What do you think?
Rate this book
Bone Music
This wonderful tale transports the reader from the city to the forests and fells of Northern England. Under a boundless starry sky, the unforgettable Sylvia Carr reconnects with the ancient past and discovers what it really means to be young in the world today.
Sylvia, brave hearted and rebellious, moves into wild Northumberland from the city of Newcastle. She feels alien in this huge, silent, seemingly empty landscape, but then she meets Gabriel, a strange yet familiar boy. As they roam the forests and fells together, she sees nature with new eyes. She becomes aware that the past is all around her, and is deep inside herself. From the wing of a dead buzzard, they create a hollow bone - the kind of flute that was created and used in rituals in the distant past.
This is a book of hope and joy - a book that celebrates humanity and explores the deep connections between ourselves and nature. It is timely and original. It speaks to young people about what it really is to be a human being alive today.
Sylvia, brave hearted and rebellious, moves into wild Northumberland from the city of Newcastle. She feels alien in this huge, silent, seemingly empty landscape, but then she meets Gabriel, a strange yet familiar boy. As they roam the forests and fells together, she sees nature with new eyes. She becomes aware that the past is all around her, and is deep inside herself. From the wing of a dead buzzard, they create a hollow bone - the kind of flute that was created and used in rituals in the distant past.
This is a book of hope and joy - a book that celebrates humanity and explores the deep connections between ourselves and nature. It is timely and original. It speaks to young people about what it really is to be a human being alive today.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2021
21 people are currently reading
255 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).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
May 10, 2022
کتاب رو که میخوندم، تا ٩٠ درصد پایانی، خوشحال بودم که وای. یه کتاب پنج ستاره. چقدر فوقالعاده داره پیش میره. چقدر جادوییه. چقدر دوستش دارم. همه حرفاشو... و اینطوری بودم که اینجای داستان چرا اینجای کتابه؟ چرا آخراشه؟ اوا. چرا اینطوری داره میشه؟ چرا از اون همه متریال استفاده نکرد؟ چرا انگار خسته شده بود و حوصله نداشت بهش شاخ و برگ بده؟ و همینطوری که پیش رفت و به صفحه آخر رسید... لبخندم رو لبم ماسید واقعاً. این چه پایان معمولیای برای همچین کتاب جذابی بود آخههه آقای آلموند؟ شایدم انتظارم خیلی بالا بود :))
در هرصورت، خوندنش واقعا لذتبخشه و اگه یه رمان نوجوان ناز و نسبتا فکربرانگیز و جادویی میخواین؛ گزینه قشنگیه. 💙
در هرصورت، خوندنش واقعا لذتبخشه و اگه یه رمان نوجوان ناز و نسبتا فکربرانگیز و جادویی میخواین؛ گزینه قشنگیه. 💙
February 23, 2022
>>...“und wir zerstreuen uns in alle Himmelsrichtungen. Aber wir behalten einander im Herzen, und wir werden das Lied des anderen hören, wo immer wir auch sind, auf immer und ewig.“<<
„Bone music“ von David Almond ist wohl mit eines der schönsten Bücher, die ich in der letzten Zeit gelesen habe💞📖
Wir reisen hier mit Sylvia in die wilde Natur Nordenglands und nachdem sie sich mit allem irgendwie arrangiert hat, beginnt sie tief in sich selbst Töne zu entdecken und so entsteht eine ganz besondere Magie... Gemeinsam mit Gabriel entdeckt sie, wie tief verwurzelt die Musik in ihr ist und wie Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, das eigene Innere und die Natur und letztlich alle Musik mit miteinander verbunden ist und immer verbunden sein wird.
Obwohl die Charaktere sehr jung sind, konnte ich diese tiefe Verbindung zur Musik und was sie insbesondere in Sylvia auslöst sehr spüren und empfand ihre Entwicklung innerhalb der Natur einfach ganz großartig und wundervoll! Mich konnte David Almond mit dieser Geschichte sehr in seinen Bann ziehen und hat hier ganz viel Weisheit mit Natur und Klängen verflochten, was ihm nach meinem Empfinden wirklich sehr gelungen ist!
>>“Musik war immer Magie“, sagte Gabriel. „Lieder waren Zaubersprüche. ...“<<
„Bone music“ von David Almond kann ich jedem sehr ans Herz legen, der die besondere Musik entdecken, alten Pfaden folgen und eine wilde, raue und doch so wundervolle Natur Nordenglands erleben möchte💖
„Bone music“ von David Almond ist wohl mit eines der schönsten Bücher, die ich in der letzten Zeit gelesen habe💞📖
Wir reisen hier mit Sylvia in die wilde Natur Nordenglands und nachdem sie sich mit allem irgendwie arrangiert hat, beginnt sie tief in sich selbst Töne zu entdecken und so entsteht eine ganz besondere Magie... Gemeinsam mit Gabriel entdeckt sie, wie tief verwurzelt die Musik in ihr ist und wie Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, das eigene Innere und die Natur und letztlich alle Musik mit miteinander verbunden ist und immer verbunden sein wird.
Obwohl die Charaktere sehr jung sind, konnte ich diese tiefe Verbindung zur Musik und was sie insbesondere in Sylvia auslöst sehr spüren und empfand ihre Entwicklung innerhalb der Natur einfach ganz großartig und wundervoll! Mich konnte David Almond mit dieser Geschichte sehr in seinen Bann ziehen und hat hier ganz viel Weisheit mit Natur und Klängen verflochten, was ihm nach meinem Empfinden wirklich sehr gelungen ist!
>>“Musik war immer Magie“, sagte Gabriel. „Lieder waren Zaubersprüche. ...“<<
„Bone music“ von David Almond kann ich jedem sehr ans Herz legen, der die besondere Musik entdecken, alten Pfaden folgen und eine wilde, raue und doch so wundervolle Natur Nordenglands erleben möchte💖
December 1, 2021
کاش میتونستم بهت بینهایت ستاره بدم.
🦴⭐🎼🌿❤️
خوندن "موسیقی استخوان" برام یه تجربهی خاص و دوستداشتنی بود، خیلی خیلی زیاد. اینقدر کوتاه بود که نرسیدم بهش عادت کنم و اینقدر طولانی که باهاش زندگی کردم.
احساس میکنم این کتاب شاهکار آلمونده. خیلی از حرفهاش جمع شده در این کتابش و شده یه کتاب فوقالعاده. جنگ، خشونت، هنر، زیبایی از "تابستان زاغچه"، لطافت، عشق و موسیقی از "نغمهای برای الا گری"، انتقادات آلموند از درس و سیستم آموزشی مدارس از "اسم من میناست". و برای منی که عاشق این کتابهای آلموندم "موسیقی استخوان" مثل بهشت بود. حتی بارها وسطش یاد "بندبازان" هم افتادم، و "اسکلیگ"، "وحشی" و "پدر اسلاگ".
خیلی دلم میخواد از مهارت، ظرافت، دقت آلموند در این کتابش بگم، از نمادین بودن خود کتاب و لایههای پنهانش، از تقابلهای کمنظیرش و بازیهای زبانی آلموند. ولی نمیشه. نمیخوام ریویو رو تبدیل کنم به نقد. ولی احتمالا براش نقدیچیزی هم بنویسم جدا از ریویو.
