's daughter who also dreams of a different life, and wants them both to learn to walk on a tightrope. But there's another figure which begins to influence Dominic's life and choices: the mysterious and brooding bully, Vincent McAlinden, who possesses a dark charisma to which Dominic is growing more and more attracted to, despite not being able to understand it.
The tightrope is, of course, a metaphor for the situation in which Dominic finds himself in - he must carefully walk between two major influences which aim to shape his character. Throughout the novel Dominic literally and figuratively walks on this tightrope, trying to maintain his balance and not suffer a painful fall. The choices are pretty clear: Holly is the light: innocent, hopeful and dreamy, whereas Vincent is the dark: brooding, scary and cruel. Besides their morality, there's also another aspect to these two characters: they represent two different social classes. Holly's father is a draughtsman, who can afford good wine and whose daughter can afford to have dreams, whereas McAlinden comes from a very poor, broken and downtrodden family which is struggling to survive. As Dominic struggles with the nature of his own self and the forces that shape it, I felt that similar interest could have been given to the characters of McAlinden and Holly to see how their surrounding and social conditions have shaped them. But this never really happens: we are introduced to the characters are they are, and their backgrounds are presented to us but without much analysis of issues that affect them. The class issue is there, but it's in the background, and the book never really does anything with it - though maybe it never aimed to do that in the first place.
As mentioned, the language if full of local dialect which works very well in conveying the sense of the setting and time: a run-down post-war English town, where most of the people are blue-collar industry workers and from which few manage to escape, and have to remain under the grey skies and live in the soot-laden housing estates throughout all their lives. While many undoubtedly dream big, only few manage to actually live big and live out their dreams.
The setting is grim, and so can be the book. Dominic undergoes major changes in character throughout the book, but these changes are often so sudden and - truth be told - unconvincing, that they are hard to believe. This is especially evident in the ending, which I found to be rather unexpected and disappointing:
To sum up: this is in no way a terrible book, or even a bad book. However, after Kit's Wilderness my expectations were set high, and in this case they were not completely met; I don't think The Tightrope Walkers is as memorable as its predecessor, though I dearly wanted it to be. It is a well-written and engaging book, full of local lingo and atmosphere, but ultimately did not become thought-provoking and even as memorable as its predecessor.
June 30, 2014
This is one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long while. Set in the 1960s on the Tyne, it is the story of Dominic and Holly. Brought up on a brand new housing estate they have been best friends since the age of five. They come from different backgrounds, Dominic being the son of a born and bred working class shipyard worker, as was his grandfather. Holly is the daughter of a draughtsman at the shipyard. Despite this, they are soul mates. However, Dominic is constantly tempted away from Holly by his friendship with local bad boy Vincent Macalinden. If he stays loyal to Holly the world could be his oyster with grammar school and university in the offing. If he sticks with the charismatic Vincent, then it is a life of crime, violence and probably jail. As he journeys through his adolescence, Dominic constantly feels as if he is walking a symbolic tightrope in real life, as well as the tightrope strung up across the garden which he and Holly spent so long learning how to walk.
The writing is at time witty, but also very poetic and vivid. As I was reading I could almost see the story unfolding before me, as if I was watching a film. I loved most of the characters, even Vincent, as they were so well drawn, they felt real and natural. I say “most” of the characters – because there was one particular teacher who I really, really would have liked to take the cane to myself! I loved the way the estate aged over the story, from being brand new and spanking at the start of the story to the pebbledash walls beginning to crumble at the end; it was little details like that, that just made me gasp a little, especially when I thought of the brand new tower blocks being built at the end of the book. It is a story that has something of everything in it, at times quirky and charming, sad and poignant but at others quite savage.
There are so many books in the world to be read, but this is definitely one of the few that I will keep and re-read. Highly recommended. I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway Competition – thanks to the publisher for a real treat of a read.
The writing is at time witty, but also very poetic and vivid. As I was reading I could almost see the story unfolding before me, as if I was watching a film. I loved most of the characters, even Vincent, as they were so well drawn, they felt real and natural. I say “most” of the characters – because there was one particular teacher who I really, really would have liked to take the cane to myself! I loved the way the estate aged over the story, from being brand new and spanking at the start of the story to the pebbledash walls beginning to crumble at the end; it was little details like that, that just made me gasp a little, especially when I thought of the brand new tower blocks being built at the end of the book. It is a story that has something of everything in it, at times quirky and charming, sad and poignant but at others quite savage.
There are so many books in the world to be read, but this is definitely one of the few that I will keep and re-read. Highly recommended. I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway Competition – thanks to the publisher for a real treat of a read.
