I just watched the trailer for the upcoming film A Monster Calls and I'm breathless. My excitement is beyond control. Aside from the dying need to see this film, I've decided I needed to share its importance with others. Here it is.
I actually had no idea that the book was going to be turned into a film until shortly after I finished it. I'd read one book of Patrick Ness's before and I found myself completely absorbed in his writing. Between his quirky characters tinged with flaws most authors have a difficult time capturing, humorous dialogue, and an infallible ability to wrench your heart out of your chest, I instantly fell in love with his work. So, when I was browsing on Goodreads, (yeah, nerds actually do this), and saw that Darren Shan, author of the Cirque Du Freak series, rated it five stars and commented on how it was the only book that's ever made him cry, I knew instantly I had to get my hands on it. Once I did, however, I realized this was more than just a book, more than just words on a page. It's all of the things that we experience while our hearts remain beating. It's humanity. It's life.
Conceptualized by Siobhan Dowd, renowned British author of children's books, and written by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls hurls you into the complexities of being a human and regards the pain and guilt that comes with grief. It may be intended for a young audience, but the lessons the story preaches and the sheer rawness and authenticity of the story's theme supersedes any one audience. This book is imperative for anybody who feels like they are helpless, invisible, alone, and afraid. Death does not come easy to most, and dealing with the void that emanates from the loss of a loved one is even harder. The stillness, the silence, the calm that accompanies the end of a storm, and the realization of the destruction that storm caused. These are all things that resonate with those that lose the ones that are closest to them. The knowledge that no matter how loud you scream, how loud you call their name, how many times you overturn every inch of the Earth, you will never see that person again, never hear their voice, never feel their embrace; it is a universal truth that all will be forced to understand. This universal truth is given to us beautifully from the lessons told by the monster himself.
"The answer is that it does not matter what you think...because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. You wanted her to go at the same time you were desperate for me to save her. Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both."
We relate to this because we are guilty of telling ourselves minor lies to ease our hearts, while our minds tear us apart over the painful truths from which we try to hide, truths that our mind refuses to let us forget. In painful moments, our minds leave nothing uncovered, probing every possible way to end the pain and grief, while holding onto the very thing that distresses us because it means we are alive. More importantly, it means the ones we love are still alive and in the end, we will harbor guilt at wishing it to be over with, wishing for the pain to end even though it never really has an end.
Realizing this, the monster comforts the boy by saying, "You were merely wishing for the end of pain...Your own pain. An end to how it isolated you. It is the most human wish of all."
The book teaches us that it's okay to want to let go of pain. It's okay to think selfishly, to act out in ways that release your demons, to make yourself seen in a situation where you aren't the center of attention. It's okay to scream at the top of your lungs, to destroy everything in sight, to make people see you are hurting. It's okay because that is what makes us human. We can feel so much in so little time, with no way of processing, and can drown in our own grief, not knowing how to escape the pain. We are imperfect, flawed. We are selfish and selfless, innocent and guilty. We are bad and good and yet neither. Pain and loss are what defines us, what pushes us forward in life and keeps us humble. A Monster Calls reveals all of these truths. Because who else can teach us about our own pain better than the monsters we face?
