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A review by jeremychiasson
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
5.0
I haven't a read a book this good in almost a year (since July of 2012, to be exact).
Frankly, I'm shocked that I enjoyed "The Fault in Our Stars" book so much, it defied all of my expectations. Since Mr. Green wrote "Looking For Alaska", I've always kind of associated his work with pseudo-profundity and adolescent self-indulgence. Mind you, I haven't even READ 'Alaska', I've just heard things and read passages. I think I'll have to give it a chance, now.
While my low expectations for this novel contributed greatly to my enjoyment, I am confident I would have liked this book even if I had expected it to be great.
First of all this book is very funny. The characters are full of quips and gallows humour, and they use that humour to cope with their illness and looming death. Secondly, the love story of August and Hazel was poignant and real. This was not your typical teen novel romance.
Those two qualities alone would have made this book a 4-star read. What pushed it into the 5 star category was its honesty. This really was an unflinching examination of the reality of having cancer, and loving others who have cancer. Not only did John Green avoid the Chicken Soup for the Soul approach to a cancer story, but he took that trope, wrapped it in dynamite and blew it the fuck up.
These characters were sympathetic, likable, but not perfect. They were not these altruistic angels who smiled right to the end, they had some hideous, pathetic moments that tore at your heart. But this did not repulse me so much as it just made the characters more dynamic, more human. Green really captures the way a terminal illness slowly strips you of all your vanity and silly affectations, and isolates you from the rest of the world.
One of my favourite moments of honesty in this book, is when Hazel is yelling for her mom repeatedly, and when her mom finally shows up, she drops a little line that reveals her exhaustion/irritation from waiting on her daughter 24/7. She quickly snaps back into altruistic mother mode, but that brief glimpse we get of her irritation was all Green needed to reveal the much richer and complicated inner life of that character. While she clearly loves Hazel very much, she's only human.
I don't know if I'm explaining it properly, but basically I felt like he really hit the bullseye with this book. I would recommend "The Fault in Our Stars" to anyone with a heartbeat and the ability to read.
Frankly, I'm shocked that I enjoyed "The Fault in Our Stars" book so much, it defied all of my expectations. Since Mr. Green wrote "Looking For Alaska", I've always kind of associated his work with pseudo-profundity and adolescent self-indulgence. Mind you, I haven't even READ 'Alaska', I've just heard things and read passages. I think I'll have to give it a chance, now.
While my low expectations for this novel contributed greatly to my enjoyment, I am confident I would have liked this book even if I had expected it to be great.
First of all this book is very funny. The characters are full of quips and gallows humour, and they use that humour to cope with their illness and looming death. Secondly, the love story of August and Hazel was poignant and real. This was not your typical teen novel romance.
Those two qualities alone would have made this book a 4-star read. What pushed it into the 5 star category was its honesty. This really was an unflinching examination of the reality of having cancer, and loving others who have cancer. Not only did John Green avoid the Chicken Soup for the Soul approach to a cancer story, but he took that trope, wrapped it in dynamite and blew it the fuck up.
These characters were sympathetic, likable, but not perfect. They were not these altruistic angels who smiled right to the end, they had some hideous, pathetic moments that tore at your heart. But this did not repulse me so much as it just made the characters more dynamic, more human. Green really captures the way a terminal illness slowly strips you of all your vanity and silly affectations, and isolates you from the rest of the world.
One of my favourite moments of honesty in this book, is when Hazel is yelling for her mom repeatedly, and when her mom finally shows up, she drops a little line that reveals her exhaustion/irritation from waiting on her daughter 24/7. She quickly snaps back into altruistic mother mode, but that brief glimpse we get of her irritation was all Green needed to reveal the much richer and complicated inner life of that character. While she clearly loves Hazel very much, she's only human.
I don't know if I'm explaining it properly, but basically I felt like he really hit the bullseye with this book. I would recommend "The Fault in Our Stars" to anyone with a heartbeat and the ability to read.