A Monster Calls

Over dinner, Conor and his father try to reconnect, but Conor is ill at ease with his father’s strange accent, his use of American words and phrases, and his mentions of his “other family” in America. His father begins to talk about Conor coming to America, which excites him until Conor realizes “it’d just be a visit” (87), not staying with his father permanently. Conor starts talking rapidly about the tree that has been visiting him, which confuses and disturbs his father. Finally, Conor exclaims that “[he doesn’t] want to live with grandma” (88). His father explains that there is no room for Conor at their home in America, and he doesn’t want to uproot Conor’s whole life: “It would be unfair to just take [Conor] out of all that” (89). Conor is unhappy and feels rejected by his father, but lets the conversation go on the condition that they can talk about it again once his mother gets better. His father hesitates, but he finally agrees.

Conor’s father drops him back off at Grandma’s house, then explains that he will only be in England for a few more days. Conor asks why his father bothered to come at all, and his father tells him that he came “because [Conor’s] mum asked [him] to” (92).