December 29, 2016
maybe 4.5??? i don't know, putting a number rating on this book feels trivial and tedious??
this book was a total surprise. over the summer i visited NYC, my favorite place in the world, and went to the Strand bookstore for the first time ever, my new favorite place inside my favorite place in the world. i wanted to buy a book i had never heard of before and this was the one i grabbed off the shelves and carried home with me.
the writing in this book captured me immediately. when you look at it one sentence at a time it doesn't seem to be anything too special but when it's all strung together it quietly yet quickly creates such a strong atmosphere. the story takes place in the north of England and the writing felt like a cloudy, harsh, cold place. i felt the north in the words of the narrative; i've never been there, but i felt it. that alone is incredible. and it's so timeless, too. it was hard to gauge when this story takes place; it felt like it could have been any time at all, could have happened at any point in history. slowly throughout the book little clues are given and by the end you have an idea, but the first 3/4 felt completely suspended in time.
i thought the magical, atmospheric writing was my favorite part of this book but it was really how it was completely character driven, which is not common in YA (i guess you would call this YA, i don't know, i find labels like that really trivial now, too). yes, it is set up that Main Character Dominic is from the north, his father's job is building ships, his town is grungy, and he's being pulled between a violent boy and a ethereal girl who both shape his life in drastic ways. but that's...it. there's no real central conflict; it's just Dom's life and how he shifts and changes as he grows and how these two kids impact his life in very different ways. i guess it's about how we control our growth in some ways but we also control who we let into our lives and they affect how we grow, too. and how we can have certain paths in our life, ways we're destined to be, ways we want to be, paths we mean to carve for ourselves but we never really know if we'll go down them or not. everything depends on everything and nothing.
this was a quiet story. Dominic doesn't save the world, he doesn't leave the country--hell, he barely leaves his town--, but he lived and that matters in itself.
this book was a total surprise. over the summer i visited NYC, my favorite place in the world, and went to the Strand bookstore for the first time ever, my new favorite place inside my favorite place in the world. i wanted to buy a book i had never heard of before and this was the one i grabbed off the shelves and carried home with me.
the writing in this book captured me immediately. when you look at it one sentence at a time it doesn't seem to be anything too special but when it's all strung together it quietly yet quickly creates such a strong atmosphere. the story takes place in the north of England and the writing felt like a cloudy, harsh, cold place. i felt the north in the words of the narrative; i've never been there, but i felt it. that alone is incredible. and it's so timeless, too. it was hard to gauge when this story takes place; it felt like it could have been any time at all, could have happened at any point in history. slowly throughout the book little clues are given and by the end you have an idea, but the first 3/4 felt completely suspended in time.
i thought the magical, atmospheric writing was my favorite part of this book but it was really how it was completely character driven, which is not common in YA (i guess you would call this YA, i don't know, i find labels like that really trivial now, too). yes, it is set up that Main Character Dominic is from the north, his father's job is building ships, his town is grungy, and he's being pulled between a violent boy and a ethereal girl who both shape his life in drastic ways. but that's...it. there's no real central conflict; it's just Dom's life and how he shifts and changes as he grows and how these two kids impact his life in very different ways. i guess it's about how we control our growth in some ways but we also control who we let into our lives and they affect how we grow, too. and how we can have certain paths in our life, ways we're destined to be, ways we want to be, paths we mean to carve for ourselves but we never really know if we'll go down them or not. everything depends on everything and nothing.
this was a quiet story. Dominic doesn't save the world, he doesn't leave the country--hell, he barely leaves his town--, but he lived and that matters in itself.
January 26, 2016
This is the type of book I normally love, but I found it way too dark, violent and lacking in hope. For one thing, I didn't believe the extreme changes that took place in Dominic's personality over such a short period of time, especially with a lack of impetus. It would have been much more believable had these changes taken place later in Dominic's life, after having undergone a bit of trauma. Anyway, after the first few chapters, I didn't much care for the characters and wasn't invested in what happened to them.
July 30, 2023
به خودم اومدم و دیدم یه بار دیگه با دوم و هال و وینسنت توی محلهی ملاط و سنگریزه زندگی کردم. برای بار دوم با اعماق وجودم حسشون کردم. بزرگ شدنشون رو دیدم. و باهاشون به سرزمین دور و ناشناخته سفر کردم. درکنارشون رهایی، غم، حسرت، انزجار و و شادی رو تجربه کردم و حالا میدونم کار کردن توی کشتی و ادامه دادن میراث خانوادگی یعنی چی، شاگرد اول و درعینحال سیگاری و دزد بودن، جنگیدن با گوشت و پوست و استخوون، و بندبازی یعنی چی. حالا اونقدر بهشون نزدیک هستم که بگم اینها بچههای منن.
و مختصر و مفید باید بگم لعنت بهت آلموند. لعنت بهت که هر چی بیشتر ازت میخونم بیشتر عاشق مغز کثیفت میشم، مرد.
پ.ن: من از نوشتن درمورد چیزهایی که دوستشون دارم عاجزم. (هرچند که کلا از نوشتن عاجزم. و هرچی میگذره با کلمات غریبتر میشم.) و برای همین فکر میکنم هیچوقت نمیتونم از ارزش واقعی این کتاب در قلبم بنویسم. اما شما بدانید و آگاه باشید که آلموند شاید برای همه نباشه اما برای کسایی که سبکش رو میپسندن مثل معجزه میمونه.
