Why getting angry is not the answer when facing death and why “A Monster Calls” paints it beautifully?
Our nature is so interesting. We claim to love certain things, certain people. And doing that, at times, we end up hurting them without even wanting it to.
I first heard about “A Monster Calls” back when the movie adaptation was released in 2016 however I was personally never attracted to its overall presentation (yes I saw the monster, the kid and I quickly imagined what I was going to find) and yes, I was wrong (very).
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
“A Monster Calls” narrates the tale of a young kid who is part of a dysfunctional family. His parents got divorced, his father left to America and his mother is going through the last stages of cancer. His grandmother is part of the photo as well and functions as the stoic figure that tries to keep everything under control amidst the chaos of it all.
The book is really short (a little bit more than 200 pages) and even though you can feel the straightforwardness to tell a specific story and an overall hurry of sorts, its message is delivered in a beautiful way.
The main idea here is the deception. That in which we fall whenever something is too unpleasant for us to face so we cover it with distractors, or in the case of “A Monster Calls”, in the form of a literal gigantic monster.
Our protagonist, Conor deals with issues regarding good and bad situations, guilt and feelings of not-belonging, all gathered into an enormous sentiment of resentment for wanting his mother to finish her suffering and move on. There is even a moment where the mother faces the protagonist and his anger in a very powerful way:
One day, if you look back and you feel bad for being so angry you couldn’t even speak to me, you have to know that that was okay, that I knew. Because I know everything you need to tell me without you having to say it out loud.
Now this last thought is something that really surprised me since it really took me out of the idea I had already formed in my brain as to what was going to be the final outcome of this book and it position that, our “love for things, for people” as the ultimate consequence.
At times we embrace those who we love so strongly that we end up damaging their wings, holding them into a life that is no longer theirs.
“A Monster Calls” is a beautiful depiction of life and the art of letting go.
9 / 10
Here is my favorite quote from this book:
I wish I had a hundred years. A hundred years I could give to you.
