The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes

     I am really glad I chose to read this children's novel. Philip Pullman describes the book well when he writes: "a classic is something utterly strange and original, and yet as deeply familiar and necessary as your own hands." This book is gripping from the very first pages and kept me up later than I had planned so as to finish it in one sitting. Ted Hughes is a master of detail and this novel reads much like a long poem. I love how he describes the coming of dawn- the darkness grew blue and the shapes of the rocks separated from each other, two sea gulls flew crying over the rocks. This is such a perfect image and is a unique way of describing such a common thing as a sunrise. 

   The plot of the story is also extremely gripping and interesting. The story, like Philip Pullman writes, harkens to something ancient and lays hold of deep truths without being cliche. The black angel from outer space automatically makes me think of Lucifer or Satan and his fall from heaven. The black angel makes music, and Lucifer, before he fell, was God's highest angel and the leader of worship in heaven. The black angel, like Satan, ends up defeated because of his only weakness- pride. In the story, the Iron Giant who originally ate up people's lively hoods (their machinery), became the hero and the one who defeated the black angel. It is truly a strange story and I am interested to read more into different interpretations and what Ted Hughes was thinking when he wrote it. Great read!