The Fire-Eaters Mass Market Paperback – January 12, 2010

Exactly what I was looking for and it arrived when I needed it <3

It is 1962. Robert (Bobby) Burns lives in Keely Bay, not too far from Newcastle in England. The world is gathering to a knot formed by the nuclear build-up between USA and USSR, John F. Kennedy and Kruschev. The potential of world war 3 builds up in the last quarter of the story.In Newcastle, Bobby meets Mr. McNulty, a fire-eater, an escapologist, who eventually makes his way to Keely Bay. Coincidentally, Bobby’s Dad remembers McNulty from Burma, in 1945 during the war.Other characters are Ailsa Spink and her family of father and two brothers who bring coal out of the seabed, her mother having recently died. Joseph Connor, a few years older than Bobby, a school-wagger and lout, is Bobby’s oldest friend. Then there’s the new boy, Daniel, and his family. Daniel will go to Sacred Heart as a new boy with Bobby. They’re more educated than the rest of Bobby’s friends.PTSD is hinted at, but never defined, which makes the telling smoother. There’s illness and survival. There’s miracles like the fawn that Ailsa rescues. There’s bullies like the teachers at Sacred Heart. There’s rebellion, in the world by the nuclear disarmament crowd, and in Keely Bay.It is a lyrical and emotional story, with some unresolved threads. For example, how Daniel and Bobby resolve the huge differences evident in their bringing up is not really told, other than they are on the same side at school. I didn’t really get how the fire-eating motif related to the nuclear war theme. It is a tale that stays with you.

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.

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

My son read this before me. We are both David Almond fans and he couldn't wait for me to finish it so that we could discuss it. One thing we both agreed on, Almond has such a talent for writing in a flawlessly simple way which somehow manages to convey so much beauty and tragedy. For me that makes his books perfect for children and adults. The Fire Eater of the title is a homeless war veteran named McNulty who makes money by performing tricks for passerbys, such as fire-eating and escapology. The narrator is a young boy called Bobby Burns who leads a simple but happy life with his mum and dad in Keeley Bay. Life is hard for the locals, but with a true working class spirit of community, they all get by and Bobby has very little to worry about. Bobby becomes fascinated with McNulty when his father explains how he met him during the war. The man had seen such horror it had altered his mind forever. Meanwhile, the threat of World War Three is looming with the Russians and Americans threatening to launch missiles. The whole book has a sad and desperate feel to it, as the characters try to live their lives with the threat of nuclear war hanging over their heads. The fear begins to affect them in different ways and Bobby's young life is turned upside down when his father becomes ill, and he finds his new school a cruel and hostile place where one particular teacher revels in dealing out violence. The new boy in town is not fazed though, and together they hatch a plan for revenge. This is just one of many gripping storylines that make this book so touching. I also loved Ailsa and Joseph, both strong characters you can't help fall in love with. I think Almond has such a talent for weaving universal themes such as war and death and morality into a simple children's story. I was left moved, having read it in one day, transferred from my world into theirs, and wanting more. An important story of family, friendships, community and standing up for what you know is right. Highly recommended.

My daughter is really enjoying reading The Fire Eaters novel, they are actually doing there English at school about The Fire Eaters, it seems to be an interesting book. I would recommend it to other customers.

A wonderful read that has stayed with me. The imagery is is lovely and the story was gripping and poignant.

I was impressed with the early delivery date, the secure packaging and the book itself, which was as described. I would definitely recommend you to my friends and family for excellent service.

My children are 8 and 10 years old and they have books that they read to themselves and each other and then books that I read to them. I love David Almond. It's so wonderful to find a children's/young adults' writer that is actually enjoyable to read out loud to your kids. I find that most childrens' books have interesting or fun stories but horrible, or at best inoffensive, writing styles. David Almond's words are bewitching. In this climate of tablets and widespread ADD, I cannot describe the relief of seeing my children's faces, rapt, their eyes distant, hanging onto Mr. Almond's every word. THANK GOD FOR DAVID ALMOND. I do.