Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 216
Rating: 4*/5
Patrick Ness – A Monster Calls
I didn’t think much of this book, but I bumped it up from a three-star based on the writing to a four-star thanks to the illustrations by Jim Kay. Perhaps this book has been over-hyped, who knows? I was just hoping for so much more.
I think what we have here is a case of the story behind the story being better than the story itself. I have respect for Ness for what he did in terms of taking Siobhan Dowd’s idea and bringing it to life, because there’s nothing worse than an idea that dies with someone. I just didn’t get the “lyrical and transcendent” storytelling that the blurb promised. It reminded me more of R. L. Stine imitating John Green but with a few storytelling techniques pinched from The Princess Bride and The Empire Strikes Back.
All in all, this book was okay, and I guess I can see why people like it. It just wasn’t for me, and perhaps that makes me heartless. It was hard to care about Conor or his family because they were all so self-obsessed, which I guess is kind of the point of it. Great art, though.
Patrick Ness
Cary Elwes – As You Wish | Review
Title: As You Wish
Author: Cary Elwes
Type: Non-Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 262
Rating: 5*/5
Cary Elwes – As You Wish
This was inconceivably good.
True, it might not make much sense to you unless you’re already a fan of The Princess Bride, because this is basically a memoir of the movie’s creation. Written by Cary Elwes, the actor who played Westley, and with support from Joe Layden, who’s written or co-written over thirty New York Times bestsellers, you know you’re in for a treat here.
I particularly enjoyed the fact that each of the actors also contributed to the book, although the way that their comments were inserted was occasionally clunky and/or repetitive. There’s not much point including a quote from Christopher Guest, for example, if he’s just repeating what’s already been said. But overall, it was better for including those comments and so I can’t complain too much.
Granted, I’m only three books into the month so far, but I think this has a decent shot at being my book of the month. The Princess Bride has been a favourite film of mine since I was a kid, and I particularly enjoyed reading about how Elwes and Mandy Patinkin trained up for their epic sword fight. I used to watch that fight over and over again, rewinding our VHS copy so many times that it ended up ruining the tape and making it unwatchable.
And of course, The Princess Bride itself is based on a cracking book by William Goldman. Read Goldman’s book, watch the film and then read this.
Cary Elwes
Click here to buy As You Wish.