I had heard about this book for some
time; and had seen it stacked up in the book store I frequently visit. The synopsis
of the book entails the funny, thrilling and the tragic business of being in
love and death where the protagonist is
a cancer inflicted teenager -seemed to me a run of mill book. Some wise guy, (I
don’t know who, so for now let it be me) said – the book will always find you.
I have read some amazing books of late, but more often than not I would know what
the book will offer. I was pretty sure that “The Fault of Our Stars” will fall
in that category – I was wrong.
The center-piece of the story is the innocuous friendship turning
into love story of two terminally ill teenagers – Hazel and Augustus , where
they first meet in a support group through a common friend, Issac who has his
eyes cut out because of cancer in the middle of the story. My sudden
interjection of Issac’s condition may seem insensitive but that’s where the
beauty of the narration lies, through the voice of Hazel Grace. The staccato mixture
of dark humor and raw emotions makes the reader wanting for more. The narration
of the book is so lucid and yet so sudden in some places; the reader will
hardly feel the jolts as John Green takes the turns the story in gentle twists
and turns.
Sample this:
Augustus and Hazel were travelling in plane to Amsterdam and just
after the plane takes off, Gus dug into
his pocket and flipped open his pack of smokes
About 9sec later, a blond stewardess rushes over and said – “ Sir you
cannot smoke on this plane. Or for that matter any other plane”
Hazel explains: “ The cigarette is a metaphor. He puts the killing
thing in his mouth but doesn’t give it the power to kill him”
Flummoxed, the steward says “
Well, that metaphor is prohibited on today’s fight”
You don’t know whether to laugh
or sit there dumbstruck. It is just one
of the instance where the reader does not know which way to lean. But there are
many more samples of Hazel and Gus
story, where the reader will laugh, and be dumbstruck at different places. The book did not make me cry, but it
definitely made me to think.
Augustus stepped towards him and looked down “ Feel better?” he asked
“No” Issac mumbled, his chest heaving
“That thing about pain is” Augustus said, and glanced back and me
“It demands to be felt”
The book demands to be felt.
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