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.
Simile: Skellig's Appearance
When Michael visits Skellig in the garage, he notices that his "black suit hung like a sack on his thin bones." Clearly, Skellig has lost a lot of weight and seems to not have eaten anything for a long time. While Skellig is eating the Chinese food that Michael gave him, the "red sauce below his lips was like congealed blood." This evokes vivid associations with vampires or beasts devouring their prey, indicating that Skellig has a savage element to him. Indeed, Mina and Michael later see him being fed by owls, which Mina calls savages, and in the end, Skellig describes himself as something like a beast, which corresponds to the image of blood below his lips.
Simile: Coot's Negative Perception of Mina
Coot describes Mina as "[t]hat lass that climbs in a tree like a monkey." By comparing her to a monkey, he considers Mina a rather primitive mammal. After all, she is homeschooled, which, in his eyes, leads to a lack of education. He does not understand that she climbs on trees to be able to explore the world from a higher perspective and, in fact, gains a better understanding of the universe than he, who sits in a closed, dim room all day. He also compares her to a crow sitting in a tree. He could have chosen to compare her to a bird in general, but the image of a crow—with black feathers and a screechy song—evokes an especially unpleasant appearance. This emphasizes that he does not like Mina at all.
Simile: Mina's Perception of the Boys
Mina calls the Coot, Leakey, and even Michael "[s]tupid. Kicking balls and jumping at each other and screeching like hyenas. Stupid. Yes, hyenas." She repeats the word 'hyenas' to emphasize her point: The boys are weak followers who do nothing on their own, just like hyenas only feed after another stronger animal has made the kill. In her opinion, they only digest what the teacher has given them at school, which shows that she opposes formal schooling. Similarly, she considers the boys' other activities (i.e. playing football and wrestling) not worthy of an educated human.
