After closing the back cover of The Fault in Our Stars, the newly released paperback edition advertising that it was now a MAJOR motion picture and therefore plastered with photos from the soon-to-be-released film, I entered into a serious ponder session. For so many months, I passed bookshelves featuring The Fault in Our Stars by John Green where it was labeled a "staff favorite" or somewhere among the top ten best selling works of literature at the moment. I also noticed it in the rooms of friends and homes of acquaintances, peeking out from underneath a pile of other half-read or untouched novels or shoved onto a bulging bookshelf. Yet none of this constant contact with its lovely blue cover filled with seemingly endless quotes of praise intrigued me enough to buy, borrow, or download it.
Things changed when I arrived at the airport in Denver, void of any literature to entertain me for the plane ride, weekend, and return trip. I feel such a wave of desperation wash over me when I am book-less. Such a strong tidal wave that I would likely drop twice what any book is worth just to fill the void. Of course, airport bookstores thrive and prey on individuals just like me. I realize that the cost to download The Fault in Our Stars would be a mere fraction of that which I paid at the bookstore. However, I am an old soul. I like Frank Sinatra, and not only at Christmas. I like gin and tonics. I love the gritty feel of a real newspaper with ink that rubs off between my fingers. I love, and will always love, the feel of a physical book, the bookmark clearly displaying my progress, the bulkiness of the bound pages in my bag, and the ability to leave it behind at bookshops and coffee shops for others to read.
Now, the problem with praising a book so vastly is that the bar of expectation is automatically raised impossibly high for the next reader. Such was the case when I began to absorb word after word in the start of the novel. I expected a game changer. While, in my humble opinion, it could not be labeled as such, it was a pleasant enough read. To me, it seemed strikingly similar in tone to The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which they also made into a movie, I might add). The Fault in Our Stars follows the fleeting romance between terminal cancer patient Hazel and a boy she meets in support group, Augustus. We know from the get-go that this story will not end well. Perhaps it was this premonition that made not a single tear trickle down my cheek once I finished it. The fact that I didn't blubber like a teenage girl watching The Notebook for the first time actually disappointed me. It is a book about kids with cancer going through pains and tribulations that no one should ever face, and yet despite feeling sad, the words never quite moved me to tears. Perhaps it is because it took me awhile to come around to liking the characters. Initially, I felt they were pretentious and difficult to sympathize with, but around halfway through they completely converted me. Maybe Hazel's strength is what made crying feel like a useless act. She has to carry around a portable oxygen tank so her lungs can "suck less at being lungs" (as she puts it). She has to face her loving parents every day knowing that soon she will have a devastating impact on their lives by disappearing from them. Her list of acquaintances is full of individuals that will not last through the week. Yes, she is a strong character.
You know I actually hate when books put photos from the movie on the cover or, in the case, filling a few pages in the middle. It made it impossible for my own imagination to create characters based on their literary descriptions. At the mention of Hazel's mom, my mind's eye saw Laura Dern (regardless of my disappointment of having my mental character concoction ability stripped from me, I do concede that she is perfect for the role). At the mention of Hazel, I can only visualize Shailene Woodley (the chick from The Descendants). I won't post their pictures here in case you have never seen them before and don't want to tarnish your mind's ability to form its own images of Hazel and her mother.
I did enjoy The Fault in Our Stars. It would be a lie to say otherwise seeing as how I finished it in two days. However, I just don't think it's QUITE worth all of the hype it is receiving. It definitely has a plot scattered with memorable characters and quotes, like that time is "a slut that screws us all" and some listed below in the image. Just read it but don't expect your mind to be blown, opinions changed forever, and horizons broadened beyond comprehension.
Things changed when I arrived at the airport in Denver, void of any literature to entertain me for the plane ride, weekend, and return trip. I feel such a wave of desperation wash over me when I am book-less. Such a strong tidal wave that I would likely drop twice what any book is worth just to fill the void. Of course, airport bookstores thrive and prey on individuals just like me. I realize that the cost to download The Fault in Our Stars would be a mere fraction of that which I paid at the bookstore. However, I am an old soul. I like Frank Sinatra, and not only at Christmas. I like gin and tonics. I love the gritty feel of a real newspaper with ink that rubs off between my fingers. I love, and will always love, the feel of a physical book, the bookmark clearly displaying my progress, the bulkiness of the bound pages in my bag, and the ability to leave it behind at bookshops and coffee shops for others to read.
Now, the problem with praising a book so vastly is that the bar of expectation is automatically raised impossibly high for the next reader. Such was the case when I began to absorb word after word in the start of the novel. I expected a game changer. While, in my humble opinion, it could not be labeled as such, it was a pleasant enough read. To me, it seemed strikingly similar in tone to The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which they also made into a movie, I might add). The Fault in Our Stars follows the fleeting romance between terminal cancer patient Hazel and a boy she meets in support group, Augustus. We know from the get-go that this story will not end well. Perhaps it was this premonition that made not a single tear trickle down my cheek once I finished it. The fact that I didn't blubber like a teenage girl watching The Notebook for the first time actually disappointed me. It is a book about kids with cancer going through pains and tribulations that no one should ever face, and yet despite feeling sad, the words never quite moved me to tears. Perhaps it is because it took me awhile to come around to liking the characters. Initially, I felt they were pretentious and difficult to sympathize with, but around halfway through they completely converted me. Maybe Hazel's strength is what made crying feel like a useless act. She has to carry around a portable oxygen tank so her lungs can "suck less at being lungs" (as she puts it). She has to face her loving parents every day knowing that soon she will have a devastating impact on their lives by disappearing from them. Her list of acquaintances is full of individuals that will not last through the week. Yes, she is a strong character.
You know I actually hate when books put photos from the movie on the cover or, in the case, filling a few pages in the middle. It made it impossible for my own imagination to create characters based on their literary descriptions. At the mention of Hazel's mom, my mind's eye saw Laura Dern (regardless of my disappointment of having my mental character concoction ability stripped from me, I do concede that she is perfect for the role). At the mention of Hazel, I can only visualize Shailene Woodley (the chick from The Descendants). I won't post their pictures here in case you have never seen them before and don't want to tarnish your mind's ability to form its own images of Hazel and her mother.
I did enjoy The Fault in Our Stars. It would be a lie to say otherwise seeing as how I finished it in two days. However, I just don't think it's QUITE worth all of the hype it is receiving. It definitely has a plot scattered with memorable characters and quotes, like that time is "a slut that screws us all" and some listed below in the image. Just read it but don't expect your mind to be blown, opinions changed forever, and horizons broadened beyond comprehension.
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