A Monster Calls

The next morning, Conor awakes to find that there is no damage left from the monster punching the wall. He assumes it was all a dream. However, he finds the floor of his bedroom “covered in short, spiky yew tree leaves” (11). He gathers the leaves and quietly disposes of them so as not to worry his mum. Conor does various chores, such as taking out the trash, starting the dishwasher, and doing a load of laundry. Conor’s mum joins him and apologizes for not waking up with him. She tells Conor that his grandmother is coming to stay with them for a few days, and although Conor argues that this is unnecessary, his mother insists that she needs the help. Conor’s mother reminds Conor that he “know[s] how [his mother] get[s] at this point in the treatments” (16). Conor concedes, although he still believes that he and his mother can manage on their own, just as they always have. Conor leaves for school as his mother stares out at the yew tree behind the house.

At school, Conor is pushed down by a bully, Harry. Conor remembers how Harry never noticed him at school until “somewhere over the past year” when “Conor started having the nightmare” (19). Ever since, Harry has bullied Conor with his cronies, Anton and Sully. Conor quietly tolerates the abuse. Today, however, Conor’s old friend Lily intervenes. When Sully makes a comment about Conor’s “baldy mother” because her medical treatments have caused hair loss, Lily pushes Sully. The Head of Year teacher, Miss Kwan, catches Lily. Lily explains that she was sticking up for Conor, but Conor denies this, and Lily gets in trouble while Harry, Sully, and Anton face no punishment. Harry is pleased, but Conor removes himself from the situation.

After school, Conor walks home and thinks about his English assignment: writing about “Important things that had happened” (23). Conor thinks about “The afternoon when his mother said they needed to have a little talk” (24), and how the day before that, he and his mother went to his favorite Indian restaurant and the movies. His thoughts are interrupted by Lily, who demands to know why he lied to Miss Kwan and got Lily in trouble. Conor tells Lily to leave him alone, saying that everything is her fault. Conor remembers how he and Lily grew up together because their mums were friends, and how normal their friendship used to be. After his mum’s “little talk,” Conor remembers how quickly word got out at school after Lily knew about his mum’s illness, “And he was never going to forgive her for that” (27). As Conor approaches his house, he sees the yew tree and for just a moment, Conor thinks he sees it turn into “a giant face to look at him in the sunlight, its arms reaching out” (27), but when he looks again, it’s just a tree.

Conor’s mother has a difficult evening. She tires out easily, and later in the evening she vomits. Conor is used to this, because “the second and third days after the treatments [...] were the worst, always the days when she was the most tired, when she threw up the most” (29). Conor lies awake in bed until the clock strikes 12:07am again, and the monster returns. Conor goes to the backyard to talk to the yew tree, and the monster tells him that it is an ancient, powerful being that “do[es] not often come walking [...] only for matters of life and death” (35). The monster will continue to visit Conor and tell him three stories. After that, the monster says that Conor will tell it a fourth story, “and it will be the truth” (35). When Conor realizes that the monster means he will have to talk about what happens in his nightmare, he refuses, and the monster eats Conor again. When Conor wakes up in his bed, once again, there is no evidence that the monster was there, and he thinks it was all a dream. But he soon discovers that “his floor [is] covered in poisonous red yew tree berries” (37).

Grandma arrives at Conor’s house, and Conor thinks about how she “[isn’t] like other grandmas” (38). Conor’s grandmother is a career woman who can be abrasive, which Conor finds grating. Grandma starts to talk about how good the school is near her house, implying that it is better than Conor’s school. Conor feels “anger rising in the pit of his stomach” at the thought of Grandma hinting “about a possible future. A possible after” (40). After dinner, Grandma confronts Conor and says that they need to have a talk “About [Conor] coming to live with [Grandma]” (42). Conor is horrified at the thought and is combative with his grandmother, telling her that they don’t need her help and that he will never go to live with her. Grandma insists that Conor’s mother isn’t getting any better, despite her efforts to protect him from this knowledge. Grandma wants Conor to know that after his mother’s death, he will still have a home “With someone who’ll love [him] and care for [him]” (43). Conor sees the monster watching their conversation from the window, but their argument is cut short by the sound of Conor’s mother throwing up in the other room.