The Fault in Our Stars

If you haven't heard, there's a new book in town and it's getting ready to kick your sorry existence to the other end of the block.

Alternatively, please sweep out the dust in your designated corner and prepare to rock you and your feelings to eternal damnation.

I kid.

It really isn't all that catastrophic. But you can't deny that the feelings you get by the end of the book doesn't sway you in some way. It's one of those books that wants you to understand the characters before you go about analyzing their feelings and bring out the big guns: the "how could you??", "why would you??" and whatnot.

Admittedly, The Fault in Our Stars was actually completely out of my radar until a close friend recommended the book earlier this year. Around the same time, news of its movie adaptation was released and suddenly my timeline was flooded with speculations about the cast, debates about how far the movie would stray from the book (my guess: at least 60%. Unless it's anything like The Perks of Being A Wallflower, in which case, 30%) etc. My interest in the book was perked (pun intended) but I was still feeling a bit wary. I had a similar experience with Cecelia Ahern's PS I Love You years back. Because so many people were telling me how good the book was, it became very much over-hyped and I felt quite let down by the time I finished it. So this time around, I stopped with the asking and stayed away from the general nerdfighter (NB: A word coined by the author John Green and his brother Hank) population.

SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT - (Skip to the end if you rather avoid this part)

The book didn't disappoint. It isn't your typical girl-meets-boy-and-falling-in-love story. For one, its lead characters are cancer kids, remission or otherwise. A story that starts off by telling you that everything is a side effect of dying, really does set the tone of the entire story. It doesn't have a happy ending. In fact, whether or not it's a happy ending depends on your perception of the book by the time you finish it. It's tragic but also very realistic (although a friend still protests the existence of Augustus Waters in real life) and peppered with humour. I especially liked how all the characters tend to poke fun at their disease or disability even if everyone else is cringing at how inappropriate the whole shenanigan was.

The settings were limited but rich in details. I don't think it ever occurred to me that Amsterdam could have been such an ideal setting for a romantic rendezvous besides being a stopover idyllic novelty (Holland is the only country that legalized prostitution and drugs) Western European country included in most tour packages. It's safe to say that The Fault in Our Stars has completely ruined Amsterdam for me.

The characters themselves also stick to you. Aside from the two main characters Hazel and Augustus, the book's supporting cast also blend in and stand out well on their own. They also have their own side stories that doesn't overwhelm the readers, but also add more layers to the main story itself. How Issac dealt with his blindness and ex-girlfriend Monica was a good subplot. My favourite scene was when Augustus had Issac pelt Monica's car with eggs. Peter van Houten's story was not uncommon but was one of the things the main characters bonded over. You can't tell me that you're not at least somewhat curious and tempted to read An Imperial Affliction by the end of the book.

END OF SPOILER

All in all, it was an enjoyable thought-provoking read. There was this internal turmoil when I finished the book and I only had the entire train ride to convey all my feels through texts to my friend in a very poor attempt to explain how significant those feelings were. I strongly encourage everyone to read it. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but there will be some parts of the story that would resonate with you.

In the words of Augustus Waters, you don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choice when I picked up this book. I hope you do too.