Author – John Greene
Publisher – Penguin
Pages – 316
Genre – Romance Fiction, Novel
Narrative – First Person (Hazel Grace)
Price – 299 bucks (Amazon); 271 bucks (Flipkart). You can get at a much lower price from street vendors.
“Love stories are made in heaven”
I have no doubt in associating the above line with this novel. “The Fault in Our Stars” was adoring my bookshelf for a long time until the day I craved for a unique love story. I couldn’t locate any book better than this, hence, started flipping pages. There are snippets from several newspapers and authors from the beginning in which statements have been made in praise of the book and the author. The title of this book has been inspired by Julius Caesar, a tragic play written by William Shakespeare.
While reading this book, the journey from chapters 1 to 25 is full of emotions, rising and falling several times. The book is narrated in the first person through a 16 yr old girl, Hazel Grace who is struggling to survive as she has thyroid cancer and has to carry an oxygen cylinder bag to catch her breath. On the other side, she gets along with Augustus Waters, age 17, who is a survivor of bone cancer and has one artificial leg. I’ll list points as to why I loved this book.
1. The book is written from a teenager’s perspective. Hence, it includes detailed descriptions/confusion about the things which we’re fascinated by at such an age. The narrative is constructed in such a way that it peeps into the psychological insight of the narrator or similar age/situation like people. For instance: friends, relationships, kisses, intimacy etc. The description in paras is also followed by some graphical representation. Check one below;
2. The novel can also be read as self-help as it inspires us toward living life and cherishing the moments without caring about the future irrespective of the hurdles we face. It fills us with hope and encourages us to live.
3. Some of the readers might have this feeling that Isn’t it silly for Hazel to travel all the way to Amsterdam, just to know the ending of the story of the book “An Imperial Affection” by Peter Van Houten? I would say that this is the gist of life. We live for small moments to make them great with our efforts. Also, for sentimental readers who often lost themselves in the book, the epilogue becomes an excellent way to satiate their curiosity, “Iske baad kya hua hoga” . Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters preferred it to know from the writer itself.
(While reading, I wished that I could have read The Imperial Affection as it is becomes the point of discussion in the novel at several times)
4. The novel is adorned with poems, references and quotes from several popular authors/playwrights to which the literature students can relate. It also enhances the reception capacity of the other readers.
I can go on talking about this book but I’ll stop here because it’ll ruin your joy of reading. If you haven’t read it, you can begin after reading this review. Also, those who have already finished reading can share their views. It’ll be interesting to know your perspective.
Thank you!
Happy reading ❤️
Pragmatic's Personas 