A Monster Calls by Patrick NessMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Just the other day, my friend's daughter asked me about somebody I grew up thinking to be absolutely evil. Did he deserve all the bad rap (**paraphrased from kidspeak), she asked. I told her the explanation was not that simple, and it would probably take two hours for me to tell the whole story (including all the competing narratives).
And then I came upon this book today.
In just a few pages, I found my answer:
“I don’t understand. Who’s the good guy here?” There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between. Conor shook his head. “That’s a terrible story. And a cheat.” It is a true story, the monster said. Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving.
Because humans are complicated beasts, the monster said. How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour? How can an apothecary be evil-tempered but right-thinking? How can a parson be wrong-thinking but good-hearted? How can invisible men make themselves more lonely by being seen?
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