In English - John Green - The Fault in our stars

   Finally I decided to read this bestseller...

Title: The Fault in our stars

Author: John Green

Genre: YA novel - love novel

Year: 2012

Country: USA

Summary

   Hazel Grace Lancaster, 16 years old, suffers from a thyroid cancer that became a lung cancer, unabling her to breathe properly without an oxygen tank. Thank to a miraculous medicine, Phallanxifor, her life expectancy turned longer. She is forced by her mother to attend a pathetic and depressing Support Group. One day, she meets there a gorgeous and original boy, Augustus Walters. They get on well and quickly become friends. Hazel tells him about her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, that has the particularity to end right in the middle of a sentence. Her dream is to meet the author to know what happens to the characters. Augustus will do everything to show her his love and make her dream come true.

My opinion

   First things first, the plot. Of course, the subject of the book is not the most joyful ever, and the book in itself can't help being pathetic, rather sad, and, according to me, very cheesy. The love story is a little too easy between them. Hazel and Augustus are of course quite special people, Hazel being obsessed with An Imperial Affliction and Augustus loving all sorts of metaphores. So, of course, they are not banal and that is a good point. But let's be honest: I didn't manage to truly love the characters, especially Hazel, who is the narrator. Maybe I didn't because I found Hazel quite a depressing character, and Augustus a little pale. I mean that I wasn't that interested in what they were going through.

   Then, as far as the reflection about sickness and death is concerned, I found this novel was of varying quality. It could have been very interesting, and sometimes it is, especially at the end where one of the characters is confronted to the weakness and degeneracy of the sick other one, but most of the time, Hazel keeps saying "Dying sucks, dying sucks", which is obviously accurate but not one of the most profound observation ever.

   I can't talk about this book without mensioning the humor. Well, it's not really my kind of humor and a bit repetitive, but I have to admit it made me smile most of the time. The writing is like the reflection, of varying quality. As far as the narration is concerned, I found out why I didn't like that much those YA-books-that-are-told-by-a-teen-girl-who-falls-in-love that are such bestsellers nowadays (I am thinking of Twilight, The Hunger Games, or Divergent): I simply prefer the 3rd person narration than the first person narration. I think it makes the book more interseting by giving the narration some objectivity and allows a better sentimental or social analasis. I am thinking, for example of Zola's novels which are my favorite ever. But of course it is a very personal point of view.

   It is hard for me to give my opinion about this novel, because though I spotted many weaknesses and didn't fall in love with it, I still couldn't put it down and liked it. This is a paradox...

To conclude

   3/5, of varying quality

   I started watching the movie, I have not finished it yet but I can say I find the acting quite bad, except for Shailene Woodley who plays Hazel and is amazing. And I was surprised because the plot of the movie is the same as the one of the book, I even recognized some quotes from the book. So I guess it is a very good point.