A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children

I don't know what to think about this story yet. I was very different. When I saw that it was a tale for children, I got excited, but this is not what I expected. I read it a few times, and I'm still trying to figure a few things out. I hope we get a chance to talk about it in our groups tomorrow, so that I can hear what others think. Maybe they will be able to answer my questions.

My first question is...is this a dream or is it supposed to be "real?" At first i thought it was a tale, then when it said... "Frightened by that nightmare, Pelayo ran to get Elisenda, his wife,....", it made me think that he is dreaming or something. My other question is...Do they ever really say who/what this guy is? I don't know if I'm just missing it, or if they just don't say it to leave us guessing?

There was one part I liked. "Sea and sky were a single ash-gray thing and the sands of the beach, which on March nights glimmered like powered light, had become a stew of mud and rotten shell fish." This description painted a picture in my head of what it looked like. I liked the comparison of sand to glimmered like powered light.

If I were a child this tale would freak me out. I'm a big scardy cat anyways, but I would probably have nightmares of this old man. I imagine him looking dirty, and scary. This might be stupid, but I picture a mixture of a crow and a man...and it's not pretty. I wonder if this tale is widely know or not. I have never heard of it, but it says that he has won some awards for best fiction writer. It would be interesting to read some more of his work to see if they are all this weird or not.