I wouldn't call this post a review because I haven't
really reviewed anything, nor have I summarised or really critiqued
in great detail but "that's the thing about pain
... it demands to be felt" and sometimes you can't express the
pain you feel when you read a book that breaks your heart up to the very last
word. This is "not a cancer book". Sure, a lot of the
characters in the book have cancer but it's a classic love
story: boy meets girl - boy once had cancer lost a leg (maybe not so classic),
girl still has cancer and carries her own tank of oxygen that keeps her alive -
girl and boy do a book swap - boy hunts down author of book - boy and girl
travel to Amsterdam in search of the infuriating author - boy and girl fall in
love, make love, boy admits he's dying - boy dies - boy leaves girl a beautiful
love letter. *floods of tears ensue*
I think when you read a book that generates so much buzz about it, it's
safe to say you develop, (no need) almost unachievable expectations from
words on a piece of paper. I would have paid good money to have been in that
Penguin Office when the first copy of The Fault came through because you
could have read it without external influences subconsciously giving you a
preconceived idea of how good or not this book was going to be, my goodness wouldn’t
that have been an amazing experience. As much as I enjoyed reading
John Green's The Fault in Our Stars I think it has to be said that it
exuded Gatsbian tendencies, in the sense that it is hands down a fantastic
book with an emotive plot but one could argue it ran the risk of getting lost
in its own propaganda, through no fault of its own, rather
its eager fans who really can't be blamed either. With that being said this is
a uniquely beautiful book with such precious moments that could only be found in
such a quaint love story.
It may have taken me four times to read this book in order to form a
coherent response to its heavily hyped awesome-ness but I got there ...
eventually - two paper copies, one kindle version and one audio
book later. After it being talked about, almost to death might I add, I
borrowed a copy to read, which after reading I had to go out and buy my own
just so I could read it over and over again because TFiOS is a book I couldn't
help but fall in love with. I found it mind boggling how something so
classic such as good ol' Shakey's (Shakespeare - for those of you who are not
au fait with my idiosyncratic idiolect) Julius Caesar where Cassius says to
Brutus, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in
ourselves, that we are are underlinings" it is truly astounding
how something so quintessentially classic can evolve into something
so modern and relevant.
John Green has definitely hit the jackpot with TFiOS - it borders on a
movement of a generation -, not to forget the phenomenal job he did creating
the characters Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster. I fell in love with
Augustus and Hazel "slowly and then all at once" it
was so beautifully extraordinary. I have a tendency to fall hard for
fictional characters - it's the wonder of fiction
- particularly the male ones and Augustus Waters is no
different.
Augustus
Waters:- I admire his characterisation so much, the
way he comes across so jovial yet is able to be a walking metaphor is such
literary genius. Augustus is a heartthrob. You do not need to be able to see
this boy to know you've fallen in love, you fall in love with his insides,
his wit, his charm, his carefree demeanour,
his crabby driving skills, all of it and then some. You want to love
him and love him hard because "the heart cannot be denied from
true love" .
Hazel Grace:- It's not often I fall in love with female characters but
Hazel Grace has definitely pulled on my heart strings. I thought I knew how her
story was going to pan out, not her cancer story, her story.
Then brilliant Mr Green decided to pull a rather sneaky 180 on me, which I
loved and hated for all the right reasons. Hazel is a truly remarkable
individual - I feel the audio book did not do her justice at all. It did not
even come close to encompassing the zeal she felt for life, specifically after
meeting Gus, but also the inner conflict she has. To consider herself a grenade
that she kept herself away from people to limit the impact of her destruction is
ironic because she falls in love with her own grenade. Only then does she
realise "the foolishness of trying to save others from my own
impending fragmentation: I couldn't unlove Augustus Waters. And I didn't want
to."
It's cute and it's quirky much like young love.
It's awkward, it's random much like most of adolescence.
There were times when the book deviated from what I wanted to read but,
it's a book. It's not my book. It's not telling the story I
want to tell and quite frankly if you stay along for the journey John Green
takes you on you will not regret it.
I can't lie when I first read it I cried. When I watched the movie, I
cried. I felt like such a baby because I knew it was coming but seeing it play
out on a screen really just breaks your heart over and over again. This
book, this film and the wider concept that is TFiOS brand has an undeniable
power, when I finished reading the book I had this reflective sadness about me,
this book just makes you realise how unfair life can be. In watching the
tragedy of their love unfold you learn something beautiful, "You
don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world ... but you do have some say
in who hurts you".
TFIOS quotes stay with, whether that is for a life time or a year is
still to be determined but I know for a fact that "My
thoughts are the stars I can't fathom into constellations" is
one that will stay with me for a heck of a long time because it reminds me of
such a beautiful poem written by such a beautiful person
that essentially allows the person to give their heart away in the most sublime
manner.
To the characters of TFiOS ...
"It has been a privilege to have my
heart broken by you".
Hey Beatriss!
ReplyDeleteCool blog!
Check out mine? x