The secular angel in contemporary children's literature: David ...

This very process of change, of both body and mind, that Reynolds describes is especially
important in all five books discussed in this thesis, as will be seen further in the analysis; but
in Skellig the use of magical realism facilitates this “acceptance of the improbable”, rendering
it almost natural when considered as an extension of reality, rather than an impossibility made
magically possible. When one afternoon Michael goes over to Mina’s garden, he finds her
drawing and reading. He tells her that the previous night, just after dawn he was awake and he
was making the hooting noise. He asks her if she was also awake and whether she was also
making the sound as well. She replies that she cannot be certain.
‘Can’t?’ ‘I dream. I walk in my sleep. Sometimes I do things really and I think
they were just dreams. Sometimes I dream them and think they were real.’ She
stared at me. ‘I dreamed about you last night,’ she said.’ ‘Did you?’ ‘Yes, but
it’s not important.’ (Almond, 2007, 59-60)
Although she could be reaffirming what Bullen and Parsons believe to be an indication of
Skellig’s ambiguous existence, she is also contemplating the fragility of what we perceive as
reality. Therefore, the reality of Skellig is just as ordinary and possible as the muddling of
truth and dreams, reality and fantasy; for in the end, the truth is in the eye of the beholder.
Furthermore, it is also a question of faith, but not in a guardian angel that has descended from
the heavens or has been sent by God; but faith in the existence of a creature that might defy
what we perceive to be real or ordinary.
In the first instance where Michael speaks about the baby there is evidence of
compassion and love, but these feelings seem somewhat vacant and void of true
understanding. He thinks of, but does not realise, what the baby’s illness and fragility could
mean and lead to, in that he does not allow himself to think what the possible consequences
are and what they could mean for his family. He hears her rasping and sees his mother worry
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