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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
I enjoyed it and all of the tales told by the monster.
Maybe I don't have a heart, but this didn't hit me as hard as it has almost everyone else.
But that doesn't mean I disliked it.
“Stories are wild creatures,” the monster said ...
A Monster Calls has an equivalent in the movie world; the 2014, Australian thriller The Babadook (which I highly recommend by the way!). They both explores the themes of grief, family and loss in the format of a monster-story.
In both the monster is representative of something, but this something is different between the two. I'll let you figure out for yourself exactly what these somethings are.
In A Monster Calls we follow the story of Connor; a thirteen year old boy who had to grow up way too fast. His mother's illness and his father's sudden leaving has made Connor's life one of dark, cold loneliness. Not even sleep takes him away from the pain, as he is haunted by the same nightmare every night. And then comes The Monster.
The Monster could easily have fitted into any nightmare, but Connor has seen worse. Besides, this monster is only there to tell stories and what kind of nightmare monster does that?
“When you let them loose ...
Before writing my own, I decided to read a few reviews written by some other reviewers and I came across the one by Lola (hitormissbooks) - which you can read here https://bit.ly/2FeFl6v .
In her review she put into words exactly what were only some vague thoughts I was having; what makes A Monster Calls so hardhitting, is how it captures the brutal nature of raw emotions.
Patrick Ness manages with this book to not only write singular, independent emotions, but also how these emotions contradict and interact with each other.
Connor's story is one of acknowledging and accepting the terrifying mess that are people. And being able to live with that knowledge.
This makes A Monster Calls as much a story about healing as it is about grief.
... who knows what havoc they might wreak?”
While my hollow shell of a heart might not have wept, it still felt something while reading this. Portrayal of pure, unfiltered emotions does that to me. If only I had cared/known a bit more about the characters. If only I had been surprised by the turns of the story. If only... I had liked this book as much as everyone else.
I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND I AM NOW UNABLE TO WORD SO I WILL BE BACK LATER TO SHOUT ABOUT ALL THE FEELINGS
*forewarning* Please don't expect any sort of coherent review it ain't going to happen xD
And I am back. Things I loved:
- Conor's character growth and development
- The storytelling being sieved in perfectly with what was happening in the present say scene
- The Monster and his lessons
- The tone of the story and the beautiful writing for being both simple and have so much meaning
- The illustrations
If you've been recommended this book of just stumbled across it, read it. It's one of the books that is both simple and elegant that it trancededs age, it's illustrated but adult, the feelings and emotions are there, you know that this isn't going to be a fun happy story but the writing drags you down and taps you into the emotions making you angry, sad, mad, frustrated.
Also for anyone that mistakes the cover and thinks this is horror, it's a sad and scary story but not a horror in the usual sense of the word.