The Tightrope Walkers, David Almond
The Tightrope Walkers, David Almond
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The Tightrope Walkers

Author: David Almond

Narrator: Richard Halverson

Unabridged: 8 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/24/2015

Synopsis

International award-winner David Almond draws on memories of his early years in Tyneside, England, for a moving coming-of-age novel, masterfully told.A gentle visionary coming of age in the shadow of the shipyards of northern England, Dominic Hall is torn between extremes.On the one hand, he craves the freedom he feels when he steals away with the eccentric girl artist next door, Holly Stroud—his first and abiding love—to balance above the earth on a makeshift tightrope. With Holly, Dom dreams of a life different in every way from his shipbuilder dad's, a life fashioned of words and images and story.On the other hand, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to the brutal charms of Vincent McAlinden, a complex bully who brings out Dom's darker desires, awakening something wild and reckless and killing in his nature.In a raw and beautifully crafted bildungsroman, David Almond reveals the rich inner world of a boy teetering on the edge of manhood, a boy so curious and alive and open to impulse that we fear for him and question his balance—and ultimately exult in his triumphs.

About David Almond

David Almond has received several major international awards, including a Hans Christian Andersen Award, a Carnegie Medal, two Whitbread Awards, an Eleanor Farjeon Award, and a Michael L. Printz Award. He is known worldwide as the author of Skellig, Clay, and many other novels, stories, and plays. With Candlewick, he is the author of The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, as well as The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers; The Savage, Slog’s Dad, and Mouse Bird Snake Wolf, all illustrated by Dave McKean; and My Dad’s a Birdman and The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon, both illustrated by Polly Dunbar. David Almond lives in England with his family.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lauren on June 01, 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......more

Goodreads review by Maciek on March 03, 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......more

Goodreads review by Elaine on 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 o......more

Goodreads review by emily on December 28, 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......more

Goodreads review by Patricia on January 25, 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 believabl......more

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