و مختصر و مفید باید بگم لعنت بهت آلموند. لعنت بهت که هر چی بیشتر ازت میخونم بیشتر عاشق مغز کثیفت میشم، مرد.
پ.ن: من از نوشتن درمورد چیزهایی که دوستشون دارم عاجزم. (هرچند که کلا از نوشتن عاجزم. و هرچی میگذره با کلمات غریبتر میشم.) و برای همین فکر میکنم هیچوقت نمیتونم از ارزش واقعی این کتاب در قلبم بنویسم. اما شما بدانید و آگاه باشید که آلموند شاید برای همه نباشه اما برای کسایی که سبکش رو میپسندن مثل معجزه میمونه.
January 28, 2016
This is one of the most beautiful lyrical books I have ever read. It grabbed me from page one and never let go. It's also the best kind of beautiful to me, with so much of the beauty crumbling and still so much that is still beautiful. And it's not even cheesy!!!
April 18, 2015
Now this was interesting--I read this along with The Ghosts of Heaven for my book club, and was really looking forward to The Ghosts of Heaven because I had loved Midwinterblood by Sedgwick, while this book I was more cautious about since I had read Almond's Skellig and hadn't cared for it at all. Yet I ended up feeling kinda mixed about TGoH and really enjoyed The Tightrope Walkers.
I think the lack of magical realism in this, unlike Skellig, was a part of it, although the Jack character really reminded me of the character Skellig. But I also loved Almond's writing and was surprised how quickly I read the book. When I would read, I felt I was in Tyneside; I could almost smell the shipyard. I came to care for each of the characters, even Vincent McAlinden.
The part that really struck a chord with me was when his mom becomes ill.
What kept me from giving this five stars was the ending.
I think the lack of magical realism in this, unlike Skellig, was a part of it, although the Jack character really reminded me of the character Skellig. But I also loved Almond's writing and was surprised how quickly I read the book. When I would read, I felt I was in Tyneside; I could almost smell the shipyard. I came to care for each of the characters, even Vincent McAlinden.
The part that really struck a chord with me was when his mom becomes ill.
What kept me from giving this five stars was the ending.
July 14, 2014
I won this book in a giveaway from Goodreads/ Penguin.
This was a really beautiful book and I have to say probably now my favourite David Almond title.
The book was fairly bleak at times, and very shocking. There were some moments when I had to stop reading just to take in what had just happened. I felt myself sure that Dominic would turn himself around and not take the dark path and ….sometimes it didn’t work out how I would have liked!
I really believed in the relationship between Holly and Dominic, and I also really liked the relationship between him and his dad. I feel that Almond painted a picture of a father-son dynamic where neither person knew how to communicate with the other; something which really rings true for me.
On the whole, the bleak parts were out-weighed by the beautiful writing (although I did really struggle with Vincent’s final act of destruction). I would really recommend this book, although perhaps only to my older students as I don’t think younger students would find sixties Tyneside that appealing.
This was a really beautiful book and I have to say probably now my favourite David Almond title.
The book was fairly bleak at times, and very shocking. There were some moments when I had to stop reading just to take in what had just happened. I felt myself sure that Dominic would turn himself around and not take the dark path and ….sometimes it didn’t work out how I would have liked!
I really believed in the relationship between Holly and Dominic, and I also really liked the relationship between him and his dad. I feel that Almond painted a picture of a father-son dynamic where neither person knew how to communicate with the other; something which really rings true for me.
On the whole, the bleak parts were out-weighed by the beautiful writing (although I did really struggle with Vincent’s final act of destruction). I would really recommend this book, although perhaps only to my older students as I don’t think younger students would find sixties Tyneside that appealing.
April 27, 2015
David Almond is one of my favorite authors. Not one of "my favorite YA authors." One my favorites, period.
His language -- rich, resonant, musical with a bass-note depth and sonority -- his characters -- dark, compelling, complicated, appealing and repelling -- his sense of place -- evocative, vivid, an elemental part of each story -- and his stories that balance hope and foreboding are among my favorites.
He is a true master.
That said, I found this a little disappointing. After a very strong start where Almond had all of his talent on display and perfectly deployed, the story lost its way at the end when things got a little rushed, the tight focus on the romantic triangle got hazy, and things just sort of drizzled to an ending.
Now, with THAT said, this book is still better than a good 85% of what is out there. And for those who love Almond, you find here the same qualities and brilliance that draw you to all of his work.
His language -- rich, resonant, musical with a bass-note depth and sonority -- his characters -- dark, compelling, complicated, appealing and repelling -- his sense of place -- evocative, vivid, an elemental part of each story -- and his stories that balance hope and foreboding are among my favorites.
He is a true master.
That said, I found this a little disappointing. After a very strong start where Almond had all of his talent on display and perfectly deployed, the story lost its way at the end when things got a little rushed, the tight focus on the romantic triangle got hazy, and things just sort of drizzled to an ending.
Now, with THAT said, this book is still better than a good 85% of what is out there. And for those who love Almond, you find here the same qualities and brilliance that draw you to all of his work.
October 31, 2015
Beautiful writing. A coming of age story in England just after WWII complete with some not so happy moments. But...there's that beautiful writing!
