Impossible Creatures

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and animal death.

“People were difficult—she felt herself grow spiky around them, liable to say the wrong thing and blush right up to her forehead—but the sky made perfect sense to her. She might be grubby and awkward on the ground, but in flight, the locals said, Mal Arvorian was a thing worth seeing.”

Rundell uses this description to characterize Mal as a solitary girl who is different from others. In addition, Rundell uses this passage to develop the theme of The Value of the Natural World, for it is clear that Mal takes solace in nature as a way to find the support and comfort that she lacks in society. Mal’s connection with nature is an important part of her identity, and her innate connection with the Archipelago foreshadows her hidden identity as the Immortal.

“His father trusted him with nothing, he thought bitterly; not even with his own safety. He was nervous about everything; always assessing the world, every stick and stone, every car and street, every instrument in the kitchen, for how it might harm Christopher. He warned against potato peelers and tin openers; he viewed birthday candles as deadly weapons. Christopher loved his father, but it felt like being nailed down, pinioning them both to the ground.”

Rundell reveals the central conflict in Christopher’s life as he laments the overprotective habits of his father. The passage employs a tone of wry yet bitter humor as Christopher recalls his father’s warnings against “birthday candles as deadly weapons,” and this detail reinforces the fact that the boy has never been able to embrace his deep longing for adventure. Whereas Mal is free to fly, Christopher is bound by his father’s overprotectiveness. As the novel develops, Christopher breaks free of his restrictive life and embraces his destined role as a guardian of the waybetween, finding new purpose and meaning.