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karen's Reviews > A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls
by
by
this book is a perfect modern fairy tale.
not a nice disney one with singing birds where everyone gets to go home with their prince and all of their limbs, but the older, darker kind involving foot-choppery and decimation.
lemme step back a bit. i added this book to my to-read shelf the moment i saw its cover here on goodreads.com. i knew nothing about it except that something in me bellowed "WANT!" i did not win it in the firstreads giveaway (naturally) and as more and more people began writing reviews for it, i discovered that it was not at all the kind of book i had thought (spooky horror), and was in fact something far more insidious and lasting.
WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL OF THIS?
1) this is how all my reviews are. welcome.
2) i am afraid of reviewing this book.
it is tricky business, isn't it, sometimes? on the one hand, if i had not read other reviews on here, i would have gone into it thinking it was going to be a typical horror story. and who knows how i would have responded when i found out the actual tone of the book? but by not saying anything, who knows if this book will reach the correct audience?
decisions are hard.
i will say this: it is a beautiful book. and i mean that both in the book-as-object sense and in its contents. don't ever read this book on a device - you are missing half its power - a unicorn without its horn is just a horse, after all.
this is a nearly-perfect book that every human should read. its treatment of the subject is incredibly sensitive, and conor is someone it is impossible not to feel for. although some of the specifics are limited to experiences in childhood, the majority of it has universal kick-in-the-heartedness. (i could not find an appropriate "real" word. that is all i have)it depicts helplessness and bravery and loss so very well. and it never feels manipulative, which is so rare in books like these.
it only missed out on that fifth star because i was sure, after hearing other people's commentary, that is would make me cry. why do i have to be such a damn robot?
but other than that, i cannot recommend this book highly enough. read it, write a better review than i have, and then gather your loved ones to you.
come to my blog!
not a nice disney one with singing birds where everyone gets to go home with their prince and all of their limbs, but the older, darker kind involving foot-choppery and decimation.
lemme step back a bit. i added this book to my to-read shelf the moment i saw its cover here on goodreads.com. i knew nothing about it except that something in me bellowed "WANT!" i did not win it in the firstreads giveaway (naturally) and as more and more people began writing reviews for it, i discovered that it was not at all the kind of book i had thought (spooky horror), and was in fact something far more insidious and lasting.
WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL OF THIS?
1) this is how all my reviews are. welcome.
2) i am afraid of reviewing this book.
it is tricky business, isn't it, sometimes? on the one hand, if i had not read other reviews on here, i would have gone into it thinking it was going to be a typical horror story. and who knows how i would have responded when i found out the actual tone of the book? but by not saying anything, who knows if this book will reach the correct audience?
decisions are hard.
i will say this: it is a beautiful book. and i mean that both in the book-as-object sense and in its contents. don't ever read this book on a device - you are missing half its power - a unicorn without its horn is just a horse, after all.
this is a nearly-perfect book that every human should read. its treatment of the subject is incredibly sensitive, and conor is someone it is impossible not to feel for. although some of the specifics are limited to experiences in childhood, the majority of it has universal kick-in-the-heartedness. (i could not find an appropriate "real" word. that is all i have)it depicts helplessness and bravery and loss so very well. and it never feels manipulative, which is so rare in books like these.
it only missed out on that fifth star because i was sure, after hearing other people's commentary, that is would make me cry. why do i have to be such a damn robot?
but other than that, i cannot recommend this book highly enough. read it, write a better review than i have, and then gather your loved ones to you.
come to my blog!
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Reading Progress
November 14, 2011
–
Started Reading
November 14, 2011
– Shelved
November 14, 2011
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 88 (88 new)
message 1:
by
Heidi
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Nov 15, 2011 06:10PM
karen girl i love ya and your awesome sense of humor and for the fact that i can type to you in all lower case and that you test cook books on here. hope you get the pie jar one. i agree i had a terribly hard time writing the review on this one.
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damn! i forgot to look at that pie jar book! and i am off all this week. i will send a servant to collect it tomorrow.
Heidi is right. You do have an awesome sense of humor. So much so that I will read this book because of it.
Oh, beautiful! The unicorn metaphor has that kick-in-the-heart quality, too. Your programming is very good if you can come up with stuff like that, you robot.
thanks! but the book is the opposite of humorous.
That's precisely why I want to read it. There is no better way to define gloom and sorrow then through mirth.
sweethearts, all of you.
karen wrote: "damn! i forgot to look at that pie jar book! and i am off all this week. i will send a servant to collect it tomorrow."promise and you will let me know if it is worth buying?
yes! i will not be able to physically see it until next tuesday, but i will let you know!
karen wrote: "yes! i will not be able to physically see it until next tuesday, but i will let you know!"i don't know why i'm infatuated with it...well i do cute mini pies in a jar...ohhh if you got it would you do the make all the recipe thing...ha i am still waiting to,see your cat hair crafts.
Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory, and Adorable Recipes it is this one, right? i don't know if i would make all of them - i am more of a cook than a baker... i think if i ate 50 pies, i would be quite ill.
karen wrote: "Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory, and Adorable Recipes it is this one, right? i don't know if i would make all of them - i am more of a cook than a baker... i think if i ate 50 pies, i ..."yep perfect for the holidays.
I got a copy of that book to review! It's pretty cute. And I've had mini mason jars for months, waiting for the perfect portable pie occasion...
Wendy Darling wrote: "I got a copy of that book to review! It's pretty cute. And I've had mini mason jars for months, waiting for the perfect portable pie occasion..."what you have been holding out on us?
Pie? I feel this weird need to bake something or make something whenever I review a cookbook or craft book. I am trying to get over that, but sometimes I still get hung up on good intentions.
Wendy Darling wrote: "Pie? I feel this weird need to bake something or make something whenever I review a cookbook or craft book. I am trying to get over that, but sometimes I still get hung up on good intentions."
I expect a full review Mrs. Darling! Perhaps if you do I will let you see my Shiver review!
"foot-choppery and decimation" is a perfect phrase; I just might have to steal it for my own use.
This one looks like it may be part of my summer of karen.
take it with my blessing...jen! this one will only take up one day in your summer of karen! it will be grand!
I've loved other books from Patrick Ness. I feel like i need to buy this now
i have been meaning to read that trilogy. it looks fantastic!
You must read Chaos Walking.That's right.. I bolded it.
ps. Great review. :)
The trilogy is fantastic, Karen. Read it immediately.
i will read it after the ones i already promised i would read. they are looking at me with big eyes, saying "but you promised!!"
a unicorn without its horn is just a horse, after all.Yup. And I echo what the others have said here. Read his Chaos Walking trilogy. The Hunger Games and its ilk have nothing on it.
is this where i confess that the hunger games trailer made me a little misty? twice? just to see it all come to life?although i have a serious problem with cinna. at least the one shot of him in the trailer.
It gave me the goosebumps on at least three occasions. Each time I've watched it. And I've watched it more than I care to report. Cue the Michael Jackson song "You Are Not Alone".
Both in having a visceral reaction to the trailer... and to Cinna. Mostly Cinna.
what's with the three-day stubble, cinna? you are supposed to be all fancy and glamorous!
I'm showing my boys the trailer now. I'll let you know if they cry.
And what's with Cinna not being super-gay?I'm sorry, Cinna is like Buddy Cole-level gay in my book.
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AND THAT'S HOW I WANT HIM TO BE. I need him to be that gay.
Christ, KATNISS needs him to be that gay.
misty!! i said misty!! i am still a robot!
this is cinna, to me:
My eldest says that Peter is older and taller than he thought. And he did not cry. He laughed.
Celebrity casting, it misses the mark.
Ooh, Karen! I like your Cinna. Smokin' hot, too.Buddy Cole = not hot.
But funny. And fabulous.
i know! it is infuriating how good rupaul looks as both a man and a woman. damn his genes!
HO. LEE. SHIT.I didn't even realize that was RuPaul!!
Loves it.
i know - it is sick. that is who i always pictured as cinna, not "i am too lazy to shave" lenny kravitz.
I have to butt in on this and say that the Chaos Walking trilogy IS way under-pressed. At the end of each book I almost had a heart attack. Luckily I didn't start reading them until they were all three available, and then I had to keep reading without stopping regardless of anything else going on in my life. They were deep and dark, and in the end they delivered.
awesome! fortunately, i have all three here, in my house, all stacked up next to each other, so i can save myself that heart attack!
RuPaul is pretty tall, right?
huuuuge. plus, platform shoes don't hurt. but lenny kravitz is tall, too, right? he seems tall.
I asked my son about Cinna. He said he's short and likes to dress people. So I'm going on that alone since I haven't obeyed his order to read the book.
will you obey my order? i mean, sheesh....
karen wrote: "will you obey my order? i mean, sheesh...."I suppose it can't wait until summer. So yes. I will obey.
really!? holy shit! i am so excited for you!
Well, I owe you for not telling everyone about my repeated attempts at going the wrong way through the subway turnstile.Ooops.
ha! that could have happened to anyone, though. but h.g. is a really great book, and deserves all its hype, and i think you are going to go nuts over it.
I probably will. It has survival, coming-of-age, and a kickass girl. I don't know how I've avoided it for so long.
