Half a Creature from the Sea: A Life in Stories

In fiction, real worlds merge with dreamed worlds. Real people walk with ghosts and figments. Earthly truth goes hand in hand with watery lies… May Malone is said to have a monster in her house, but what Norman finds there may just be the angel he needs. Joe Quinn’s house is noisy with poltergeists, or could it be Davie’s raging causing the disturbance? Fragile Annie learns the truth about herself in a photograph taken by a traveling man near the sea. Set in the northern English Tyneside country of the author’s childhood, these eight short stories evoke gritty realities and ineffable longings, experiences both ordinary and magical. In brief autobiographical preludes, master storyteller David Almond speaks to his own inspiration and shows how all things can be turned into tales, reflecting on a time of wonder, tenderness, and joy.