It seems that every blogger I know who reads this book feels the need to write a blog about it. In this instance, I am no exception to the rule. There are some books that mean so much to us, it is a betrayal to share them[1], but The Fault in our Stars [by John Green] is too good not to share.
I am a huge nerd, but I am very picky with books. I can finish a book in a day if it engulfs my
interest . . . but if it does not, it will be a struggle and I will eventually
put the book down. Many moons ago one of
my favorite UFC fighters, Kenny Florian, wrote on twitter how he was reading
this book and then later messaged me to recommend it[2]. As there were a few things in my queue at the
time, it took me a while to get to it.
However, I felt with the impending release of the movie, now was as good
of a time as any.
I should preface by saying I had just finished reading Lone Survivor a few days before I
started TFIOS[3],
and was absolutely overcome with emotion.
That book, while a dense read, was an amazing historical account and a
book that really touched me deeply. That
being said, now moving to a teen-esque fiction, I was a little skeptical. But alas, it was on my bookshelf and I need to
start getting to all my eager book purchases.
Once I started TFIOS,
I tore through it like wildfire. I could
not get enough of the story, the characters, their plight . . . I ate up each
and every word John Green laid out and I looked for more. Every day I would take out my book during my
commute and would be so engrossed in the story, I would barely notice when it
was my time to get off. While the
subject matter of the book [two, oddly old for their age, adolescents inflicted
with cancer meeting at a support group and fall in love] may seem a little heavy and dark, Green
navigates through the story with such humor and lightheartedness, that you
cannot help but fall in love. While the
book is over 300 pages, I did not want it to end. I kept wanting to see more of the story,
although the ending was great, I just did not want to give up on the new
friends and new world I found myself surrounded in.
That’s what I love about a good book; it takes you and
transcends you into the world and subject matter you are reading about. John Green definitely hit the nail on the
head here. While I did call the ending
from a few hundred pages out, he did not fail to disappoint. The story was written absolutely beautifully,
that it ensured it was an easy read but was also overridden with emotion. I felt the pain of the characters, their
happiness, everything they were enduring, even if I did not have the same exact
experiences to draw from, I was able to empathize. Once the book ended, I was, unapologetically admittedly,
crying on the train. The book invokes
many emotions, and really makes you think about your life beyond the
story. Kenny Florian classified it as a ‘philosophical
novel’, which I can understand why he would say that. Regardless of if you just want to read it for
the story or for its effect to invoke profound thought, you should definitely
pick up a copy.
That being said, I am eagerly anticipating the movie
debut. I am hopeful that the mixed cast (of veteran and newer actors) will be able to make John Green's brilliant story proud. It is common knowledge that this book has a
huge fan following, so I have high hopes that while the movie will never live
up to the book (they never do), it will still bring a new facet of light to the
profound novel. So while the weather is
still snowy, and the movie is tightly locked up in some Hollywood warehouse, go
to your nearest [hopefully local] bookstore and get your hands on The Fault in our Stars. I promise, you will not be disappointed!
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