Customer Reviews

Fire-Eaters

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bobby Burns has lived his entire life in the small coastal town of Keely Bay, but in the autumn of 1962 he finds that his life is changing. He is going to a new preparatory school, leaving his old friends and the village school behind. He suspects his father may be sick. The Cuban Missile Crisis is raging in America, threatening the entire world with nuclear annihilation.

He is also meeting new people. There is McNulty, a fire-eater and escapologist whose mind was unhinged in WWII. There is Daniel, the new kid in town, who looks down on Keely Bay's working class inhabitants. Then there are the cruel teachers at Bobby's new school, who resort to beatings when they feel children don't know their place.

Together, Bobby and Daniel mount a protest against the barbaric practice of strapping. The potential price of expulsion seems insignificant compared to the protests against nuclear war they see on television. When Bobby asks his father about the rioting, he answers, "That's just people doing what they should do, making their voice heard, yelling against what they know is wrong."

David Almond's books often deal with themes of faith and redemption. THE FIRE-EATERS contains both of these elements, along with a reverence for even the most damaged lives. The night when nuclear war is averted, Bobby, his family, McNulty and the neighbors gather on the beach, eating, drinking and trying to spend time together with the people and places they love before the world ends, or changes forever.

THE FIRE-EATERS contains a powerful message of hope. The fear of nuclear war, which was at its height during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was for its generation what the fear of terrorism is for this generation. Not every disaster can be averted, as was seen during the tragic events of September 11th, but the FIRE-EATERS is a reminder that these moments of crisis can bring clarity to our lives and help us to treasure those things that are truly meaningful.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

Are you the kind of person that likes to read books that has funny words on it? Also, if you are a guy that likes reading books that has a great wonderful story I suggest for you to read this. If you want to learn a lot of words that are big and not normally used, you should read this book. Well if you are one of those people that get entertained by reading funny words learning new words and likes great stories keep reading!

This book has a lot of funny words, words that are like: nowt, mebbe, aye, and more! So if you like funny words you should read this book. Some people like to read and learn something so if you are one of those people u should read this because you will learn a lot of new big words in this book. This book also has a wonderful story my favorite part of the book is when a guy breath fire and inhales it and breathes it out again. If you read this book, you would picture him doing all of those nice tricks like swallowing a sword, getting locked in something and escaping, the rope trick, making the snake dance, and the best of all; the breathing fire trick.

I strongly recommend for you to read this book because it is worth reading. You will laugh out loud with all of the funny words in this book and you will learn a lot of new big words, so it is like your learning something and you are laughing and having fun reading the book. This book will entertain you because it has a great story! So if I were you, I would go to the nearest library or book store and get this book!

Another book by David Almond that carries you along in the story as miracles slowly unfold beneath the surface. The characters are drawn with tenderness and humor and the community they create and inhabit becomes almost a character in itself. I remember the Cuban missile crisis--I was about the same age as Bobby Burns, the main character in this story, and the story evoked the memory of those days so hauntingly.

I keep marveling at the title, that plural that makes you think "together we can save the world."

This story was most engaging as I was brought back to my youth in a flood of memories. The author also succeeded in re-awakening the same feelings of joy and anxiety that I remembered from this time in history. My 13 year old son had recommended this book to me and I must be developing an interest in young adult fiction. Another book in this genre that captured my attention was Mark McNulty's `The Sea Shack'. Each book involved tales of young boys and their experiences in seacoast communities. I could identify with these times and circumstances and the authors remarkable talent for developing young characters. These books are terrific offerings for true `summer escape' reading. And, they are to be enjoyed by young and old alike as I have learned. Now, I must read the other David Almond books. I have become a fan.

Set in England, eleven year old Bobby Burns has a lot on his mind. His father is ill and he has just started at a new school. If that is not enough, it is 1962 and the world is on the brink of World War III as Bobby and his family watch the hostilities between the United States and Russia now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. While out with his mother, Bobby sees the street performer, McNulty the Fire Eater. Bobby is afraid of the big man, yet so fascinated by McNulty's tricks that he seeks him out whenever possible. A precarious bond is formed between the young boy and the Fire Eater. It soon becomes apparent to Bobby that McNulty is both mentally ill and homeless. Almond does a beautiful job portraying the mysterious McNulty as someone to fear yet someone to love and to comfort. Some of McNulty's tricks may not be for the squeamish and the abusive teachers may offend some. Recommended for ages 12+ years old.

When i first got this book out it didnt sound like a interesting book. I read the first page wondering what was happening. But as the story got deeper into the plot i couldnt put it down. I dont really read that much i enjoy watching television but this was such a sensational read i couldnt stop. Has a nice plot and is writin extremly well. Another great book by David almond

This was one of the best books I read last year. There are a couple of intertwined themes here all set in the background of a working class family in the Durham coalfields.

The protagonist passes the 11 plus and is thus accepted into a grammar school, where he is nevertheless subjected -along with other children there - to daily cruelty, and ingrained prejudices, which during the novel, and through a friendship, he gains the power to overcome.

At the same time there is a theme with a character - McNulty - of mental illness, as well as the strains on the family under the threat of a life threatening illness - all set against the fear of approaching apocalypse in the cuban missile crisis.

There is so much in this book, it cannot be described - it has to be read. And Reading is not a chore, because David Almond is such a good writer. His prose is simple, but still manages to be vivid and engaging.

