Sep 15, 2014 09:11 PM
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John Green is a famous american author of young adult fiction, and won many accolades including Printz Medal, Printz Honor & Edgar award, he has written around 6 novels starting from 'Looking for Alaska' which was written in 2005 and his latest one is'The Fault in our Stars', of which this review is about. This is my 1st read of John Green, it has also been adapted in a movie.
I bought the book from Flipkart for Rs.262, and the book is about 313 pages divided over 25 chapters, for which I took 4 days. It is a story of a lung cancer patient Hazel Grace Lancaster, who is living just to live, and take the life as a dark comedy going on around her, she don't want anybody's sympathy, and her life is going just like whatever. She is the part of a cancer kid support group, where everybody use to tell about their own illness, and try to live on, she had one friend Isaac who is going blind by cancer. And one day she met Augustus Waters and instantly started liking him, he too has a disease where he is losing his legs and bones, but he lives his life coolly. Soon both become good friends and even become Boyfriend-girlfriend, and try to live life as it is coming. Before the end Augustus dies, leaving Hazel alone.
So the title seems quite matching with the plot, I have also downloaded the movie adaptation, which I will soon be watching. The novel is slow, and it is told in first person from the perspective of Hazel. And it is written like a dark comedy with feeling, you'll not laugh on the ongoings, but they're(the characters) laughing on their lives, and author uses the liberty of describing each and every incident of their lives, it is like you're living their life through this novel. So, yes this novel covers your enthusiasm to read it, and you can read it if you're more into life kind of novels which is slow and full of feelings, though it is not highly emotional.
The plot is very thin, and it ended right when the second main character Augustus dies, but still novel continues for 10-15 pages more, and if you don't like slow novels, you should avoid it. Plus the author has used many of dictionary words, hard words, which could make the novel put-down-able, this novel is surely not for beginners, John Green tries to coninue his style in terminal-life-romanticism, but he is still very far from becoming Nicholas Sparks or Cecilia Ahern if you ask me.
I will rate this novel as 2.5/5 but I'll surely like to try him again maybe this time with'Looking for Alaska' who knows. Do let me know your views, if you've read it.
GRuchirG.
Jai Raam ji ki:)
