Skallagrigg by William Horwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Easily makes my top five
I have always been a prolific reader and sometimes have as many as five books on the go at any one time, picking up the one which most suits my mood.
This book is absolutely brilliant and so beautifully touches the emotions of the reader. It made me laugh and it made me cry. I cried often and long and deep.
It is clear that William Horwood has been close to cerebral palsy and his daughter, Rachel, does suffer from this condition.
The central figures are Arthur, a sufferer from the early part of the twentieth century, and Esther, a sufferer from the latter part of the same century. It explores the massive differences between the ways that they were perceived and the ways that they were treated because of those perceptions.
Esther embarks on a quest to find Skallagrigg, without knowing what it is, and you must read the book to find out if she succeeds and what it means.
The reader is drawn into the characters and I found myself living the roller-coaster emotional existence of both of them.
I am constantly recommending this book to friends and family. Many of them find it difficult to get into the story but I encourage them to persevere. Whilst I can understand their difficulty, I had no trouble whatsoever and was captured from the first paragraph.
If you are only ever going to read one more book in your life, it would have to be this one and no other. Trust me!
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