The Fault in our Stars

I've recently just read the Fault in our Stars (I know, so early right?). I never thought a cancer story would involve humor. I don't find myself reading humorous books and I've failed to understand why. I'm glad that there was a teenage-romance between two cancer victims, because I always used to think they'd be too ill to have a normal life. I used to think of a life-time in hospitals, or dying at home. How naive and ignorant I was. Don't worry, these are my 8 year old thoughts, not my thoughts now. The Fault in our Stars did not only just open my eyes.

Throughout the novel, I kept imagining a healthy relationship between two healthy people. That's how they first let on. Barring the Cancer Support Group and what not. It seemed a fairy-tale teenage romance. I didn't even think about the cancer. Until reality kicked in and Hazel Grace Lancaster was unable to breathe, water filling her lungs, then afterwards Augustus lighting up like a Christmas tree during his PET scan. The harsh reality of shit life. It sucks. I think my life is a piece of dirt at the bottom of my dirtiest shoe. Yet, I fail to realise on a daily basis about the suffering around the world. I don't consider how many people would kill for the leftovers that I do not hesitate to throw away. Why do I genuinely get angry when I can't have the opportunity to be noticed by my favourite celebrities when cancer patients do not have the opportunity to live, most of the time.

But reading the Fault in our Stars made me laugh, (almost) cry and think as it says in the back pages of the book. Cancer perks for example, made me think. It's out of pity that cancer patients get what they want apart from the only real thing they want - a 100% possibility of survival. Hazel Grace made that quite clear in the book. Both she and Augustus created humour from meeting Cancer perks. They relished in their slight advantage (with the exception of their imminent death).

Isaac was an interesting character, the only thing in the book that almost made me cry was something he said. "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 them to screw them off, because I do not want to see a world without him (Augustus)." That was sweet until he made a joke afterwards saying that it was a mere rhetorical point - which made me laugh, so I guess Isaac won twice. A laugh and almost a tear. Another point in the novel made my eyes water was when Hazel accepts the death of Gus. "I never took another picture of him" - that made my heart stop and eyes water for sure. But no fallen tears by the end of the book. I distinctly remember not crying with the movie either, which is so odd because I usually always cry at sad moments in movies and TFIOS had a lot of sad moments in it.

The dialogue was mostly where the humor came from. Gus was the most humourous. But I found it hard to leave this book with a light-hearted tone, it was a tragedy, so of course I shouldn't leave it with a light-hearted tone. Books that leave readers with mixed emotions are rare, TFIOS is special.

Again, shit review, but cba to finish it, like with "The Harry Potter Frenzy" which still has (TO BE CONTINUED) at the end of it. I have not continued it.

IMDB: 7.9