April 22, 2015
Dominic Hall and Holly Stroud have been connected since they were very young and lived across the street from one another in a town in the North of England by the Tyne River. As five year old Dom and Holly were walking on garden walls, Dom was hit by a stone thrown by the new boy in town, Vincent McAlinden and that’s where the story really begins. Vincent who is three years older than Dom, lived in “the lower wasteland,” “squatted in holes in the dirt by smouldering fires. He wore a sheath knife at his waist. He smoked, he spat and snarled.”
Their walking on walls advances to homemade tightropes after a visit to the circus and later to wire ones that Holly’s father gets from work . It also becomes a metaphor for their dreams of walking in air as well as the balancing act Dom has to make of his life. As Dom and Holly excell at primary school, other boys are hit with mis McKane's cane and Vincent is always on the edge of their lives causing trouble. In primary school Dom watches as another boy falls under Vincent’s bullying allure. When Dom and Holly graduate and move on to high school, Dom feels out of place. He is a caulker’s son and grandson of a tank cleaner while many of the others are sons and daughters of office workers, doctors and teachers. Dom wants to be a tightrope walker, to read and wander, to go far but heis is conflicted and also wants to be hard like Vincent . His bitter father is frightened by his potential and tells him “never forget where you come from.” .
In high school he starts to hang out with Vincent McAlinden and changes into a brutish thing. His father welcomes this new friendship. When Vincent shows up at his house with an air gun, he encourages Dom to go with Vincent. He thinks Dom needs toughening up. Vincent takes Dom out shooting animals for the thrill of it, they curse, smoke and drink, they fight with knives and soon Vincent teaches him to steal. Their relationship is intense as Vincent is something of a psychopath. Their friendship is broken quickly when their actions come to the awareness of the police, but McAlinden enters their lives again with devastating consequences when Dom and Holly are about to take their University entrance exams.
The struggle inside Dom between becoming a writer or staying in his hometown and working in the shipyards is central. Almond used the Geordie dialect of the Newcastle Tyneside region to write this book and the sense of place is deep. Listening to the audiobook narrated by Richard Halverson was a wonderful experience.
Almond's writing is very sensual. You smell the shipyard, hear the noises and see the grime. You can hear the thrashing of the cane on students' hands in primary school. The setting in the fifties through the late sixties is clear with references to bands and poets. The characters are clear as well. There is a mute wanderer Tom, who lives in a mining hole where he has painted images, and who seems to watch over Holly and Dom. There are supportive teachers and their fathers are well drawn. Holly’s is very encouraging of her artistic and academic talents while Dom’s takes longer, but eventually begins to see that Dom needs to move on.
This is a terrific book that absolutely grabs you with its rawness and beauty. I believe it may have been published for adults in the UK while in the US it was published for young adults.
Their walking on walls advances to homemade tightropes after a visit to the circus and later to wire ones that Holly’s father gets from work . It also becomes a metaphor for their dreams of walking in air as well as the balancing act Dom has to make of his life. As Dom and Holly excell at primary school, other boys are hit with mis McKane's cane and Vincent is always on the edge of their lives causing trouble. In primary school Dom watches as another boy falls under Vincent’s bullying allure. When Dom and Holly graduate and move on to high school, Dom feels out of place. He is a caulker’s son and grandson of a tank cleaner while many of the others are sons and daughters of office workers, doctors and teachers. Dom wants to be a tightrope walker, to read and wander, to go far but heis is conflicted and also wants to be hard like Vincent . His bitter father is frightened by his potential and tells him “never forget where you come from.” .
In high school he starts to hang out with Vincent McAlinden and changes into a brutish thing. His father welcomes this new friendship. When Vincent shows up at his house with an air gun, he encourages Dom to go with Vincent. He thinks Dom needs toughening up. Vincent takes Dom out shooting animals for the thrill of it, they curse, smoke and drink, they fight with knives and soon Vincent teaches him to steal. Their relationship is intense as Vincent is something of a psychopath. Their friendship is broken quickly when their actions come to the awareness of the police, but McAlinden enters their lives again with devastating consequences when Dom and Holly are about to take their University entrance exams.
The struggle inside Dom between becoming a writer or staying in his hometown and working in the shipyards is central. Almond used the Geordie dialect of the Newcastle Tyneside region to write this book and the sense of place is deep. Listening to the audiobook narrated by Richard Halverson was a wonderful experience.
Almond's writing is very sensual. You smell the shipyard, hear the noises and see the grime. You can hear the thrashing of the cane on students' hands in primary school. The setting in the fifties through the late sixties is clear with references to bands and poets. The characters are clear as well. There is a mute wanderer Tom, who lives in a mining hole where he has painted images, and who seems to watch over Holly and Dom. There are supportive teachers and their fathers are well drawn. Holly’s is very encouraging of her artistic and academic talents while Dom’s takes longer, but eventually begins to see that Dom needs to move on.
This is a terrific book that absolutely grabs you with its rawness and beauty. I believe it may have been published for adults in the UK while in the US it was published for young adults.