فکر کنم به اندازهی کافی از کتاب تعریف کردم. و تعریف الکی هم نکردم (البته از نظر خودم. کلا اهل تعریف الکی و اغراق نیستم.) ولی خواستم بگم که این رو هم در نظر بگیرین سبک آلموند خیلی خاصه. و این کتابش هم شاید یکی از خاصترینهاش باشه. بنابراین ممکنه خیلیها از کتابهاش خوششون نیاد. این کتاب هم به نظرم کتاب مناسبی برای شروع آلموند خوندن نیست. (البته که درمورد هر کسی فرق میکنه. مثلا خودم با کتابی عاشق آلموند شدم که خیلیها با اون کتاب ازش زده شدن.) پس اگه تا حالا از آلموند کتابی نخوندین سراغ این کتاب نیاین و اول چندتا دیگه از کتابهاش رو بخونین و بعد اگه از اونها خوشتون اومد حتما حتما بخونیدش.
🦴⭐🎼🌿❤️
خوندن "موسیقی استخوان" برام یه تجربهی خاص و دوستداشتنی بود، خیلی خیلی زیاد. اینقدر کوتاه بود که نرسیدم بهش عادت کنم و اینقدر طولانی که باهاش زندگی کردم.
احساس میکنم این کتاب شاهکار آلمونده. خیلی از حرفهاش جمع شده در این کتابش و شده یه کتاب فوقالعاده. جنگ، خشونت، هنر، زیبایی از "تابستان زاغچه"، لطافت، عشق و موسیقی از "نغمهای برای الا گری"، انتقادات آلموند از درس و سیستم آموزشی مدارس از "اسم من میناست". و برای منی که عاشق این کتابهای آلموندم "موسیقی استخوان" مثل بهشت بود. حتی بارها وسطش یاد "بندبازان" هم افتادم، و "اسکلیگ"، "وحشی" و "پدر اسلاگ".
خیلی دلم میخواد از مهارت، ظرافت، دقت آلموند در این کتابش بگم، از نمادین بودن خود کتاب و لایههای پنهانش، از تقابلهای کمنظیرش و بازیهای زبانی آلموند. ولی نمیشه. نمیخوام ریویو رو تبدیل کنم به نقد. ولی احتمالا براش نقدیچیزی هم بنویسم جدا از ریویو.
فکر کنم به اندازهی کافی از کتاب تعریف کردم. و تعریف الکی هم نکردم (البته از نظر خودم. کلا اهل تعریف الکی و اغراق نیستم.) ولی خواستم بگم که این رو هم در نظر بگیرین سبک آلموند خیلی خاصه. و این کتابش هم شاید یکی از خاصترینهاش باشه. بنابراین ممکنه خیلیها از کتابهاش خوششون نیاد. این کتاب هم به نظرم کتاب مناسبی برای شروع آلموند خوندن نیست. (البته که درمورد هر کسی فرق میکنه. مثلا خودم با کتابی عاشق آلموند شدم که خیلیها با اون کتاب ازش زده شدن.) پس اگه تا حالا از آلموند کتابی نخوندین سراغ این کتاب نیاین و اول چندتا دیگه از کتابهاش رو بخونین و بعد اگه از اونها خوشتون اومد حتما حتما بخونیدش.
March 23, 2024
1,5
Reseña en el blog Letras, Libros y Más próximamente
La base, el mensaje y reflexión que el autor quiere dar me parece poderoso, bonito e importante, creo que queda bastante claro y logra removerte un poco por dentro, es lo único que me ha gustado del libro 😣. Todo lo demás ha sido raro, confuso y aburrido y es que la trama no tiene mucho fundamento excepto que sirve de excusa para poder contar a través de ella la idea de la vida, de como todo se va al traste, del pasado, de luchar por un futuro mejor, de la naturaleza, el cambio en uno. En fin un montón de ideas buenas pero que no me han atrapado con esta historia.
La pluma del autor es tremendamente poética, delirante y demasiado complicada. Se va mucho por las ramas al ser tan creativa y al final la historia pierde fuerza, que seguramente sea lo contrario a lo que quería lograr. El ritmo es lento y aburrido pues no es que cuente mucho y la forma en la que está narrada tampoco ayuda, menos mal que el libro no tiene ni 200 páginas y así al menos no se hace eterno. Los personajes están muy muy desdibujados, hasta la protagonista, no logras conectar con ellos ni creértelos.
Un libro que cuenta con un mensaje poderoso pero una trama de lo más enrevesada y extraña.
Reseña en el blog Letras, Libros y Más próximamente
La base, el mensaje y reflexión que el autor quiere dar me parece poderoso, bonito e importante, creo que queda bastante claro y logra removerte un poco por dentro, es lo único que me ha gustado del libro 😣. Todo lo demás ha sido raro, confuso y aburrido y es que la trama no tiene mucho fundamento excepto que sirve de excusa para poder contar a través de ella la idea de la vida, de como todo se va al traste, del pasado, de luchar por un futuro mejor, de la naturaleza, el cambio en uno. En fin un montón de ideas buenas pero que no me han atrapado con esta historia.
La pluma del autor es tremendamente poética, delirante y demasiado complicada. Se va mucho por las ramas al ser tan creativa y al final la historia pierde fuerza, que seguramente sea lo contrario a lo que quería lograr. El ritmo es lento y aburrido pues no es que cuente mucho y la forma en la que está narrada tampoco ayuda, menos mal que el libro no tiene ni 200 páginas y así al menos no se hace eterno. Los personajes están muy muy desdibujados, hasta la protagonista, no logras conectar con ellos ni creértelos.
Un libro que cuenta con un mensaje poderoso pero una trama de lo más enrevesada y extraña.
May 6, 2021
i am absolutely biased but i think this is a beautiful book xox
April 4, 2021
Bone Music, David Almond
The premise of this story is beautiful - a city teen, on a break out of the city to her mother’s childhood Northumberland home experiences a ‘rewilding’, coming to appreciate the rhythms and magic of nature and developing a profound awareness of the fluidity and continuity of life on this planet. I so wanted to love it - in parts, I did - but there was a jarring oddness about the whole story that massively stemmed its potential.
I didn’t feel connected to the main characters or their situation and Sylvia, the teen protagonist at the heart of the tale, lacked any depth at all. Some of her thoughts and actions didn’t sit with the skeletal character frame offered, making her journey shallow and unconvincing.
Equally, the setting fell short, which was a huge misfortune as this really did feel pivotal to the rewilding narrative. In parts, having failed to offer enough description for setting or character, the narrative then became overly descriptive, with weird and lengthy ‘spiritual’ experiences being relayed. They may have worked within a more secure narrative structure, but the whole tale ended up being weirdly distorted and truncated - both the introductory and ending elements offered not nearly enough to draw out what should have been a rich and evocative tale and message. I was just…. disappointed.
Oh, and the use of ‘bliddy’. What the bliddy heck was the bliddy author thinking when they bliddy used the word bliddy fifty thousand bliddy times in the first few bliddy chapters? She’s a teen - she either swears or she doesn’t. And this excessive use of bliddy added nothing to character or narrative, it just irritated and distracted from the already weak opening, making it feel like someone who’d never met a teen was trying to be one.
I feel mean tearing at the book like this, but to see a narrative which should have been beyond delightful and completely in my area of interest be so poorly executed is frustrating to say the least. I’d like to say that perhaps the younger readers for whom it is intended would be more forgiving, but I’m not convinced. Sorry.
