Taken from Waterstones.com:
"This is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss. The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darness and the wind and the screaming... The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dows, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself."
Patrick Ness has already had success with his Chaos Walking trilogy. These books were brilliant and so on a couple of occasions I was tempted to read A Monster Calls but the cover always put me off as it looks like the book will be rather dark and depressing (it is a book about death after all). It's actually a book I accidentally bought twice, having purchased the paperback on the spur of the moment and then forgetting about it until I came across the beautiful hardback with a book plate signed by both the author and illustrator (if you pop into Waterstones it's worth checking to see if they have a signed hardback as there seem to be plenty around but as none of them are stickered as being signed by the author no-one realises and so I've since spotted quite a few).
I imagine it must be quite tricky to write a story based on another author's idea but Ness manages it seamlessly. Unfortunately, I've never read one of Siobhan Dowd's novels and so I can't compare this to hers but it definitely stands up well against Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy. In fact, A Monster Calls is the first book to win both the Carnegie Medal (an award that recognises an outstanding piece of writing for children or young adults) and the Kate Greenaway Medal (an award that recognises distinguished illustration in a children's book) in the 50 years since the illustration award was established.
The quality of the writing is brilliant. Unlike Chaos Walking it isn't written in a stream of conciousness style but you are still able to learn a lot about Conor's character without obvious and direct descriptions. The other characters are brilliantly composed too as they feel very vivid at times or less easy to grasp when dealing with the mystery of the monster, both of which are appropriate in their place. The use of italics works well for the parts where the monster is speaking and the pacing is good. Ness jumps straight in with the story and doesn't waste time explaining every character, setting and back story - he just gets on with it. It's not hard to work out what is going to happen but then that is not the point of the story, plus you can never be sure just how real the monster is. The obvious thing to do would be to assume it is a figment of his imagination but then where do the other stories come from and how does Conor cause so much destruction?
The story is supported by the superb illustrations by Jim Kay. The story would make sense without them but they add so much atmosphere to the text that together they are perfect. They are all black and white and shades of grey which helps to create the mood as well as allowing the reader to take time to discover the details contained within them.
Now, as I said, this is a story about death but it is so much more than that. This is a story about how a boy has to face death and come to terms with it along with the blooming flower of hope that has to meet the harshness of reality. It's interesting that Ness uses two monsters in the novel. Perhaps each one is meant to symbolise the different aspects of death (the scary, unstoppable nightmare and the more friendly, comforting acceptance) both of which Conor must face and accept (although I'm not one of those people who tend to read too much into stories as I read them to escape into the world painted for me by the author and only usually consider any subtext if the author highlights it or if I'm asked to). However, whether this was Ness' intention or not, it is very clever. A lot of people are afraid of death and would certainly be comfortable with the comparison to a monster but they often forget that to some death can be a comfort and a release from a time of great pain. In a way it is a relief to read Ness' expression of some of these feelings. We all feel slightly invisible from time to time or guilty for something we shouldn't or frustrated with the course life has taken us on and all of these come through so well in Ness' writing and Kay's illustrations. It is not a book that will have you laughing and bouncing with excitement but it does bring strength by the end, in a kind of cathartic way (yes, I did cry a few times too!).
Overall, this book is simply outstanding. It has to be one of the best and most powerful books I have ever read. It deals with a very delicate subject excellently and is well worth a read. It is a literary masterpiece.
I give it a perfect 10/10!
Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Illustrator: Jim Kay
Publisher: Walker Books
Teenage Fiction