July 16, 2014
NOTES: I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads programme and this review is also littered with spoilers
Before reading The Tightrope Walkers my sole knowledge of David Almond was derived from posters recommending his children's book Skellig which I'd seen on many of the classroom walls I've passed through in the eighteen years of my life. Besides that I went into this blind (besides a summary glance at the blurb of course) and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. The coming-of age-story set in a downtrodden area of the north could have been oh-so-grim, but Almond's ability to contrast the surroundings with his characters imaginations made this an evocative read.
As a person who always appreciates the nice, cheery, happy parts of novels, it was Dominic and Holly's friendship which really stood out from this story for me. Their earnest practise on their homemade tightrope reminded me of the many summers I spend trying to perfect my own acrobatic manoeuvres in the back garden, and the escapism they managed to find from their troubles within their relationship - once Dom had left McAlinden behind that is - brightened their hard surroundings. At the most joyful points they seemed to live almost in a world of illusion, far away from the harsh realities of work for their parents, though Dom's simultaneous pull towards this is also a clear driving force in the novel.
The ending of this novel was unpleasant for me in two ways; one which was clearly intended and the other a simple disappointment in where I had wanted the characters to go. McAlinden's torture and rape of Dom and Holly respectively pierces their idealistic bubble which I had so enjoyed, and seem unexpected despite the clear warnings and hints of McAlinden's violent tendencies beforehand. But their final "happiness", their giving up of their university dreams and how easily they settle back into the life they longed to escape just frustrated me. I'm sure my own prejudices about what is desirable and worthwhile come into play here, but I had been waiting for the triumphant step of these two brave, bright young people in the world, ready to take on university and the rest of society in its turn. I was ready for adventures and the ecstasy of finally experiencing freedom. But instead they stayed put, had their child, and postponed their futures. Maybe I'm being harsh - in fact I almost definitely am - but that just wasn't the life I wanted for Dom and Holly after the tribulations of their childhoods.
This is a beautifully written story, engaging and thought provoking, but ultimately failing at the last moment to be truly satisfying. Still, it's definitely worth a read.
Before reading The Tightrope Walkers my sole knowledge of David Almond was derived from posters recommending his children's book Skellig which I'd seen on many of the classroom walls I've passed through in the eighteen years of my life. Besides that I went into this blind (besides a summary glance at the blurb of course) and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. The coming-of age-story set in a downtrodden area of the north could have been oh-so-grim, but Almond's ability to contrast the surroundings with his characters imaginations made this an evocative read.
As a person who always appreciates the nice, cheery, happy parts of novels, it was Dominic and Holly's friendship which really stood out from this story for me. Their earnest practise on their homemade tightrope reminded me of the many summers I spend trying to perfect my own acrobatic manoeuvres in the back garden, and the escapism they managed to find from their troubles within their relationship - once Dom had left McAlinden behind that is - brightened their hard surroundings. At the most joyful points they seemed to live almost in a world of illusion, far away from the harsh realities of work for their parents, though Dom's simultaneous pull towards this is also a clear driving force in the novel.
The ending of this novel was unpleasant for me in two ways; one which was clearly intended and the other a simple disappointment in where I had wanted the characters to go. McAlinden's torture and rape of Dom and Holly respectively pierces their idealistic bubble which I had so enjoyed, and seem unexpected despite the clear warnings and hints of McAlinden's violent tendencies beforehand. But their final "happiness", their giving up of their university dreams and how easily they settle back into the life they longed to escape just frustrated me. I'm sure my own prejudices about what is desirable and worthwhile come into play here, but I had been waiting for the triumphant step of these two brave, bright young people in the world, ready to take on university and the rest of society in its turn. I was ready for adventures and the ecstasy of finally experiencing freedom. But instead they stayed put, had their child, and postponed their futures. Maybe I'm being harsh - in fact I almost definitely am - but that just wasn't the life I wanted for Dom and Holly after the tribulations of their childhoods.
This is a beautifully written story, engaging and thought provoking, but ultimately failing at the last moment to be truly satisfying. Still, it's definitely worth a read.
July 13, 2015
I lovelovelove David Almond. Ever since I listened to the audiobook for THE FIRE EATERS, I've been hooked. He's one of the only authors that I've read almost his entire library (I'm only a missing a few of his illustrated books). With that out of the way... here goes.
I worried about this at first. Given the title--and the fact that I never actually read the blurb / summary of any of the books I read--I worried that this was going to be tread familiar ground for Almond: circuses and strongmen and timid protagonists with pixie-like best friends and violent neighborhood kids. I was afraid that I'd be reading more of the same. However, while it has all of the aforementioned things, this feels like a culmination of his work rather than a rehash, as if everything he's been writing before was to simply prepare him for THIS novel.
In short, I loved it. It's not for kids, young adults perhaps, but definitely not the middle-grade realm his books are often grouped with. It's much more adult in its content and themes, which was quite wonderful, actually, as it seemed to free him up even further with his use of language, and--holy crap--is it gorgeous. I'll read anything he writes just for the writing. I envy his writing. I'm so jealous it hurts.