The premise of this story is beautiful - a city teen, on a break out of the city to her mother’s childhood Northumberland home experiences a ‘rewilding’, coming to appreciate the rhythms and magic of nature and developing a profound awareness of the fluidity and continuity of life on this planet. I so wanted to love it - in parts, I did - but there was a jarring oddness about the whole story that massively stemmed its potential.
I didn’t feel connected to the main characters or their situation and Sylvia, the teen protagonist at the heart of the tale, lacked any depth at all. Some of her thoughts and actions didn’t sit with the skeletal character frame offered, making her journey shallow and unconvincing.
Equally, the setting fell short, which was a huge misfortune as this really did feel pivotal to the rewilding narrative. In parts, having failed to offer enough description for setting or character, the narrative then became overly descriptive, with weird and lengthy ‘spiritual’ experiences being relayed. They may have worked within a more secure narrative structure, but the whole tale ended up being weirdly distorted and truncated - both the introductory and ending elements offered not nearly enough to draw out what should have been a rich and evocative tale and message. I was just…. disappointed.
Oh, and the use of ‘bliddy’. What the bliddy heck was the bliddy author thinking when they bliddy used the word bliddy fifty thousand bliddy times in the first few bliddy chapters? She’s a teen - she either swears or she doesn’t. And this excessive use of bliddy added nothing to character or narrative, it just irritated and distracted from the already weak opening, making it feel like someone who’d never met a teen was trying to be one.
I feel mean tearing at the book like this, but to see a narrative which should have been beyond delightful and completely in my area of interest be so poorly executed is frustrating to say the least. I’d like to say that perhaps the younger readers for whom it is intended would be more forgiving, but I’m not convinced. Sorry.
December 19, 2021
خواندن موسیقی استخوان برای من شبیه خواندن انجیل بود. یک کتاب مقدس در ستایش طبیعت، اصالت و برائت از جنگ. جملاتش انگار شعر و آیه بودند. لحن و موسیقی درونی داشتند. موسیقیای که حتی با وجود ترجمه شدن کتاب حس میشد و این هنر مترجم بود که توانسته بود این موسیقی را در بیاورد. خیلی جاها کتاب مرا یاد شعرهای سهراب سپهری میانداخت. احساس میکردم دیوید آلموند در آخرین کتابش دلش خواسته تذکرهای از همه آنچه دوست دارد و برایش مهم است بنویسد. از نوجوانی و عشق و محیط زیست و جنگ.
قصه در مورد دختری به نام سیلویا است که با مادرش برای روزهایی در شهر یا روستایی سرشار از طبیعت زندگی میکنند. پدر عکاس جنگ است و مدتی از آنها دور شده و به سوریه رفته است.
سیلویا در این روزها خودش را با موسیقی طبیعت موزون میکند و در این همنوایی با روح باستانی خودش مرتبط میشود.
کتاب، کتابِ منحصر به فردی است. نه عاشق و دلباختهاش شدم نه پسم زد. یک جایی توی قفسهی کتابهای عجیب غریب ذهنم جایش دادم و هر وقت دلم برای یک رمان نوجوان شعر مانند تنگ شد به سراغش خواهم رفت. در کل رابطهام با کتابهای دیوید آلموند اینطوری است که دوست دارم بخوانمشان، نه عاشقانه اما کنجکاوانه و مشتاقانه. چون در هر کتابش حرف و نگاه تازهای برای گفتن دارد.
راستی این اولین کتابی بود که با نوجوانهای پاتوق کتابخورهای تهران خواندم و تجربه بسیار دلنشینی برایم ساخت. :)
قصه در مورد دختری به نام سیلویا است که با مادرش برای روزهایی در شهر یا روستایی سرشار از طبیعت زندگی میکنند. پدر عکاس جنگ است و مدتی از آنها دور شده و به سوریه رفته است.
سیلویا در این روزها خودش را با موسیقی طبیعت موزون میکند و در این همنوایی با روح باستانی خودش مرتبط میشود.
کتاب، کتابِ منحصر به فردی است. نه عاشق و دلباختهاش شدم نه پسم زد. یک جایی توی قفسهی کتابهای عجیب غریب ذهنم جایش دادم و هر وقت دلم برای یک رمان نوجوان شعر مانند تنگ شد به سراغش خواهم رفت. در کل رابطهام با کتابهای دیوید آلموند اینطوری است که دوست دارم بخوانمشان، نه عاشقانه اما کنجکاوانه و مشتاقانه. چون در هر کتابش حرف و نگاه تازهای برای گفتن دارد.
راستی این اولین کتابی بود که با نوجوانهای پاتوق کتابخورهای تهران خواندم و تجربه بسیار دلنشینی برایم ساخت. :)
June 8, 2021
David Almond takes his readers into the themes closely associated with Lucy Boston and Alan Garner: the deeply felt connection of place and history with the present. In doing so he does not disappoint: when the protagonist, shy, uprooted Sylvia (the woodland roots of her name indicate her mother’s past connections with the place) “dreamed that the living and the dead and the still-to-be-born danced together in the forest clearings,” we are with her as her discovery of the connectedness of pasts and the present deepen. Pasts? Yes: Sylvia discovers her new friend Gabriel’s painful history, confronts the shadows surrounding ancient Andreas, links to the changing landscapes of Northumbria - and the present, the pull of the city and friends, the frustration at not getting ‘phone signal, the urgency of youthful eco-protesters. And through it all, the mysterious music of the bone flute, Sylvia’s detailed making of her own, and the transcendent insights she gains.
There are connections to other Almond works all over - notably in the turn-but-a-stone-and-start-a-wing mysticism reminiscent of Skellig, and the water of the Kielder reservoir he explores so well in The Dam. This is David Almond absolutely on form.
Bone Music is a thoughtful book, politically mature, intriguing in what it says and what it hints at, a painful story in its discussion of grief and isolation and self-harm, a triumph of friendship, and love and music and a hope built on a community that stretches back into the past and comes out bang up to date.
There are connections to other Almond works all over - notably in the turn-but-a-stone-and-start-a-wing mysticism reminiscent of Skellig, and the water of the Kielder reservoir he explores so well in The Dam. This is David Almond absolutely on form.
Bone Music is a thoughtful book, politically mature, intriguing in what it says and what it hints at, a painful story in its discussion of grief and isolation and self-harm, a triumph of friendship, and love and music and a hope built on a community that stretches back into the past and comes out bang up to date.
May 30, 2023
موقع خوندن این کتاب به این فکر میکردم که این همه رفتم طبیعتگردی ولی با خوندن این کتاب بود که یه پیوند عمیقی رو بین خودم و طبیعت احساس کردم، حسی که این پیوند داره غیرقابل توصیفه ولی یهجورایی احساس زندگی کردنه با متعلق بودن. قبلا این پیوند رو قویتر و عمیقتر با دریا و ماه تجربه کرده بودم.
اون جاهایی از کتاب که نویسنده راجعبه به موسیقی استخوان حرف میزد، خیلی یاد نغمهای برای الاگری میافتادم. فکر کنم هیچوقت از توصیفات دیوید آلموند راجعبه موسیقی خسته نشم.
اون جاهایی از کتاب که نویسنده راجعبه به موسیقی استخوان حرف میزد، خیلی یاد نغمهای برای الاگری میافتادم. فکر کنم هیچوقت از توصیفات دیوید آلموند راجعبه موسیقی خسته نشم.
