The Tightrope Walkers
 First edition | |
| Author | David Almond |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Published | 2014 (Penguin Books) |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 275 |
| ISBN | 9780241003237 |
| OCLC | 941638633 |
The Tightrope Walkers is a 2014 novel written by David Almond and is Almond's second adult novel. It is about Dominic Hall growing up in 1960s North East England. A young adult version was released in America in 2015.
Reception[edit]
A Guardian review of The Tightrope Walkers wrote "Even in writing for adults, .. Almond threads the fantastical and imaginate through the drabness of the mundane, alternating lyricism with rough realism."[1] and The New York Times wrote "Almond’s rough, beautiful world of books and ships, sinners and saints is a lyrical reminder of how, when we lose our equilibrium, art can redeem us."[2]
Kirkus Reviews[3] and Publishers Weekly[4] both gave starred reviews.
The Tightrope Walkers has also been reviewed by Booklist,[5] BookPage Reviews,[5] Voice of Youth Advocates magazine,[5] The Horn Book Magazine,[5] School Library Connection,[5] The School Library Journal,[5] the Historical Novel Society,[6] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[7]
An audio version received a 2015 Earphones Award.[8] It was also a 2016 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Fiction for Young Adults Choice.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Feay, Suzi (22 August 2014). "The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond review - Tyneside in the 60s". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ Hubert Swan, Jennifer (29 May 2015). "Y.A. Crossover". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ "The Tightrope Walkers". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
The award-winning Almond poetically plumbs the depths of his 1950s and '60s childhood to explore themes of violence, war, God, creativity, beauty, death, art, the soul, our animal selves, whether we ever grow up or can really know each other…in short, life.
- ^ "The Tightrope Walkers". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
a powerfully realistic bildungsroman
- ^ a b c d e f "The Tightrope Walkers: Reviews". catalog.wccls.org. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ "The Tightrope Walkers". historicalnovelsociety.org. Historical Novel Society. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ Karen Coats (November 2015). "Almond David The Tightrope Walkers". The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 8 (8). Johns Hopkins University Press: 387. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ "The Tightrope Walkers". AudioFile Magazine. AudioFile Publications, Inc. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
- ^ "CCBC Choices 2016" (PDF). ccbc.education.wisc.edu. School of Education, University of Wisconsin - Madison. Retrieved 25 December 2016.