I could keep raving about the vivid characters--especially Dominic's father--and language and moments so heartbreaking they make you cry, but I won't. I'll simply say this: If you haven't read Almond, you should, and this is a great place to start (though it might ruin / make the earlier work feel simpler by comparison). And if you have read his work, you'll enjoy this one--as long as you're up for content that is much rawer and not-too-kid-friendly.
I worried about this at first. Given the title--and the fact that I never actually read the blurb / summary of any of the books I read--I worried that this was going to be tread familiar ground for Almond: circuses and strongmen and timid protagonists with pixie-like best friends and violent neighborhood kids. I was afraid that I'd be reading more of the same. However, while it has all of the aforementioned things, this feels like a culmination of his work rather than a rehash, as if everything he's been writing before was to simply prepare him for THIS novel.
In short, I loved it. It's not for kids, young adults perhaps, but definitely not the middle-grade realm his books are often grouped with. It's much more adult in its content and themes, which was quite wonderful, actually, as it seemed to free him up even further with his use of language, and--holy crap--is it gorgeous. I'll read anything he writes just for the writing. I envy his writing. I'm so jealous it hurts.
I could keep raving about the vivid characters--especially Dominic's father--and language and moments so heartbreaking they make you cry, but I won't. I'll simply say this: If you haven't read Almond, you should, and this is a great place to start (though it might ruin / make the earlier work feel simpler by comparison). And if you have read his work, you'll enjoy this one--as long as you're up for content that is much rawer and not-too-kid-friendly.
October 13, 2014
I have read and loved all of David Almond's work from the time I read the newly published Skellig. The tightrope walkers is published as an adult title and is in many ways a more conventional narrative than his teenage titles, the most ambitious of which is The true tale of the monster Billy Dean.
David Almond confronts the dark side of humanity with compassion, empathy and hope.
In The tightrope walkers the young Dominic and Holly have the opportunity and intelligence to be the first of their Tyneside shipbuilding families to go to university but as their lives progress they are both influenced by dark forces of the community and culture to which they are born.
The story emphasises the restraints of this heritage more than David Almond's younger titles can and yet Dominic and Holly choose family and the nurturing instincts of humanity above academia and cold intellectualism. They choose not to escape even though they have the means to escape.
The Emily Dickinson quotation in the book is apposite… "Hope is the thing with feathers…"
The most tragic character in this tale could not see hope.
David Almond confronts the dark side of humanity with compassion, empathy and hope.
In The tightrope walkers the young Dominic and Holly have the opportunity and intelligence to be the first of their Tyneside shipbuilding families to go to university but as their lives progress they are both influenced by dark forces of the community and culture to which they are born.
The story emphasises the restraints of this heritage more than David Almond's younger titles can and yet Dominic and Holly choose family and the nurturing instincts of humanity above academia and cold intellectualism. They choose not to escape even though they have the means to escape.
The Emily Dickinson quotation in the book is apposite… "Hope is the thing with feathers…"
The most tragic character in this tale could not see hope.
November 29, 2015
Dominic Hall is a boy, growing up, on the edges of a shipyard, on the northern coast of England. His father, toils in that shipyard and like many of the working class, of that era, ('60s) barely keeps his family afloat.
Dominic makes friends with a smart and gifted girl, named Holly and they make an instant bond. She dreams of being a tightrope walker and is a stable presence for Dominic, giving him focus and hope. Unfortunately, he also is drawn to the local bad boy, Vincent McAlinden, who begins to take Dom, down a much darker path, leaving Holly farther and farther behind. This edgy triangle, is the heart of the tale.
This coming of age story, really grew on me, as it went along and I was swept along with these young lives. Almond based some of this on his own childhood experiences and he really evokes a perfect sense of time and place.
Dominic makes friends with a smart and gifted girl, named Holly and they make an instant bond. She dreams of being a tightrope walker and is a stable presence for Dominic, giving him focus and hope. Unfortunately, he also is drawn to the local bad boy, Vincent McAlinden, who begins to take Dom, down a much darker path, leaving Holly farther and farther behind. This edgy triangle, is the heart of the tale.
This coming of age story, really grew on me, as it went along and I was swept along with these young lives. Almond based some of this on his own childhood experiences and he really evokes a perfect sense of time and place.
May 2, 2018
This adult novel by David Almond drew me in and kept me reading late into the night. I love the characters, even the very bad ones, and am so totally in awe of David Almond's style of writing and the way he uses words and can convey such beautiful images of the people and places of the area of Northern England near the River Tyne. It doesn't sound like a particularly beautiful place with the poverty and the dirty life of mining first in the earlier years and on to shipbuilding for most of the residents, but the author is able to help me see the beauty in the town, the jobs, and especially the hearts of the people probably because this is where he was born and raised. I also fell in love with the word "pebbledashed." A brand new word for me, love learning new words and especially ones that trip off the tongue and sound so wonderful to my ear.
July 6, 2014
Extremely enjoyable book highlighting how tough life was for sixties Tyneside dock workers, and the rites of passage for a boy growing up there. Sometimes sad, often funny, I won this book in the giveaway, and possibly wouldn't have bought it as not my usual genre, so glad I did, I lived every minute along with the characters and experienced a life I would never have known.
August 5, 2014
I loved this! So many things I recognise about the era - ok set in different part of the world to where I was brought up but still so familiar. How does David Almond always manage to express those teenage feelings so clearly? He is one of the best YA authors we have and we should be proud of him!
January 15, 2016
I often admire Almond's writing style, but don't always connect with his stories. The Tightrope Walkers, however, has the whole package. This coming of age story has thoughtful themes about background, education, morality, and class. Ultimately, it's a pretty grim and heartbreaking tale, but it's a well-written one that will stay with me.
February 18, 2016
actual rating: 4.5 stars.
language is incredibly evocative & the book is partially written in Northern English dialect. amazing characterization. a bit disappointed by the ending - I think it's because the beginning & middle were so strong that it paled in comparison.
overall, a gorgeously written coming-of-age story.
language is incredibly evocative & the book is partially written in Northern English dialect. amazing characterization. a bit disappointed by the ending - I think it's because the beginning & middle were so strong that it paled in comparison.
overall, a gorgeously written coming-of-age story.
March 31, 2015
This novel was filled with violence, beauty, and just a feeling of truth. What a wonderful, heartbreaking story.
November 22, 2020
Heartbreaking. Brutal. Beautiful. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I picked this up, but it wasn't this. This certainly isn't your run-of-the-mill teen book.
August 23, 2023
ادبیات نوجوان
روزهایی که درد و رنج زندگی بیش از حد تحملم میشه برای فرار از این جهانْ کتاب کودک یا نوجوان میخونم. وسط این پرسه زدن ها کتاب های جذابی هم کشف میکنم. بندبازان دیوید آلموند قطعا از همون کتابهاست. دغدغه های توی کتاب دغدغه های واقعی یک نوجوانه نه اون چیزی که ما فکر میکنیم یا دلمون میخواد باشه. شخصیت ها معمولی ان، پاهاشون روی زمینه، قهرمان نیستن، الزاما توقعات دیگران رو برآورده نمیکنن و گاهی خودشون هم از خودشون بیزارن.ازین کتابهایی که حتی وقتی تموم میشه هم تا مدتها مثل یک قطعه موسیقی درونت جریان داره.
روزهایی که درد و رنج زندگی بیش از حد تحملم میشه برای فرار از این جهانْ کتاب کودک یا نوجوان میخونم. وسط این پرسه زدن ها کتاب های جذابی هم کشف میکنم. بندبازان دیوید آلموند قطعا از همون کتابهاست. دغدغه های توی کتاب دغدغه های واقعی یک نوجوانه نه اون چیزی که ما فکر میکنیم یا دلمون میخواد باشه. شخصیت ها معمولی ان، پاهاشون روی زمینه، قهرمان نیستن، الزاما توقعات دیگران رو برآورده نمیکنن و گاهی خودشون هم از خودشون بیزارن.ازین کتابهایی که حتی وقتی تموم میشه هم تا مدتها مثل یک قطعه موسیقی درونت جریان داره.
June 3, 2015
While I admire the writing chops of David Almond, I have never really been moved by his previous books, Skellig, Mouse Bird Snake Wolf, and Clay, for instance. Oh, I saw how well written they were, but they just weren't my cup of tea, perhaps because they were so odd or so far out there or because there were elements of magic that didn't fit for me. In the case of this book, though, I felt as though I was reading the true stories of several individuals growing up in the poor section of northern England. While the book focuses on the relationship between Dominic Hall and Holly Stroud, it also touches on the life of Vincent McAlinden and various secondary characters. Although his father might do hard labor in a shipyard, Dominic is a gentle, introspective boy, given to writing and doing well in school. After all, an education could be his ticket out of the poverty in which his family seems mired. It's not clear if that's because of low wages or something else, but it is obvious that his parents, especially his mother, want much more for their son. Holly's father also works at the shipyard but in a job that doesn't require him to dirty his hands. The youngsters are drawn together by a desire to walk a tightrope, fashioned with rope, and then more elaborate materials over time. Of course, the tightrope is both realistic and symbolic of all the problems the two of them must overcome if they are going to be able to succeed in life. For reasons that are not entirely clear, Dominic is drawn to a self-destructive, violent, and ruinous relationship with Vincent, the local bully. Their crimes are at first small enough--a little shoplifting here and there, but they also shoot birds and small animals, and in one senseless crime, kill a pet rabbit belonging to the employer of Dominic's mother. As horrified as readers will be by these actions and by Vincent, it's almost impossible not to feel some sympathy for him because of his own living conditions and his own losses. Surely, he, too, deserves better than this. And yet, when things are going well for Dominic and Holly and they are in the throes of first love, he tries to spoil it all in a reckless act. Although the ending left me somewhat disappointed, I was mesmerized by how well written this book was and how it drew me in. There is so much delicateness and understatement in how the author handles death, disappointment, poverty, drinking, and feeling inferior to others because of one's social status. It's not so much that there were all these things that were happening all the time, but that this was an account of fairly average individuals, living life, doing the best they could, and dreaming of something more in the future. Maybe it's appeal for me was that this could have been the story of so many of us, of a generation whose parents were unable to accomplish their own dreams of future glory and settled on making the dreams of their offspring come true.
