Can we talk?

Snowy Saturday

         I finally finished The Fault In Our Stars. It's a terrific book. I love books where the characters mean something to me. When teenage Augustus died, I cried like it was real. I got into Nicholas Sparks' A Walk To Remember and Fannie Flagg's Standing In the Rainbow like that. I felt invested in the characters of all 3 books. At the end of each, I wanted more, like I had lost dear friends.

         The Fault In Our Stars is about teenagers with cancer, but it's not really about the cancer. It's a teenage story where the kids happen to have cancer and have to deal with it. It's about life and death which all of us must deal with at one time or another. We lose people we love. We get sick; we get old; we get hurt. We wonder about the meaning of life, why we are here, what happens when this existence ends. We want to leave some imprint on the world, to feel like we live on in some way. Any age can relate to the issues that plague these very bright young people.

         Two of them make a journey to Amsterdam and visit the Anne Frank museum. They actually are a lot like her. She died at a young age because of war and racism, but also was very bright, questioned the meaning of life and knew her impending doom. They read Shakespearean sonnets and question immortality.

         They become obsessed with a book they read about a teenage girl who dies. The book ends when the girl dies and they don't know what happens to everyone in the story, including the hamster. It becomes obvious they obsess about this piece of fiction because that if much on their minds in their lives. What will happen to the people who love them when they are gone? What will happen to their pets? Their friends? Hazel read that 50% of most couples get a divorce after the loss of a child, so she worries about her parents.

         These characters know they've been dealt a shoddy hand, but they are not bitter with the world or with fate or God. They accept their condition, and worry about others. They are loving, decent kids who balk at lectures from people who don't have cancer, hate platitudes and the misuse of the word "literally".

         It's not an easy book for people who want everything to work out in a story. In this one, you know there will be no miracles. Be prepared for everyday reality with a lot of thought provoking questions.