February 12, 2022
In einem kleinen Dorf in Northumberland, am Rande der Zivilisation, wird Sylvia zusammen mit ihrer Mutter die nächsten Wochen verbringen müssen. Die Stadt fehlt ihr, ebenso wie ihre Freunde. Sie fühlt sich abgeschieden und nimmt die Landschaft um sie herum als leer wahr.
Doch mit Hilfe von Colin, einem Jungen aus dem Dorf und dessen Bruder Gabriel beginnt sie schon bald, die Welt und die Natur mit ganz anderen Augen zu betrachten. Da ist eine Musik, die die Landschaft erfüllt und die sie fasziniert. Alte Felsenmalereien und Totempfähle lassen Vergangenes nah erscheinen und als Sylvia schließlich zusammen mit Gabriel eine Knochenflöte aus dem Flügel eines Bussards schnitzt, verändert sich ihre Beziehung zu der Umgebung vollständig.
David Almond hat mit “Bone Music” ein besonderes Jugendbuch geschrieben. Er widmet sich einer Generation, die zwischen Klimastreiks, Zukunftsängsten und Hoffnung aufwächst. Es gelingt ihm, diese Themen, die auch Sylvia umtreiben und den Alltag ihres Stadtlebens mitbestimmen, mit philosophischen Gedanken und magischen Einschüben zu verbinden. Dabei verliert sich die Geschichte nie, bleibt inhaltlich stets nachvollziehbar und sprachlich ansprechend, stellenweise gar poetisch.
“Bone Music” stellt nicht nur für heranwachsende, sondern auch für erwachsene Leser eine bereichernde Lektüre dar.
Doch mit Hilfe von Colin, einem Jungen aus dem Dorf und dessen Bruder Gabriel beginnt sie schon bald, die Welt und die Natur mit ganz anderen Augen zu betrachten. Da ist eine Musik, die die Landschaft erfüllt und die sie fasziniert. Alte Felsenmalereien und Totempfähle lassen Vergangenes nah erscheinen und als Sylvia schließlich zusammen mit Gabriel eine Knochenflöte aus dem Flügel eines Bussards schnitzt, verändert sich ihre Beziehung zu der Umgebung vollständig.
David Almond hat mit “Bone Music” ein besonderes Jugendbuch geschrieben. Er widmet sich einer Generation, die zwischen Klimastreiks, Zukunftsängsten und Hoffnung aufwächst. Es gelingt ihm, diese Themen, die auch Sylvia umtreiben und den Alltag ihres Stadtlebens mitbestimmen, mit philosophischen Gedanken und magischen Einschüben zu verbinden. Dabei verliert sich die Geschichte nie, bleibt inhaltlich stets nachvollziehbar und sprachlich ansprechend, stellenweise gar poetisch.
“Bone Music” stellt nicht nur für heranwachsende, sondern auch für erwachsene Leser eine bereichernde Lektüre dar.
April 14, 2023
Loved this one from David Almond which is ostensibly for young teens but has a profound spirit that should appeal to everyone, about a city girl falling in love with nature and becoming aware of deep time and her place in it. And there’s a boy too. 13 year old me would have swooned over this (adult me does too) and I reckon it’s the kind of book that could meaningfully affect a young person for the rest of their life. Also this is set in Northumberland where some of my ancestors are from, so the people she is imagining in the past could also be my people. I agree with the Times - @davidjohnalmond is a visionary. I highly recommend his A Song for Ella Grey too.
January 19, 2023
Per me è il suo capolavoro, insieme a The Colour of the Sun. Si completano a vicenda, rivolgendosi a due target leggermente diversi ma affrontando gli stessi interrogativi cui Almond ci ha abituati.
March 21, 2021
*Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy through Netgalley. This in no way influences my opinion of the book.
I really loved this. It was so lyrical, beautiful, and captured the magic of nature and the wonder of children. It was definitely a breath of fresh air from other stories I have read and I really liked the central focus of the novel. Normally shorter books aren’t for me as I don’t feel that they are developed enough, however, that was not the case with this one. Everything that was written felt right and it also managed to discuss difficult topics without it seeming as if they had only been brushed upon. It was so atmospheric and I too felt like I was escaping away from the city to a serene forest environment.
I really did enjoy so many aspects of this story and I could see myself picking it up again in the future. I would say that the plot wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been - I think there could have been a few more things to pick up the storyline. However, it was a fast, fun read that was such an escape from the real world and I would definitely recommend it.
I really loved this. It was so lyrical, beautiful, and captured the magic of nature and the wonder of children. It was definitely a breath of fresh air from other stories I have read and I really liked the central focus of the novel. Normally shorter books aren’t for me as I don’t feel that they are developed enough, however, that was not the case with this one. Everything that was written felt right and it also managed to discuss difficult topics without it seeming as if they had only been brushed upon. It was so atmospheric and I too felt like I was escaping away from the city to a serene forest environment.
I really did enjoy so many aspects of this story and I could see myself picking it up again in the future. I would say that the plot wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been - I think there could have been a few more things to pick up the storyline. However, it was a fast, fun read that was such an escape from the real world and I would definitely recommend it.
December 8, 2021
Actual rating: 3.5 / 5
This was a random pick up from a recent library trip. Sometimes I see something I've never heard of before and decide to just try it out. I feel like the library is the safest place to take a chance on a book!
I didn't recognise the authors name before, but he wrote Skellig- a book I've been meaning to revisit for some years. I believe we did a class read and watched a movie adaptation when I was in year 8 or 9 and its been haunting the back of my mind since.
Bone Music is a whimsical read, but under the surface there is hint of some darker and engaging topics. Sylvie's mum works with "troubled boys", the boy next door has wanted and acted on ending his life, Sylvie's mum is unhappy in her marriage, there's a neighbour with a Nazi past... its got some heavier tones indeed, for what otherwise feels like a mystical middle grade story.
For a good few pages, I wasn't really feeling much, other than mild irritation at Sylvia's aloofness, but when Gabriel was introduced, things got more interesting. He reminded me of Lanny from the self titled book by Max Porter and I really enjoyed reading the scenes with him.
This was charming and haunting and gave me this weird whimsical feel. Despite feeling jarring at how the kids spoke (very poetic) it was a very beautiful story, discussing re-wilding the planet and ourselves, and the magic of nature and city life combing at the heart of it.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
This was a random pick up from a recent library trip. Sometimes I see something I've never heard of before and decide to just try it out. I feel like the library is the safest place to take a chance on a book!
I didn't recognise the authors name before, but he wrote Skellig- a book I've been meaning to revisit for some years. I believe we did a class read and watched a movie adaptation when I was in year 8 or 9 and its been haunting the back of my mind since.
Bone Music is a whimsical read, but under the surface there is hint of some darker and engaging topics. Sylvie's mum works with "troubled boys", the boy next door has wanted and acted on ending his life, Sylvie's mum is unhappy in her marriage, there's a neighbour with a Nazi past... its got some heavier tones indeed, for what otherwise feels like a mystical middle grade story.
For a good few pages, I wasn't really feeling much, other than mild irritation at Sylvia's aloofness, but when Gabriel was introduced, things got more interesting. He reminded me of Lanny from the self titled book by Max Porter and I really enjoyed reading the scenes with him.
This was charming and haunting and gave me this weird whimsical feel. Despite feeling jarring at how the kids spoke (very poetic) it was a very beautiful story, discussing re-wilding the planet and ourselves, and the magic of nature and city life combing at the heart of it.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
June 5, 2021
I don't know what I was expecting with this book. There were moments where the writing was extremely beautiful and then moments where I felt like the writing was forced and the message of envirolmentalism and the teenagers being able to change the world was a little too in your face. It was an extremely quick read though and I enjoyed it for the most part. Look up trigger warnings though if you are sensitive to things!
