Skellig

Simile: The Garage

Almond uses two powerful similes to describe the derelict state of the garage: "[The garage] was more like a demolition site or a rubbish dump or like one of those ancient warehouses they keep pulling down at the quay. [...] Even the bricks were crumbling like they couldn't bear the weight anymore. It was like the whole thing was sick of itself and would collapse in a heap and have to get bulldozed away." While the former enables the reader to visualize the rotten building, the latter depicts it as a living organism that is about to die. Both similes also indicate that Michael is surprised that the garage has not been torn down yet. However, even though Michael hates the place, his parents focus on the positive aspects of moving to this new house, trying to make the new house look like a mysterious place that wants to be discovered, as "they went on like it was going to be some big adventure."

Simile: Michael's Sister

In the beginning, Michael's sister has "been in a glass case with tubes and wires sticking in her and we'd stood around staring in like she was in a fish tank." This simile shows how helpless the family is: all they can do is watch the fragile newborn and hope for her survival. Like fish, the baby does not give any feedback (e.g., by looking or smiling at the people around her) that would have comforted them. Instead, she is lying in the glass case motionless, which increases the anxiety of the family. In the end, however, when Skellig revives the baby, he says that her heart is like fire, which means it is full of life. In Roman and Christian culture, fire is not only a symbol of energy and passion but also of divinity, indicating that a divine power was involved in saving Michael's sister.