A Song for Ella Gray
A Song for Ella Gray is a youth novel by British writer David Almond and published by Hodder Children's Books in 2014. The book has not yet been published in a German translation.
David Almond takes up the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and retells it as a contemporary love story. The characters are Ella and Orpheus, two teenagers who grew up in northeastern Britain.
It is told from the perspective of Claire, Ella's best friend and greatest admirer. While they are preparing for their graduation, they meet Orpheus, a gifted musician who casts a spell over everyone. Ella and Orpheus fall madly in love and Claire can only stand by and watch the tragic love story take its course.
The coming-of-age novel deals with the themes of death, friendship, love and jealousy.
content
Claire, Ella and their schoolmates live in Newcastle upon Tyne and are preparing to graduate from school. They spend their afternoons by the river where one day they hear a beautiful song that they are all equally mesmerized by. Together, the friends go on a trip to Northumberland , where they hear the singing again. Only Ella remains in Newcastle because her strict parents have forbidden her to travel. They meet Orpheus, who sings for them and plays his lyre.
Claire calls Ella to let her take part in the singing. When Claire returns to Newcastle, Ella shares how fascinated she was with Orpheus 'singing and how she fell in love with him when Claire called her from Northumberland to show her Orpheus' music.
A short time later, Orpheus appears in Newcastle and meets Ella. They decide to get married on their next trip to Northumberland. The Circle of Friends begins with the wedding preparations and it is Claire who finally performs the wedding ceremony in Northumberland. Shortly afterwards, Ella is bitten by snakes in the dunes and dies. After the funeral, Claire meets Orpheus and shows him the way to the underworld so that he can implement his plan to bring Ella back to life.
A change of perspective takes place and Orpheus tells of his journey into the underworld and his experiences with death. He manages to convince him to release Ella again for life and starts the return journey with her. In doing so, however, he makes the mistake of turning around to Ella and thus loses her for good because he is not allowed to look at her in the underworld. Orpheus then disappears from Newcastle.
In the spring of last school year a schoolmate turns up at Claire's house after she saw Orpheus brutally murdered by mystical women on the beach at Alnmouth in Northumberland. Claire graduates shortly afterwards and decides to go to the south of England to begin her studies.
Awards
The book was awarded the Guardian's Children's Fiction Prize in November 2015.
Others
In September 2015 David Almond presented the book as a German premiere at the children's and youth program of the 15th Berlin International Literature Festival .