Read
May 31, 2025'She was the forest, she was the earth, she was the air. They gave each other life. She wanted to love them and they wanted to love her. Why did we not realize when we do things to the earth, we do things to ourselves; when we harm the earth, we harm ourselves.'
April 9, 2021
David Almond just gets better and better. Set on the wonderful wild hills around Kielder water - full of mystery and music, a mix of folk legend in a contemporary tale. Read it!
June 12, 2022
Интересно, что Алмонд все больше становится недетским
November 18, 2022
طبیعت زیبایی داشت
December 12, 2025
Meh. Decent, but by no means enthralling. 15yo me would've liked it more probably.
February 1, 2021
"It's no good rewilding the world , if we do not rewild ourselves."
Sylvia has been brought from her city home in Newcastle to the vast, never-ending landscapes and skies of rural Northumberland for a break. She feels cut off, isolated and, in a strange way, enclosed by the depth of seemingly endless darkness that first night.
She then meets enigmatic Gabriel, who shows her the countryside and links to the past. Their walks and talks enable Sylvia to look within herself and within the landscape for connections to the past, her past, the past of the landscape and nature. This is deepened by her making of an ancient musical instrument from the wing bone of a buzzard.
Sylvia is concerned about humans and the destruction they bring to the planet. By embracing her surroundings, the history, the music and the people, by letting herself get lost in them, she finds her true self as well as hope and light, which gives her a deep, deep sense of belonging and courage to fight for the future.
David Almond is a master wordsmith, painting stunning images in the reader's head. His prose is poetic, lyrical. It evokes the infinite landscape and skies of Northumberland, the musicality of nature and the wilderness through time.
As I read this, I could not help but reference the words and images of The Dam (2019, David Almond, illustrated by Levi Pinfold), which has the same modern/ancient, music/ghostly themes. The flooded village is later mentioned in Bone Music, the lake now part of the natural, ever changing but constant landscape.
The themes of humans verses the environment, ancient verses modern, light versus dark, destruction versus creation are deep. Sylvia's journey to Northumberland and inside herself provide hope, light and music that will strengthen and heal.
Whilst Sylvia is the main character, for me the landscape and music are the unconventional stars of this story.
The cover design, by David Litchfield, is hauntingly beautiful. It encapsulated so much of the meaning in this story.
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and Hatchette Books. Thank you.
She then meets enigmatic Gabriel, who shows her the countryside and links to the past. Their walks and talks enable Sylvia to look within herself and within the landscape for connections to the past, her past, the past of the landscape and nature. This is deepened by her making of an ancient musical instrument from the wing bone of a buzzard.
Sylvia is concerned about humans and the destruction they bring to the planet. By embracing her surroundings, the history, the music and the people, by letting herself get lost in them, she finds her true self as well as hope and light, which gives her a deep, deep sense of belonging and courage to fight for the future.
David Almond is a master wordsmith, painting stunning images in the reader's head. His prose is poetic, lyrical. It evokes the infinite landscape and skies of Northumberland, the musicality of nature and the wilderness through time.
As I read this, I could not help but reference the words and images of The Dam (2019, David Almond, illustrated by Levi Pinfold), which has the same modern/ancient, music/ghostly themes. The flooded village is later mentioned in Bone Music, the lake now part of the natural, ever changing but constant landscape.
The themes of humans verses the environment, ancient verses modern, light versus dark, destruction versus creation are deep. Sylvia's journey to Northumberland and inside herself provide hope, light and music that will strengthen and heal.
Whilst Sylvia is the main character, for me the landscape and music are the unconventional stars of this story.
The cover design, by David Litchfield, is hauntingly beautiful. It encapsulated so much of the meaning in this story.
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and Hatchette Books. Thank you.
February 7, 2022
"Bone Music" von David Almond ist ein etwas anderes Jugendbuch. Das Cover und Titel machten mich neugierig; der Klappentext sorgte schließlich dafür, dass ich es auf jeden Fall lesen wollte. Wie ist es heutzutage für Teenager, bei der ganzen Medienflut sich plötzlich auf die Natur einzulassen müssen? Klar, es ist in erster Linie eine Geschichte. Aber eine, an der mehr dran ist, als es auf den ersten Blick vermuten lässt.
Ein Mädchen entdeckte die Natur um sich herum, um endlich wieder durchatmen zu können. Sich selbst zu finden und zu erden. Genauso interessant empfand ich Gabriel, der die schüchterne Sylvia auf seinem eigenen Weg des seelischen Gesundwerdens mitnimmt. Das Ganze gespickt mit Mystik und interessanten Nebencharakteren. Es mag ein Jugendbuch sein, aber aufgrund der Thematik nicht nur für Jugendliche interessant. Es regte auf jeden Fall an, darüber nachzudenken, was wohl die heutigen Teenager beschäftigt.
Der Einstieg war für mich ein wenig holprig, da mir eine kleine Einleitung zum Kennenlernen der Protagonistin fehlte und die Geschichte quasi direkt losging. Einfach zu wissen, wie Sylvia tickt und ein paar Hintergrundinformationen hätten mir geholfen, mich etwas schneller in sie hineinzuversetzen. Es war letztendlich jedoch kein Problem, mich auf die Geschichte einzulassen und je länger ich las, umso mehr fesselte sie mich.
Ich mochte die Geschichte eigentlich sehr. Allerdings hätte ich gerne mehr erfahren; es ging viel zu schnell voran. Etwas mehr davon, was Sylvia und Gabriel bewegte, wäre gut gewesen, um sie besser kennenlernen. Um die Themen mehr auszubauen, was die ganzen Medien, Wertvorstellungen und die heutigen Erwartungen an die jüngeren Generationen schließlich aus der Jugend macht bzw. dieser antut. Auch für das Mythische war sehr viel Potential da, wurde stellenweise aber nur angekratzt.
Nichtsdestotrotz ist es in meinen Augen ein empfehlenswertes Buch, mit dem man sich vom Thema und vom Gelesenen her noch etwas länger auseinandersetzen kann und sollte.
Ein Mädchen entdeckte die Natur um sich herum, um endlich wieder durchatmen zu können. Sich selbst zu finden und zu erden. Genauso interessant empfand ich Gabriel, der die schüchterne Sylvia auf seinem eigenen Weg des seelischen Gesundwerdens mitnimmt. Das Ganze gespickt mit Mystik und interessanten Nebencharakteren. Es mag ein Jugendbuch sein, aber aufgrund der Thematik nicht nur für Jugendliche interessant. Es regte auf jeden Fall an, darüber nachzudenken, was wohl die heutigen Teenager beschäftigt.
Der Einstieg war für mich ein wenig holprig, da mir eine kleine Einleitung zum Kennenlernen der Protagonistin fehlte und die Geschichte quasi direkt losging. Einfach zu wissen, wie Sylvia tickt und ein paar Hintergrundinformationen hätten mir geholfen, mich etwas schneller in sie hineinzuversetzen. Es war letztendlich jedoch kein Problem, mich auf die Geschichte einzulassen und je länger ich las, umso mehr fesselte sie mich.
