Fantasy (or low fantasy) isn't a genre I'd normally go for
but there was something about this book that made me willing to stray away from
my more than comfortable genre of Young/New Adult fiction into the unfamiliar
territory of Children's Fantasy. Due to the fact I had never read anything by
either Siobhan Dowd (whose idea the story is based upon), or Patrick Ness (who
I only realised was such an amazing author after seeing him on the news one
morning, while promoting another book, More
Than This, which is on my must-read-soon list), I began reading this book
expecting nothing in particular but just to read another book, my oh my was I
wrong. I think you can't fully appreciate this story until you realise how this
story came to pass; Dowd died of breast cancer in 2007 leaving behind the
characters, a detailed premise and a beginning and handed it over to the very
capable hands of Patrick Ness.
"You do not write your life with
words ... Your write with actions"
This book grabbed my attention from the get go of the Author's
Note when Ness describes feeling that "itch
that every writer longs for; the itch to start getting words down, the itch to
tell a story". I for one thoroughly loved and appreciated
the story he was telling. Ness states, "stories
don't end with writers, however many started the race" they are to be carried on by
their readers; I will be carrying this one all the way
to the finish line and a victory lap.
"Stories were wild, wild animals and
went off in directions you couldn't expect"
Connor O'Malley is the epitome
of "the frailty of everything revealed" as Cormac McCarthy says in The Road.
Connor is such a brave precious soul; not only is his mother battling with
cancer, his dad left them both and started a new family in America and that's
without mentioning the alienation he experiences at school due to his mother's
illness and on top of that a group of boys have decided he's the target of their bullying. To say Connor is going through a
rough patch would be the understatement of the year. Not only is Connor's fragility
exposed but also the frailty of the human condition and how we humans deal with
things we really don't know how to deal with (dreams, nightmares, tyranny,
illness and death).
"Sometimes people need to lie to
themselves most of all"
Typically saying you loved the monster in a story would sound
outlandish but this monster was Connor's saving grace. The monster saved Connor
from himself and when a 13 year old boy knows his mother is potentially dying
of cancer, someone needs to save him. Over the course
of the correspondence between Connor and the monster, Connor demonstrates a rationalism about the strange happenings
that occur; be it optimism or plain denial it is genius!
"Stories are wild creatures. When
you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?"
The most moving thing of all is that Siobhan Dowd came up with the
ideas for this story while going through chemotherapy herself, I personally
think it makes the whole story that much more enchanting because of the realism
Dowd could have offered to Ness.
"Stories chase and bite and
hunt"
Although it is a rather short story by no means is its impact
anything less than spectacularly powerful. It's been a while since I've read a
book with great imagery where you can tell the author takes so much care and
pride in their craft. I strongly believe Patrick Ness has helped me find the
crux of my zeal for reading; the whole reason why I loved reading to begin
with.
"Stories are the wildest
things of all"
Not only did this book remind me why I love reading books but it
tells such a poignant story that many young people know all too well and were monsters like the one in this book real, I think we
would all know how to deal with our own truth a lot better. It truly is an exceptional read - that will stay with you because
it's an amazing, enthralling and emotional journey which can be appreciated by
both young and old readers.
"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"
"Because humans are complicated
beasts"
"Stories don't always have happy
endings"
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