A Monster Calls is a novel written by Patrick Ness from the original idea by Siobhan Dowd, who passed away before the book was completed. Jim Kay illustrated the book, who used the more traditional ways of painting with beetles and breadboards, as opposed to the more modern marks and textures.
The Monster showed up 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 since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming... This monster is different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.
Compare to I Kill Giants, another story about a troubled loner protagonist that gets tied up with a monster that may or may not exist, also accompanied by a similar Bittersweet Ending.
In 2016, director J.A. Baytona adapted the book into a film, starring Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson, and introducing Lewis MacDougal in his first film role. For that see A Monster Calls.
Tropes that associate with A Monster Calls:
- An Aesop: Subverted, the monster mocks Conor for thinking he would go through the trouble of walking again just to teach him a lesson about being nice. However, the stories do encourage Conor to reflect on the nature of morality and selfishness, they pose questions more than giving answers.
- Anti-Villain: The Monster. He's a monster, but he's there to help Conor.
- Awful Truth: What the Monster wants and what Conor fears the most.
- The Bad Guy Wins: In-universe, the prince murders his girlfriend to stir a riot from the people, frames his stepmother queen for the murder, and successfully overthrows her.
- Badass Boast: When the Monster describes his true nature.
- Bittersweet Ending: It's inevitable Conor's mother is going to die. But Conor, with the Monster's help, has managed to come to terms with it, inasmuch as a boy his age can. There's also the fact that Conor has alienated himself from all his peers due to his beat down of Harry, but still has a kindred spirit in Lily.
- Byronic Hero: Conor, at least until he can accept the fact that his mother's going to die.
- Coming of Age Story: Despite the fantastical themes, the story is ultimately about the brooding and cynical Conor coming to terms with not only the inevitability of his mother's death, but his guilt over his feelings about it. Specifically, Conor unconsciously wants his mother to die, because watching her die slowly is so painful to him, and he wants that pain (and hers) to end. But the end of that pain will only come with her death, which he doesn't really want. Part of what the Monster is ultimately trying to teach Conor is that it's OK to want to stop hurting so much, despite the only way it can do so, and it doesn't mean he doesn't love his mother or really wants her to be gone.
- Cruel Mercy: Combined with Un-Person (downplayed though, people do ignore Conor, but temporarily and are not necessarily cruel in intention), this is what Harry eventually does to Conor.
- Deconstructed Trope: Of happy endings, for the three stories. Conor thinks each story will work out fine. Instead, the characters get exactly what they deserve, even if they're a murderer or just plain nasty.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: It's quite clear from the beginning that Conor is very uncomfortable with the way the people around him, especially his teachers, treat him. The last third of the book implies that he doesn't believe he deserves it.
- Exact Words: The Monster describes the stories before telling them. When, at the twist, Conor claims he's been cheated, the Monster repeats the description, that it's technically correct.
- Also when he says that if Conor's mom can be healed, the yew tree medicine will do that. Turns out she cannot be healed
- Minor example but early on the Monster warns against the words of men who justify murder. While at first one might think the Monster is against violence (he's not in some form, he destroys a house, helps Conor on two occasions destroy things) but of course he only said be wary of "justifying" it. Given that he calls himself a monster, he's not against it he just doesn't justify his actions as being anything other than what he truly felt like doing.
- Foregone Conclusion: In-universe. The truth is that Conor always knew that his mom was not gonna make it.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Averted, the yew tree is the Monster's favorite form and has no qualms about scaring Conor with his form.
- Friendless Background: Inverted, Conor used to have a few friends, but after his mom was diagnosed with cancer people started treating him differently and he grew isolated.
- Full-Name Basis: The Monster always refers to Conor by his full name.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: All of the Monster's stories.Monster: Most people are neither good or bad guys. Most people are somewhere in between.
- Humans Are Flawed: One of the main themes of the book, and particularly of the first story.
- I Have Many Names: The Monster.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Conor's mom heaving out a horrible cough is one of the things that clues us in that something is wrong with her.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Subverted with the Apothecary. It's not that he was noble on the inside, it's just that the way to satisfy his greed was to heal people.
- Karma Houdini: Played with Conor in the film. The fact that he didn't get punished for what he does seems to hurt him even more. The book makes it more clear that Conor wants to be punished because being punished would be a normal thing to happen to him, and let him feel that his life is not horribly different. The principal has good intentions and is trying to make things easier on an emotionally suffering student, but getting special treatment just makes him feel worse.
- Low Fantasy: Set in modern day, but is ultimately still a tale about a little boy and his interactions with a monstrous giant made from a yew tree who may or may not be real.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's never completely clear whether the Monster actually exists or not. Nothing happens that can't be explained by Conor's actions other than the leaves, the berries, and the sapling, and Conor gets rid of those before anybody else sees them, and when the Monster appears to him in school, no one else is able to see it. Not that a magical being can't be selectively invisible, but there's a lot of wiggle room to go either way, though the book doesn't really dwell on it.
- Most Writers Are Adults: Thirteen-year-old kids can express their thoughts as eloquently as adults. The most egregious case is probably Harry, the school bully, with lines likes these:"Conor O'Malley", he said, his voice growing poisonous now. "Who everyone's sorry for because of his mum. Who swans around school acting like he's so different, like no one knows his suffering".
- Never Say "Die": Ironically enough, "die" is only said once throughout the whole book, despite its themes.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Harry manages to strike a nerve in Conor and is in turn beaten down horrifically by the Monster. But it is later said that Conor himself was the one who beat down Harry.
- Offended by an Enemy's Indifference: Harry the school bully frequently torments the protagonist Conor, until he figures out that Conor wants to be bullied as it's the only thing that makes him feel normal during a time when his mother is dying from terminal cancer. Harry then decides it's not worth bullying Conor anymore and tells him, "Now you're invisible to me, too." Conor is angered by this and beats him up in front of his classmates.
- Twist Ending: More or less the point of the Monster's stories, used for deconstructive purposes.
- In the Monster's first story, the stepmother, who has become queen, was indeed a witch, but she did not poison the king like the villagers believed. Nor did she murder the farm girl the prince was dating. Rather, the prince was the murderer, who did so to inspire the villagers to overthrow the queen.
- In the second story, the Apothecary's healing traditions are fueled by belief. When the Parson, a man of belief, promises to recant his beliefs even if it means getting his daughters back, the Apothecary loses his source of belief, and is unable to treat the two daughters because of it.
- In the third story, an invisible man, tired of not being noticed, summons the Monster so everyone would see him. The people see... something grotesque.
- Unnamed Parent: Conor's mom, dad, and grandma are only ever referred as such.
- Wham Line: From the Monster to Conor: "I did not come to heal her, I came to heal you."
- You Are Not Alone: Before injuring Harry Conor feels invisible due to how the students and teachers act around him. After the other students avoid him, Lily reaches out to Conor with a note that says "I see you".
- Your Mind Makes It Real: The main reason Conor realizes the Monster isn't a dream is the destruction of his grandmother's living room, but his hands are bloody so it could have been him, along with snapping and letting the Monster seriously hurt Harry, the students said they saw him do it, but he sees the Monster do it, but also feels himself do it. Zig-Zagged?