Ich mochte die Geschichte eigentlich sehr. Allerdings hätte ich gerne mehr erfahren; es ging viel zu schnell voran. Etwas mehr davon, was Sylvia und Gabriel bewegte, wäre gut gewesen, um sie besser kennenlernen. Um die Themen mehr auszubauen, was die ganzen Medien, Wertvorstellungen und die heutigen Erwartungen an die jüngeren Generationen schließlich aus der Jugend macht bzw. dieser antut. Auch für das Mythische war sehr viel Potential da, wurde stellenweise aber nur angekratzt.
Nichtsdestotrotz ist es in meinen Augen ein empfehlenswertes Buch, mit dem man sich vom Thema und vom Gelesenen her noch etwas länger auseinandersetzen kann und sollte.
May 1, 2021
A start which slowly builds up to a rewilding event which takes place both within and without Sylvia
It must be said that the start was a bit silly, and it’s not until about a third of the way in that the story captured me. Dealing with growing up emotionally, of finding yourself and feeling that connection to the earth and a community this book takes you on a wonderful journey for the next two thirds of the book. This is a book to be read quietly and thoughtfully, ideally with some kind of Gaelic and Northumbrian folk music gently rippling in the background. It also deals gently with self harm, with children trying to deal with adult imposition of regiment: and the stunning contrast between the Hitler Youth and academic hot housing was subtly done, so subtly that unless you had paid attention, the event would have just flicked past in three pages. There is also a delightful naming of Sylvia - meaning “the spirit of the wood” - and Gabriel - “the strong man of God”, and he who annunciates the birth of new hope - means that there is much to think over.... especially as each saves each other for different reasons. The music scenes are done well, and the image of the spiral is linking them from galaxies to dances to those ancient shapes inscribed on stones.
Worth reading, and keep going through the early pages.
It must be said that the start was a bit silly, and it’s not until about a third of the way in that the story captured me. Dealing with growing up emotionally, of finding yourself and feeling that connection to the earth and a community this book takes you on a wonderful journey for the next two thirds of the book. This is a book to be read quietly and thoughtfully, ideally with some kind of Gaelic and Northumbrian folk music gently rippling in the background. It also deals gently with self harm, with children trying to deal with adult imposition of regiment: and the stunning contrast between the Hitler Youth and academic hot housing was subtly done, so subtly that unless you had paid attention, the event would have just flicked past in three pages. There is also a delightful naming of Sylvia - meaning “the spirit of the wood” - and Gabriel - “the strong man of God”, and he who annunciates the birth of new hope - means that there is much to think over.... especially as each saves each other for different reasons. The music scenes are done well, and the image of the spiral is linking them from galaxies to dances to those ancient shapes inscribed on stones.
Worth reading, and keep going through the early pages.
April 28, 2021
Let’s start with this gorgeous cover. Amazing. Eye catching. Love it. Now this is a story for older, more mature children. It’s a beautiful story. Two hundred pages long. It took me a while to get into it personally and I did find parts a bit wierd but then I just fell in love. I really did. Meet Slyvia, she’s come to the middle of nowhere literally from her busy city life. There no WiFi, no signal just nature & forest surround her.
Will she settle here? Make friends? Find herself? A new hobby? This book relates to the past us. The history of humans. How that relates to nature and animals. Its an outstanding read. But for a mature reader who will understand the meaning of this book. Its beautiful. Loved it all. Highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me.
Will she settle here? Make friends? Find herself? A new hobby? This book relates to the past us. The history of humans. How that relates to nature and animals. Its an outstanding read. But for a mature reader who will understand the meaning of this book. Its beautiful. Loved it all. Highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me.
October 26, 2021
This is lovely. I haven't got the words to describe it. The words are all in the book, and the words of the book are filling my heart.
I'm also a modern shaman* of the forest and the city, and there isn't a fantasy element in this book. This is what it's like, and it's very personal, and very universal, and magical.
We are all one, everything is connected.
I'm also a modern shaman* of the forest and the city, and there isn't a fantasy element in this book. This is what it's like, and it's very personal, and very universal, and magical.
We are all one, everything is connected.
June 25, 2022
I'm glad it exists - a David Almond book that disappointed. Every one I've read so far has sucked me in a churned me out, exhausted and brilliantly satisfied. Bone Music didn't work for me so perhaps the guy is mortal after all. I wouldn't go as far as to say Bone Music is a parody of own work, but it comes close at times and the themes that he relies on so heavily here come across clunkily. The spiritual feels cheaply esoterically and the main character's soul-searching is painfully heavy-handed. Almond's normally intense, concise prose and his hypnotic repetitions here sound forced and overdone. That's not to say I didn't enjoy parts of Bone Music. It's a odd, mystical, romantic tale that expands on the themes of his canon. However, for whatever reasons, the pieces didn't click into place.
Bone Music is for slightly older readers and fits in well with A Song for Ella Grey. The characters are teenagers and the topics are more adult. Sylvia Carr has accompanied her mother to a countryside retreat and, against her own better judgement, finds herself drawn to the mysticism and ghostly magic of the land. She meets a lonesome, sad boy who can play a bone flute so beautifully that it threatens to raise the dead. Almond's books often tend to straddle the space between a Greek myth and a Cure song - nowhere so clearly as in this teenager romance. The story of two souls finding each other in a strange place, two souls who don't fit in finding solace in each other's strangeness, is one that, no doubt, every generation of teenagers needs. Sylvia then sets about carving her own bone flute. The romance and the spell forged by the music they create, culminates in a night of folk music at the local pub. One can't knock the enthusiasm with which Almond wants to paint the joy of this scene, where the music evokes an otherworldly atmosphere. He always reaches back into the past, looking for ghosts, stories and refuge from modernity. Cleverly, the book ends with a return to the city, a sight always visible by its night lights, and sees Slyvia, and her music, appear at a climate change demonstration. The scene is the strongest in the book and repositions Sylvia as not just an internal soul-searcher, the egocentricism of youth, but as a moral compass or lodestone. Almond wants to express the need to return to the past in order to find the strength and the tools to deal with the challenges of the present.
As always, I respect Almond's depth of emotion and I find him a painfully relevant author for today's younger readers. Despite the fact that he mines the oldest of ghost stories and ancient myths for his inspiration, his stories are all grounded in the issues facing our modern world. It was in other areas that I felt Bone Music fell short of his usually impeccable standards. Sylvia is one of the weakest of his lead characters and he repeated self-affirmation grew tiresome. The promising spookiness of the book's opening never really comes to fruition. While it's true that in David Almond books little actually happens, I was plagued by the feeling that here something had to happen to compensate for the cardboard characters. The romance, while believable, lacks nuance or direction. The older themes also don't correspond well to their post-pubescent setting. There is a kiss but the rest of the relationship is strangely asexual, as if Almond wants to elevate their spontaneous love into the realms of the spiritual or existential. Almond writes beautifully but that seems an ambitious move for a rather ordinary encounter between two solitary teenagers.
It's the only Almond book I grew impatient with. I enjoyed passages but occasionally got bored by Sylvia's posturing. All the ingredients are there to make Bone Music another Almond masterpiece, but, weirdly, it all comes across as rather ordinary. There's hope for other writers of young adult fiction yet.
