Saturday, January 14, 2012

Review: The Fault In Our Stars

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
John Green
Dutton Juvenile
My feelings and thoughts on this book are a bit all over the place, so bear with me. I loved it and also at the same time I didn't quite like it. It's complicated. The story, for those who don't know, is about 16 year old Hazel who has terminal cancer and the boy she meets and falls in love with at a support group meeting. It's a love story and it's a cancer story, but it's much more a cancer story, despite trying so desperately to buck the conventions of the genre (if you can even call "cancer story" a genre, which this book does).

Sarcastic, angry and sad Hazel is one of the most complex characters I've come across recently. The fact that her cancer is terminal informs so much, if not everything, about the way she sees herself, the world, and others. Her relationship with her supportive parents is incredibly honest and heartbreaking -- definitely one of the best parts of the book. There were times when I loved Hazel and thought she was the most awesome character ever, and then there were moments when she just annoyed me. This is a character who, similar to Colin in An Abundance of Katherines, spends a large amount of time contemplating some very abstract concepts and though I rarely agreed with her, I loved the honesty of it. Hazel is standing between life and death; contemplating big, abstract things is part of that.

And then there's Augustus Waters, the boy she meets and falls in love with. Augustus, though not terminal, is even more existential than Hazel is. Everything is a metaphor to him. He uses very big words very often and is obsessed with the idea of mattering -- of his death, if not his life, mattering. He wants to be a hero. He wants to leave a mark on the world. Though the story is narrated by Hazel at certain points it really seemed that Augustus was the real protagonist and, to be really really honest about it, I just didn't get him. He was overly pretentious, which is a quality I associate closely with arrogance, and for the most part I didn't see what ever it was Hazel saw in him. He was over-the-top in many ways and though his relationship with Hazel is supposed to be romantic and real ("not puppy love", as one of the adult characters puts it), I didn't quite see that either. For teenagers, even ones dealing with such a huge thing as cancer, Hazel and Augustus are both unbelievably mature. The things they say and the ways they act are a little too perfect, too rehearsed, and this gives their relationship the same quality: a lack of realism.

This book is trying hard (and succeeding, I think) to be Literature. Big. Important. Unfortunately in pursuit of this it loses quite a bit of reality, believability, and story. At a certain point it became, much like Augustus himself, annoyingly pretentious. But keep in mind that I have a low tolerance for pretentiousness and capital-L Literature. I don't care for symbols or metaphor, especially when they seem to overtake the novel; I just like stories. And somewhere along the way this book lost the story a little bit.

And then on the other hand... this book. Oh goodness this book. It's about cancer but I feel like just about anyone could find a way to relate to Hazel and Augustus; I know I did. This book is more honest about sickness, especially as a young person, than maybe any other book I've read. There were times when Hazel's thoughts just stopped me in my tracks because her experiences rang so incredibly true. In spite of my issues with it, The Fault In Our Stars instantly became a very personal book to me. I love it, even if I don't entirely like it.

This is a John Green book in all of the best ways, but all of the worst ways, too.

10 comments:

  1. Great review. I must admit I have not yet read a John Green novel...I know, I know. Is there one which you would recommend as a starting off point??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hm that depends. I have a special love for An Abundance of Katherines, but (a) if one book of his is very different from the others, it's that one, and (b) I don't think most people like it as much. Looking for Alaska is sort of the "typical" John Green book and most people seem to really really love it, so I'd probably start with that one.

      (Or, you know, you could just dive into The Fault In Our Stars... it's even John Green-ier than the others, which is something that'll probably only make sense once you've read 1 or 2 of his books.)

      Delete
  2. Hmmm...I thought 50/50 really did a good job of telling a great cancer story with a relationship love thing thrown-in. If Mr. Green's book is anything like that movie, I'd probably read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I loved 50/50 -- so good!! This book isn't much like that though; it has its funny moments, but TFIOS is definitely more of a drama than a comedic look at a very serious subject. However, if you've read/enjoyed any of Green's previous work, you'd probably like this one too.

      Delete
  3. It's good to hear this one isn't "perfect". Everyone was so excited for it to come out and is loving it now that it is and I've been wondering if it's really THAT good. It might be awhile before I bother getting to this one; I have other John Green books to catch up on first, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think John Green has some really diehard fans who are probably going to love anything he comes out with. Sort of like how Sarah Dessen is an insta-buy, insta-read author for me. In some ways I thought this book was just incredibly amazing and blew me away, but then in other ways I had a few real issues with it.

      Delete
  4. I think your review is very fair, and I get it...I absolutely love this story, but I see its weaknesses too. I like the slightly overly dramatic Agustus--but I get your point. His pretentiousness doesn't bother me, because his concerns about "mattering" are so real. As a parent whose child died of cancer as a teen, I love the way John "gets" the issues, for both the children, and the parents. For me, this book hits a solid homerun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely agree about this book "getting" the issues that surround the topic - it blew me away with how well it handled the emotions and thoughts that go along with serious illness as a young person. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to lose your child and I'm glad this book was a homerun for you.

      Delete
  5. Maybe the best review I've read of TFIOS. Fellow Contemp YA reader/writer/lover stopping by! Love your background!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Funny and insightful. Relatable humor mixed with serious issues in a perfect combination. There are so many great quotes in John Green books. You'll always remember them. This was quite brilliant. And I really want to read An Imperial Affliction now...

    ReplyDelete