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Read The Fire-Eaters (2004)

The Fire-Eaters (2004)

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Genre
Rating
3.54 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0385731701 (ISBN13: 9780385731706)
Language
English
Publisher
delacorte books for young readers

The Fire-Eaters (2004) - Plot & Excerpts

Setting: Keely Bay, England, a dying coastal town drowning in slack. Time: the Cold War, during which people feared the possibility of a WWIII. Set in such a turbulent period of time that would change the known world order in the West, The Fire-Eaters is a book of subtle story telling, of subtle conveying of emotions.Subtlety tends to be very much a hit and miss for me, and unfortunately, I must say this one was more of a miss to me. Most of the characters I could feel nothing much towards, such as Ailsa, a girl very much proud of her lower class citizenship, or Daniel, a boy very knowledgeable on the current world events. Contrary to a few other reviewers who found basically everybody else besides the main character interesting, I found Bobby to be one of the more believable human beings in the story. I thought his bland yups, unsure and unseeming demeanour really conveyed the uncetainty of the world he was living in. The fear of his father possibly dying, the fear of a greater war breaking out, the fear of how his school might suffocate him. The incredible feats of the fire-eater McNulty, a man who was driven mad by the war in Burma, is what drives Bobby forward to ultimately fight for what he believes in, to endure and to control pain, and to see that life is worth it all. Bobby was the best part of this book to me, exactly for how his personal journey was conveyed to the reader.Unfortunately, that wasn't quite enough to do it for me. Much of the story telling felt either slow, monotone, or abrupt [(such as the death of McNulty near the end of the book) (hide spoiler)]. Which is a shame, considering the message of the book, of Bobby's awakening, holds such a good meaning.

Bobby is growing up during the years of nuclear fear and worries about America and Russia starting another war. The book opens a few weeks before school starts, and Bobby has managed to get into an exclusive prep school, and he wonders how he will fit in—Bobby lives in a blue collar section of England—Keely Bay, a coal mining town. Bobby also has to deal with his father having a bit of a medical scare, a contortionist who seems to defy the laws of nature, a girl he’s known all his life becoming more than just a neighbor (friendship/love butnothing more than a walk on the beach) and an abusive head teacher.This is a book similar to Skellig, though not quite as bizarre. Almond has created a story that captures life perfectly—there is no one thing going on in someone’s life (especially when they’re around middle school age), and everything does seem to blend together sometimes. We don’t see a lot of character development with Bobby, but he does grow and change a bit through the novel. He struggles with friendships, his father’s mysterious illness (that no one will tell him about—they just say everything will be fine) and a strict school that uses corporalpunishment. Plus the allure of the fire eater, the Cuban Missile crisis and the worry of everyone getting everything they need in life. There are a couple of spots that made me a bit squeamish—the contortionist/fire eater does a trick where he sticks a needle through his cheeks, and this is described quite well. There also may be a bit of a language barrier—some words and phrases are quite strange to Americans. Otherwise it was a well written novel, and I don’t usually like David Almond...

What do You think about The Fire-Eaters (2004)?

Themes: pain, change, war, illness, standing up for beliefsBobby Burns lives in Keely Bay, Northeastern England, during the Cold War. He has just finished primary school and is just about to begin attending a new school, when he meets McNulty, a mad street performer who performs acts of extreme pain for entertainment. As he befriends McNulty and understands more of what a life of that kind of pain could be like, Bobby begins a new school where the teachers beat the students when they do something wrong. At the same time, Bobby’s father is also very sick and Bobby worries about and prays to save him. The novel is all about how Bobby comes to not only tolerate and understand his own pain, but also to stand up for what he believes in, even if it causes him pain. Almond weaves this story through the context of the Cold War very well, and the story’s current events nicely corroborate what happens in the fictional plot. Well written, but a little sporadic and confusing plotline, so recommended for teens 14-15 and up.
—Lisa

In the last days of summer, 1962, Bobby Burns first saw McNulty, the Fire-Eater. He could wriggle free of binding chains, or stick a skewer through one cheek and out the other, so it stretched the span of his mouth. Or McNulty could breath fire, so that you couldn’t tell where the man ended and the fire began. McNulty’s past is dark and full of violence, but Bobby cannot stop thinking about him. As he begins his first days at a new school, as he worries about his father’s hacking cough, as he waits outside of the new boy’s house and peers through the windows, Bobby is always thinking of McNulty. Even as his family watches the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold on their television, Bobby wonder what McNulty could teach him, and what the strong man hears as the ocean crashes on their beach. The Fire-Eaters feels somewhat disjointed throughout the first half of the book. Almond introduces several different characters and issues for Bobby: class, power, war, death, religion, civil rights, and personal heritage. This makes the book a slow read, though it picks up nicely towards the end, connecting and resolving several of the issues. The moments in the book that stand out the most are those with McNulty, the fire-eater. He is a mystic character that brings those scenes to life, whereas others sometimes fall flat. The historical issues that Almond addresses are particularly relevant and allow the reader to view a world crisis beyond the perspective of Americans.
—Bonnie

This is a little gem of a book with a wonderful melancholy tone and a grey mood. I found myself feeling slightly depressed every time I listened. It had a very sobering, yet also calming, effect on me as a reader. The author was able to draw me in to the character's mind and his environment by creating such powerful atmosphere throughout. I did find that in a few places, scenes were glossed over instead of fully explored. For instance, the climax scene seemed more like a summary than a fully developed scene. Which was really a shame, because it could have been very intense. Overall, I loved this book, though. Atmosphere is very important to me, and this book had it all the way. Also, I don't see many books set in the time of the Cuban missile crisis, or that focus on the paranoia and the effect that had on countries other than American. A great read for kids and adults alike. Age 9-10+ due to some mild self mutilation. My son grew very upset and I had to turn it off when the kid started poking himself with a pin, even though I didn't find it disturbing.
—Lena

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