Bone Music is for slightly older readers and fits in well with A Song for Ella Grey. The characters are teenagers and the topics are more adult. Sylvia Carr has accompanied her mother to a countryside retreat and, against her own better judgement, finds herself drawn to the mysticism and ghostly magic of the land. She meets a lonesome, sad boy who can play a bone flute so beautifully that it threatens to raise the dead. Almond's books often tend to straddle the space between a Greek myth and a Cure song - nowhere so clearly as in this teenager romance. The story of two souls finding each other in a strange place, two souls who don't fit in finding solace in each other's strangeness, is one that, no doubt, every generation of teenagers needs. Sylvia then sets about carving her own bone flute. The romance and the spell forged by the music they create, culminates in a night of folk music at the local pub. One can't knock the enthusiasm with which Almond wants to paint the joy of this scene, where the music evokes an otherworldly atmosphere. He always reaches back into the past, looking for ghosts, stories and refuge from modernity. Cleverly, the book ends with a return to the city, a sight always visible by its night lights, and sees Slyvia, and her music, appear at a climate change demonstration. The scene is the strongest in the book and repositions Sylvia as not just an internal soul-searcher, the egocentricism of youth, but as a moral compass or lodestone. Almond wants to express the need to return to the past in order to find the strength and the tools to deal with the challenges of the present.
As always, I respect Almond's depth of emotion and I find him a painfully relevant author for today's younger readers. Despite the fact that he mines the oldest of ghost stories and ancient myths for his inspiration, his stories are all grounded in the issues facing our modern world. It was in other areas that I felt Bone Music fell short of his usually impeccable standards. Sylvia is one of the weakest of his lead characters and he repeated self-affirmation grew tiresome. The promising spookiness of the book's opening never really comes to fruition. While it's true that in David Almond books little actually happens, I was plagued by the feeling that here something had to happen to compensate for the cardboard characters. The romance, while believable, lacks nuance or direction. The older themes also don't correspond well to their post-pubescent setting. There is a kiss but the rest of the relationship is strangely asexual, as if Almond wants to elevate their spontaneous love into the realms of the spiritual or existential. Almond writes beautifully but that seems an ambitious move for a rather ordinary encounter between two solitary teenagers.
It's the only Almond book I grew impatient with. I enjoyed passages but occasionally got bored by Sylvia's posturing. All the ingredients are there to make Bone Music another Almond masterpiece, but, weirdly, it all comes across as rather ordinary. There's hope for other writers of young adult fiction yet.
May 4, 2022
Eine Geschichte von Knochen, Musik und Natur
Eigentlich wollte ich Bone Music noch im April beenden. Doch überraschenderweise habe ich für die kurze Erzählung länger gebraucht als gedacht. Nicht weil mir das Buch nicht gefallen hat, sondern weil David Almond mich mit seinen ruhigen Worten nachdenklich gestimmt hat.
Die 15-jährige Sylvia verbringt die Ferien gemeinsam mit ihrer Mutter im ursprünglichen und wilden Northumberland. Statt Handyempfang erwarten Sylvia viel Natur, Wälder, einsame Fjells und eine eindringliche Melodie, deren Klänge Sylvia sehr berühren. Und dann trifft Sylvia auf Gabriel, der sie auf seine Streifzüge durch die Wälder mitnimmt und ihr die tiefe Verwurzelung der Vergangenheit in der Natur näherbringt. Dabei entwickelt sich nicht nur eine tiefe Freundschaft, sondern es beginnt sich auch in Sylvia etwas zu verändern.
Bone Music war für mich kein leichtes Buch. Es ist eine sehr philosophische Erzählung, in der sich Traum und Realität manchmal vermischen. David Almond nimmt uns mit zu den Ursprüngen und greift die tiefe Verbindung unserer Ahnen mit der Natur auf. Dabei spielt auch die Musik und die Flöte, die Sylvia aus den Knochen eines Bussards herstellt eine große Rolle.
"《Der Bussard stirbt》, sagte sie, 《 und im Tod hilft er mit, Leben zu schenken.》"
(Zitat aus Bone Music, Seite 47 von 91)
In Gesprächen mit Gabriel lernt Sylvia aus der Vergangenheit für die Zukunft. Es geht um Umweltschutz, Klimawandel, Kriege und die Wertschätzung des Lebens.
"Wir. Wir sind die diejenigen, die die Welt verändern können. Wir, die verdrehte, leidenschaftliche, schwierige, liebende Jugend."
(Zitat aus Bone Music, Seite 46 von 91)
Dabei werden auch schwere Themen wie Selbstverletzung und Depressionen angesprochen.
Es sind wie gesagt keine leichten Themen und ich kann das Buch daher auch nicht uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen. 'Bone Music' ist definitiv besonders und außergewöhnlich, aber man sollte sich auf eine Geschichte einstellen, bei der man oftmals zwischen den Zeilen lesen muss, die nachdenklich stimmt und nachhallt.
Fazit:
In David Almonds kurzer Geschichte steckt sehr viel Ruhe, Natur, Musik und Vergangenheit. Bone Music ist sehr ruhig erzählt, regt zum Nach- und Umdenken an und hallt nach. Man sollte schon Zeit beim Lesen mitbringen.
Ich kann das Buch Leser*innen empfehlen, die gerne in poetische und philosophische Gedankenwelten abtauchen.
Eigentlich wollte ich Bone Music noch im April beenden. Doch überraschenderweise habe ich für die kurze Erzählung länger gebraucht als gedacht. Nicht weil mir das Buch nicht gefallen hat, sondern weil David Almond mich mit seinen ruhigen Worten nachdenklich gestimmt hat.
Die 15-jährige Sylvia verbringt die Ferien gemeinsam mit ihrer Mutter im ursprünglichen und wilden Northumberland. Statt Handyempfang erwarten Sylvia viel Natur, Wälder, einsame Fjells und eine eindringliche Melodie, deren Klänge Sylvia sehr berühren. Und dann trifft Sylvia auf Gabriel, der sie auf seine Streifzüge durch die Wälder mitnimmt und ihr die tiefe Verwurzelung der Vergangenheit in der Natur näherbringt. Dabei entwickelt sich nicht nur eine tiefe Freundschaft, sondern es beginnt sich auch in Sylvia etwas zu verändern.
Bone Music war für mich kein leichtes Buch. Es ist eine sehr philosophische Erzählung, in der sich Traum und Realität manchmal vermischen. David Almond nimmt uns mit zu den Ursprüngen und greift die tiefe Verbindung unserer Ahnen mit der Natur auf. Dabei spielt auch die Musik und die Flöte, die Sylvia aus den Knochen eines Bussards herstellt eine große Rolle.
"《Der Bussard stirbt》, sagte sie, 《 und im Tod hilft er mit, Leben zu schenken.》"
(Zitat aus Bone Music, Seite 47 von 91)
In Gesprächen mit Gabriel lernt Sylvia aus der Vergangenheit für die Zukunft. Es geht um Umweltschutz, Klimawandel, Kriege und die Wertschätzung des Lebens.
"Wir. Wir sind die diejenigen, die die Welt verändern können. Wir, die verdrehte, leidenschaftliche, schwierige, liebende Jugend."
(Zitat aus Bone Music, Seite 46 von 91)
Dabei werden auch schwere Themen wie Selbstverletzung und Depressionen angesprochen.
Es sind wie gesagt keine leichten Themen und ich kann das Buch daher auch nicht uneingeschränkt weiterempfehlen. 'Bone Music' ist definitiv besonders und außergewöhnlich, aber man sollte sich auf eine Geschichte einstellen, bei der man oftmals zwischen den Zeilen lesen muss, die nachdenklich stimmt und nachhallt.
