I jumped on the bandwagon. Like pretty much
every other teenage girl out there, I saw the trailer for The Fault in Our Stars and thought “Hey! I’m going to be extra cool
and actually read the book first!” I should mention however that I have
previously been forbidden to do this by my dear colleague and best friend given
that I tend to complain through the entire movie about how it’s not at all like
the book. She, unfortunately, had to suffer through a few Harry Potter movies
and the Hunger Games with me fuming in the seat next to hers. Regardless, I
read the book first anyway and I was not disappointed.
First of all, I don’t really read romances.
I don’t like the clichés, the soppiness or, in all honesty, the happily ever
after. I dislike knowing from the beginning that everything is going to work
out in the end. I like a bit of unpredictability and that’s exactly what the
good Mr. John Green offered in TFIOS. I’ve only read one other book of his, Paper Towns, which a friend loaned me
and, which much to my surprise, I loved. I loved that it wasn’t conventional. I
suppose that’s why I enjoyed TFIOS so much. It wasn’t conventional.
Green begins the story, not with the
horrible tragedy of Hazel’s cancer or how she’s a fighter, but with Augustus
Waters. I love when writers get right to the point. The book follows their
falling in love and bonding over mutual suffering, loss, fears and An Imperial Affliction. It’s quaint and
funny at times but with an ending that had me sobbing into my duvet at 2 in the
morning. Green’s strength is not, as expected, in his character of Hazel Grace,
but rather in Augustus. Despite the fact that it’s Hazel that tells the story,
I found myself with a much deeper understanding of Augustus’ character. I
suppose we as readers got to know him as she did. The contrast between his
grandeur and metaphorically driven personality and the helplessness of disease
and suffering was beautiful and heartbreaking. One of the things I loved the
most was the flippancy of cancer and its patients. It did not seek to be
politically correct or reverent in any sense. It was honest. It’s not at all a
complex read. You won’t find yourself staring at the pages in bewilderment
wondering what the hell is going on (until you read Van Houten’s letters…was
that a spoiler?). It’s simple, to the point, and with no desire to be
pretentious or overly literary. Despite the fact that I’m quite the flowery (as
my mum puts it) writer myself, the simplicity of it is what made me unable to
put the book down. No kidding. It took me about a day and a half. It is
certainly one of those books you can read over and over and continue to find
little things that you didn’t pick up the first few times.
The story is a journey of which we are
emotionally involved and invested. I didn’t realize how much until…well…I think
that would constitute as a spoiler. John Green, I salute you. Well done. I look
forward to re-reading and re-re-reading it until it takes on a similar
semblance to An Imperial Affliction.
My only hope is that you are not all like Peter Van Houten.
KEEP
Rating: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment