An Angel For May - Review

Title: An Angel For May

Author: Melvin Burgess

Published By: Andersen Press

ISBN: 978-1-84939-543-2

 

'An Angel For May': a lovely title for what is, overall, a lovely story. First published in 1992, this novel joins the ranks of Melvin Burgess' many fine fictions for children. Burgess presents us with interesting, unique characters: particularly with 12 year old protagonist Tam, the author hits the nail of childhood emotions right on the head, really getting into his thoughts and the way a child of that age would interpret situations that are perhaps beyond his years. The moving 'An Angel For May' draws us completely into Tam's Yorkshire world - or, rather, worlds.

From the outset, Burgess introduces his readers to darker themes: a few pages in, we learn that Tam's parents are recently divorced and that Tam, a young boy at the centre of it all, is struggling to cope with his new familial situation. He takes refuge by escaping his unhappy home and hanging around the ruins of locally nicknamed 'Thowt It' farm - as in, 'who'd-a-thowt-it Farm...hidden way up there, where there seemed to be nothing'. Burgess throws us straight into the action as, whilst exploring the dilapidated sites and with the help of a mysterious old woman and her lively pet dog, Tam encounters a vision: the farm whole and homely as it once was, with a young girl making toast by a crackling fire. When Tam returns a few days later, the unthinkable happens: the ruined fireplace in which he crouches becomes a portal, and Tam is hurtled fifty years into the past. Against the backdrop of WWII, Tam is welcomed into the cosy home - so unlike his own broken one - of the generous Mr Nutter and his disturbed yet highly intriguing charge, May. Sooner or later and after discovering the ugly fate that meets his new friends, Tam is faced with a difficult decision: does he take his way out and stay in the past forever, or does he accept what happens and embrace the future?

Whilst I felt that the book was a little young for me, Burgess' writing style is perfect for the pre/early teen audience, featuring some lovely descriptions throughout. In both the past and the present, he creates a Yorkshire in which the reader can truly seep themselves: the sun is described as 'a low, red eye wreathed in dark colours and smoky haze'. A favourite of mine focuses on Tam's interpretation of an air raid: 'the town began to cry out. It moaned. The moan rose to a howl.' This, I imagine, is exactly what an air raid would seem like to an unknowing, bewildered boy thrust into the centre of it all. In with these more serious subjects, Burgess intersperses slices of great humour: in response to Mr Nutter's declaration that Tam is 'an angel for my May', his busybody housekeeper Mrs Pickles announces that 'If all you have to do to be an angel is lose your wits I'll stop going to Church and start banging my head against a brick wall.' Mr Nutter's use of the Yorkshire dialect 'appen' is prevalent throughout, a word whose meaning I had no idea of until consultation with the Google Gods (it translates as 'perhaps', in case you were wondering).

I am still not quite sure what to make of the ending. Towards the final pages, use of time and timeslips becomes a bit unclear: I was not sure whether Tam was in the 1940s or the 1990s - I had to keep double checking and relying on big giveaways such as an air raid for clarification. The conclusion itself is a little strange, and I confess that it was no great surprise - from page thirteen, I had earmarked the link between the young girl, May, in the past and the old woman, Rosey, in the present. Nonetheless, that does not take away from the fact that 'An Angel For May' is an interesting piece of children's fiction - I would have little hesitation in recommending the book to younger readers.