December 10, 2015
PECHA KUCHA BOOK
The Tightrope Walkers
Almond’s most recent novel, the Tightrope Walkers, tells the coming-of-age story of a boy named Dominic Hall growing up in near Almond’s own childhood home in Tynesdale along the Tyne river. He and his best friend Holly Stroud become entranced with tightrope walking and attempt to learn the skill, which becomes an analogy for their efforts to rise above their families’ poor situations, but also, for Dominic, his opposing desires to be rough and natural to make his unpolished father proud as well as educated and imaginative, feeding his talent as a writer and being true to himself. As they mature, Dominic and Holly are faced with the opportunity to escape their blue-collar lifestyles through education, but at the same time they face the accidental deaths and corruption of their peers, the dark realities of their small village and their families, and the financial and cultural differences between their families. Holly and Dominic eventually fall in love, but the local bully, Vincent, has also grown up and seems to stand between them. The two are able to find their true selves and security in each other and marry to struggle along just short of their dreams as so many newlywed couples do. While the entire story and all of Almond’s writing was thought-provoking and entertaining, I related to the brief period at the very end when Holly and Dominic are finally married the most because I’m also a newlywed and we are also struggling along, figuring out which dreams to pursue and which we will realistically need to forego.
The Tightrope Walkers
Almond’s most recent novel, the Tightrope Walkers, tells the coming-of-age story of a boy named Dominic Hall growing up in near Almond’s own childhood home in Tynesdale along the Tyne river. He and his best friend Holly Stroud become entranced with tightrope walking and attempt to learn the skill, which becomes an analogy for their efforts to rise above their families’ poor situations, but also, for Dominic, his opposing desires to be rough and natural to make his unpolished father proud as well as educated and imaginative, feeding his talent as a writer and being true to himself. As they mature, Dominic and Holly are faced with the opportunity to escape their blue-collar lifestyles through education, but at the same time they face the accidental deaths and corruption of their peers, the dark realities of their small village and their families, and the financial and cultural differences between their families. Holly and Dominic eventually fall in love, but the local bully, Vincent, has also grown up and seems to stand between them. The two are able to find their true selves and security in each other and marry to struggle along just short of their dreams as so many newlywed couples do. While the entire story and all of Almond’s writing was thought-provoking and entertaining, I related to the brief period at the very end when Holly and Dominic are finally married the most because I’m also a newlywed and we are also struggling along, figuring out which dreams to pursue and which we will realistically need to forego.
dnf
May 18, 2017I cannot get into this book. Okay, I don't even know about this book anymore. The Cover is effing gorgeous (Black edged pages a la Six of Crows) but I wouldn't even know where to begin with describing this book. Even the synopsis has me at a loss of how to describe it. I'm having a hard time pushing myself to listen. It's very surreal honest and real. Maybe a little too real (if that possible). This a YA novel but it almost seems more of an adult novel. It's rather depressing and not amusing. I'm not going to bother finishing this. I'm in a reading slump and it's killing me
Things I did like.
1. Vincent McAlinden (damn that's fun to say)
2. Dominic Hall and Holly Stroud's friendship
3. Bill Stroud
4. The tightrope walker
5. The narrator's voice killed me on occasion.
6. The setting aesthetic
7. The cover
8. The author's name
9. The title
10. The rawness and realism (even if it was too real for me)
Overall just not my thing and I don't see a point in making myself read something I'm not into. I'm reading for fun anyways. I've tried and I'm just not invested.
Things I did like.
1. Vincent McAlinden (damn that's fun to say)
2. Dominic Hall and Holly Stroud's friendship
3. Bill Stroud
4. The tightrope walker
5. The narrator's voice killed me on occasion.
6. The setting aesthetic
7. The cover
8. The author's name
9. The title
10. The rawness and realism (even if it was too real for me)
Overall just not my thing and I don't see a point in making myself read something I'm not into. I'm reading for fun anyways. I've tried and I'm just not invested.
Read
February 11, 2016So, why didn't I enjoy it? It was very adult. More adult than an adult book in some ways. I kept looking for the joy and not finding it. Maybe that was the point. Or maybe Almond's a good or even great writer who "got it wrong" this time. I kept waiting for the title to pay off -- and for me it didn't. I did enjoy -- and believe -- how some of the Moms were playful and admired deeply by the young people in the story.
March 16, 2016
1. I didn't finish it. I went back and forth between being amazed and being frustrated because I was trying to read this on my kindle at the gym, and this is NOT the kind of book you can do that to.
2. I think it's a signficant book that was published for teens this year, hence I wouldn't be surprised if it won the Printz.
2. I think it's a signficant book that was published for teens this year, hence I wouldn't be surprised if it won the Printz.
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