"So, okay," he said. "Okay. Name some things that you never see in Indianapolis."
"Um. Skinny adults," I said.
* * * * *
As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.
I think those two quotes sum up this reading experience nicely. The Fault in Our Stars is funny, sad, and sweet, each in ways that hit you in the gut.
You know what you're going to get when you start reading this book. The main character is Hazel, a 16 year old girl that has a type of cancer that is incurable, but which she could live with for some time. She meets a boy named Augustus at her cancer support group. You know where this is going.
It's a book that doesn't have a lot of twists and turns, but it doesn't need them. It was a relief, actually, to have the freedom to get to know these characters instead of having a gimmicky plot. The humor is sharp - I read most of the book sitting next to my girlfriend while she worked on the computer, and I would laugh loudly, and then say, "cancer humor", as if that explained it. And I'll admit to shedding a couple of tears while reading as well (that's just between you and me, though). The writing is clever and poignant, without being cliche or schmaltzy.
The other thing I loved was that the book was set in Indianapolis. This must be how people in New York feel reading half the novels out there. I enjoy imagining a place from a book's description, but it's something special to have scenes set in the IMA's 100 Acres, or even the Castleton mall, and to be able to really picture the scene in my mind. Having stories set in our home cities, whether its books or films, contributes to our sense of place. I'm making a effort this year to seek out books that are set in Indiana, or are written by Indiana-based authors. I want to see my home in great literature, because I know that outside Indiana, people often don't see it as a place worth visiting, or worth writing about, but I know differently.
The Fault in Our Stars film will be coming out this summer. I'd encourage you to read the book before then so you can really get to know the characters before you see it on the screen.