Fazit:
In David Almonds kurzer Geschichte steckt sehr viel Ruhe, Natur, Musik und Vergangenheit. Bone Music ist sehr ruhig erzählt, regt zum Nach- und Umdenken an und hallt nach. Man sollte schon Zeit beim Lesen mitbringen.
Ich kann das Buch Leser*innen empfehlen, die gerne in poetische und philosophische Gedankenwelten abtauchen.
January 31, 2021
'Bone Music' is a short book that follows Sylvia Carr as she temporarily moves to the Northern countryside and connects with the nature there. It is an ambitious exploration of what it means to be young and how intertwined history is with the present.
I didn't have many expectations going into this book but I was definitely expecting a more substantial plot. The plot was minimal, and I'm not completely sure what it was if I'm honest- it was a bit messy. I appreciate what the author was aiming to do but I feel as if a better approach could have benefitted the book more. It was very character-driven but only by one character - Sylvia. I enjoyed Sylvia's character, even if I didn't always connect her character to her logic. I would have liked to see more of Gabriel, he just came and went rather than being established as a driving character. The other characters were pretty bland, and I don't love Andreas' guilt tripping nazi thing, considering Sylvia is 15.
The messages and discussion of being young and the world around us were central to the book and my feelings towards this were very mixed. I enjoyed the interactions between Sylvia and Gabriel, I loved seeing how excited they were about the enormity of the world around them. That being said, it did feel, at times, like an adult's version of what kids are like, which was distracting.
Overall, this book didn't wow me. It confused me but it was also cute.
I received an ARC of this book and am writing this review voluntarily!
I didn't have many expectations going into this book but I was definitely expecting a more substantial plot. The plot was minimal, and I'm not completely sure what it was if I'm honest- it was a bit messy. I appreciate what the author was aiming to do but I feel as if a better approach could have benefitted the book more. It was very character-driven but only by one character - Sylvia. I enjoyed Sylvia's character, even if I didn't always connect her character to her logic. I would have liked to see more of Gabriel, he just came and went rather than being established as a driving character. The other characters were pretty bland, and I don't love Andreas' guilt tripping nazi thing, considering Sylvia is 15.
The messages and discussion of being young and the world around us were central to the book and my feelings towards this were very mixed. I enjoyed the interactions between Sylvia and Gabriel, I loved seeing how excited they were about the enormity of the world around them. That being said, it did feel, at times, like an adult's version of what kids are like, which was distracting.
Overall, this book didn't wow me. It confused me but it was also cute.
I received an ARC of this book and am writing this review voluntarily!
March 27, 2021
David Almond is a well-known author who's written Skellig. Having read his previous work, I expected more from his new book 'Bone Music'.
Synopsis: Sylvia, on holiday with her mum just outside of Newcastle, is unhappy with her mum's remote location of choice. Trying to keep her social standing with her peers at a distance, Sylvia feels lonely and out of sorts. Yet, something beckons her in the woods that surrounds this town. Join Sylvia, as she discovers herself, with a little help from her new friend Gabriel.
Similar to the author's previous works, the book is very descriptive and provides a lot of detail on the nature around Northumberland. Unfortunately, the writing style feels short, abrupt and does not flow well. The novel does have a good initial poetic grasp, but quickly devolves into a patchy work, I think my main gripe is that although the book makes a solid effort to make reference to ancient forces, customs and connections to wilderness, it does so without much depth. Sylvia's reflections feel authentic and this is a shining moment for the novel, but the incessant use of the word 'bliddy' detracts considering the character's age.
The Verdict: Despite my best efforts to persevere, I only managed to force myself to read 40% of this book. I really wanted to like this novel; however, the substance fell short and it just did not hold my attention. I'm not sure many of my students would enjoy this book, so I'd be hesitant to recommend it.
*NetGalley Copy*
Synopsis: Sylvia, on holiday with her mum just outside of Newcastle, is unhappy with her mum's remote location of choice. Trying to keep her social standing with her peers at a distance, Sylvia feels lonely and out of sorts. Yet, something beckons her in the woods that surrounds this town. Join Sylvia, as she discovers herself, with a little help from her new friend Gabriel.
Similar to the author's previous works, the book is very descriptive and provides a lot of detail on the nature around Northumberland. Unfortunately, the writing style feels short, abrupt and does not flow well. The novel does have a good initial poetic grasp, but quickly devolves into a patchy work, I think my main gripe is that although the book makes a solid effort to make reference to ancient forces, customs and connections to wilderness, it does so without much depth. Sylvia's reflections feel authentic and this is a shining moment for the novel, but the incessant use of the word 'bliddy' detracts considering the character's age.
The Verdict: Despite my best efforts to persevere, I only managed to force myself to read 40% of this book. I really wanted to like this novel; however, the substance fell short and it just did not hold my attention. I'm not sure many of my students would enjoy this book, so I'd be hesitant to recommend it.
*NetGalley Copy*
June 14, 2023
Kaunis ja taianomainen tarina luonnosta, ihmisyydestä ja itsensä löytämisestä. Toivon menettämisestä ja löytymisestä, nuoruudesta.
Sylvia muuttaa äitinsä kanssa pieneen kylään Northumbriassa. Joka puolella on pelkkää metsää ja kavereita ja kaupunkielämää on ikävä, mutta naapurin poika, metsissä ja nummilla vaeltelu sekä erityisesti kuolleen linnun luusta rakennettu huilu alkavatkin vetää Sylviaa puoleensa. Legendan mukaan luuhuilua soittamalla voi ylittää rajan elävien ja kuolleiden valtakuntien välillä. Ja eräänä yönä Sylvia päättää soittaa huilua.
Pidin tosi paljon Northumbrian luonnon ja myyttisten, ikivanhojen metsien kuvauksesta. Teksti soljuu eteenpäin kuin metsäpuro. Luontokuvauksen lomassa kirjassa käsitellään synkempiäkin teemoja: sotaa, yksinäisyyttä, itsetuhoa ja huolta planeetan tulevaisuudesta. Perusvire on kuitenkin toiveikas.
Hurmaava satu luonnon kunnioituksen ja suojelun puolesta. Ja kevyttä filosofista pohdintaa siitä, kuinka olemme kaikki yhtä luonnon kanssa, ja kuinka ymmärtämällä oman pienuutensa voi tulla todella vahvaksi.
Sylvia muuttaa äitinsä kanssa pieneen kylään Northumbriassa. Joka puolella on pelkkää metsää ja kavereita ja kaupunkielämää on ikävä, mutta naapurin poika, metsissä ja nummilla vaeltelu sekä erityisesti kuolleen linnun luusta rakennettu huilu alkavatkin vetää Sylviaa puoleensa. Legendan mukaan luuhuilua soittamalla voi ylittää rajan elävien ja kuolleiden valtakuntien välillä. Ja eräänä yönä Sylvia päättää soittaa huilua.
Pidin tosi paljon Northumbrian luonnon ja myyttisten, ikivanhojen metsien kuvauksesta. Teksti soljuu eteenpäin kuin metsäpuro. Luontokuvauksen lomassa kirjassa käsitellään synkempiäkin teemoja: sotaa, yksinäisyyttä, itsetuhoa ja huolta planeetan tulevaisuudesta. Perusvire on kuitenkin toiveikas.
Hurmaava satu luonnon kunnioituksen ja suojelun puolesta. Ja kevyttä filosofista pohdintaa siitä, kuinka olemme kaikki yhtä luonnon kanssa, ja kuinka ymmärtämällä oman pienuutensa voi tulla todella vahvaksi.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews