Yes I read it fast and I was definitely moved by the story. The transition from all the funny scenes to the saddest moments is smooth. I suppose you could call the love story of Hazel and Augusts unconventional but it is due to the circumstances they face. Hazel Grace is a 16 year old thyroid cancer patient with mets in her lungs and needs medical assistance for her breathing. She meets a funny and attractive boy named Augustus Waters who is a survivor cancer patient of osteosarcoma at the Support Group. He is the best friend of Isaac who later goes blind after his surgery. There aren't a lot of characters but they are the major characters that the story revolves around.
John Green has given us a story of young lovers in a war with cancer. The funny moments make me forget the fact that the characters are dying and when I do realize it I feel sad. It definitely isn't a difficult read and I can't wait to see the film. It is rare to find a film or a book about people who are dying and are making the best out of the time they have left. To be honest I was reluctant to read it just because of the fact that it's about teenagers who have cancer and to me cancer isn't my friend. But I was wrong not to try and as you can see I've fallen in love with this book. That is why I highly recommend it, you'll never know you actually might like it.
The most important theme I've picked up from this book is about relationships and how important these ties are. The best way for me to relay them is to show you some of the funny parts.
Hazel and her mom
Me: I refuse to attend Support Group.
Mom: One of the symptoms of depression is disinterest in activities.
Me: Please just let me watch America's Next Top Model. It's an activity.
Mom: Television is a passitivity.
Me: Ugh, Mom, please.
Mom: Hazel, you're a teenager. You're not a little kid anymore. You need to make friends, get out of the house, and live your life.
Me: If you want me to be a teenager, don't send me to Support Group. Buy me a fake ID so I can go to clubs, drink vodka, and take pot.
Mom: You don't take pot, for starters.
Me: See, that's the kind of thing I'd know if you got me a fake ID. (p.7)
Gus and Hazel
G: Hazel Grace, it has been a real pleasure to make your acquaintance.
H: Ditto, Mr. Waters.
G: May I see you again?
H: Sure.
G: Tomorrow?
H: Patience, grasshopper. You don't want to seem overeager.
G: Right, that's why I said tomorrow. I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow.
H: You don't even know me. How about I call you when I finish this? (holding the book)
G: But you don't even have my phone number.
H: I strongly suspect you wrote it in the book.
G: And you say we don't know each other. (pp.36-7)
The best and touching moments are of course at the end of the book. It is during Gus's prefuneral and his letter to Van Houten about Hazel's eulogy.
Isaac's eulogy for Gus
...But I will say this: When the scientists of the future show up at my house with robot eyes and they tell me to try them on, I will tell the scientists to screw off, because I do not want to see a world without him. (p.258)
Hazel's eology for Gus
...I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful. (p.260)
Gus's letter to Van Houten
...People will say it's sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it's not sad, Van Houten. It's triumphant. It's heroic. Isn't that the real heroism? Like the doctors say: First, do no harm... (p.312)
No comments:
Post a Comment