This is a book to read and ponder. Highly recommended

The greatest testament there is to the power of good writing is the ability it has to tell universal stories in very particular settings. For example, when you think of the author David Almond you pretty much have to think of one place in the world. North-eastern England. Books like "Kit's Wilderness" (one of the greatest children's books ever dreamt up) would be nothing without their location. And the same goes for his particularly ambitious effort, "The Fire-Eaters". This book is set, in his own words in, "a tatty place, a coaly beach by a coaly sea". The characters talk with thick beautiful brogues. Their lives and the lives of their ancestors are rooted to the beaches on which they were born. Yet somehow this book could apply to any human being on any land on this small planet we call our own. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a testament to good writing.

Keely Bay is set apart from the rest of the world. It's the kind of place where a family can make a living simply by panning for the coal that appears naturally in the sea around it. Bobby Burns, however, is bound for higher things. He has been accepted into the nearby public school (along with some of his friends) and away from people like his friend Joseph. Then the world comes crashing down around him. When Bobby meets a mysterious fire-eater in a nearby city, that's the moment when his life starts to take a turn for the bizarre. Suddenly his dad has a mysterious illness and far away in America the Russian Missle Crisis is taking place. Bobby finds himself standing up to the oppressive corporeal punishment wielded at his school and dealing with the darkness that's coming far too close to his once perfect life. Deftly, author David Almond weaves fact and fancy, history and mystical goings-on to create a story that's technically fictional but more real than any other book being published today.

Almond as an author has always been fascinated with stories in which a young male protagonist has a deep connection with an older male father-figure. In "Skellig" (his best known and most magical work) it was the mysterious bird-man found in the boy's garage. In "Kit's Wilderness" it was both the boy's grandfather and the boy he befriended in the deep dark coal mines. Here, Bobby befriends a mysterious stranger (like in "Skellig") but also has a deep meaningful relationship with his own father (like in "Kit's Wilderness"). Also, Almond tends to place a magical girl-figure in his books. This one is no exception. And it's funny... for all that Mr. Almond can be relied upon to create such regular cut-out characters, his books are some of the freshest and deeply moving out there today. Every time I read a David Almond book I think it's the best thing I've ever read. Until I happen to read the next David Almond book and the whole process starts again. His talent is in his ability to weave plots, themes, and ideas together. The fact that Almond makes his work seem so effortless is part of its charm.

I doubt "The Fire-Eaters" is assigned all that often in school. Which is a real pity, to be blunt. Will kids who read it enjoy it? I dunno. Maybe. The book isn't particularly hard to get through, though the language may strike some Yankee tots as hard to translate. In the end though, I think it's perfect for the child reader that's just a hair touch smarter than his or her brethren. If you happen to know a child who excels a little more than their fellows, try "The Fire-Eaters" out on them. They may see the heights to which Almond aspires even more clearly than I do. A great work of art.

This book takes place in 1962, before and during the Cuban missile crisis. Bobby Burns lives in a sleepy little coal-mining town near Keely Bay. When Bobby goes into Newcastle one Sunday, he sees a mysterious street performer, McNulty, eating fire, escaping from chains, and sticking sharp implements through his cheeks. McNulty drags Bobby out of the audience to be his assistant. Instead of being frightened by the very obviously crazy McNulty, Bobby forms an instant bond with him. When Bobby gets home, he tells his father about McNulty. Bobby's father tells him that he and McNulty served together in W.W.II, and that McNulty was bullied and beaten up by the other men on the ship.

When Bobby's father begins suffering from a mysterious illness, Bobby's parents reassure him that it's nothing, but after multiple trips to the hospital, Bobby begins to fear for his father's health.

Meanwhile, Bobby has just started at a new school where one of the teachers beats the children across the hands with a strap at the slightest provocation. Bobby and another boy, Daniel, decide to fight back against the tyranny by taking pictures of the teacher beating children and putting the pictures everywhere in the school.

Bobby has another friend, Ailsa, who doesn't want to go to school. She's very bright, but her father wants her to stay at home and cook and clean for the family. Ailsa also believes that she can heal things with her prayers and dreams, such as the dead fawn she found. She prayed for it to come back to life until she fell asleep beside it, and when she woke up it was alive again. Bobby asks Ailsa if she can heal his dad the same way she healed the fawn.

At the same time, the Cuban missile crisis breaks out. Everyone thinks it might be the end of the world, so Bobby keeps sticking himself with a pin and praying that he'll be taken as a sacrifice so everyone else can be safe.

For a book that's supposed to be about how miracles can save the world, there are very few to save this book. The author rambles, so there are many, many, story lines which must be resolved. Unfortunately, few are.

The characters are also very one-dimensional. There are many characters who are simply names with no personalities. There are also characters which do things that conflict with their personalities. For example, Bobby doesn't like being beaten at school, yet he's constantly hanging around a boy who bullies him. Does this make sense? Not really.

There are some good scenes, such as when Bobby and Daniel stand up to the principal, but they are few and far between. Much of the book is Bobby praying, sticking himself with a pin, or thinking about something that happened a couple of chapters ago. There is also no climax. The book just wanders until it's over.

Of course, since The Fire-Eaters is an award-winning book, it means someone has to die, become terminally ill, or both. It's getting to be a trend in the children's books world that the awards only go to books about children with terminally ill parents/siblings/best friends or books where there is a least one character who is destined to never make it to the last page. If you don't believe me, check out the last several years' Newberry award books.

This is not a bad book; it's just not a very good one. Too much of it is spent rambling on and on; too little is spent developing the characters or the plot. So, save you money, your time, and your eyesight for a better book.

This book had horribly scattered ideas and no plot. We read this in my book club and no one was very impressed. I forced myself to struggle through this and get it's sleepy pages over with. I thought the book would pick up at the very end but I had no such luck. I slept through it from beginning to end. Some charactors were well formed but most of them including the narrator were completely unbelievable with no distinct personality. I do not know how this book won an award. It was truly a disappointment.