The Fault in Our Stars (novel): notes
Status: Finished 12/25/2021; Rating: 4/5
Spoiler Warning
- I know the author John Green from Crash Course History.
- Even though I am not a Crash Course History fan, I am amazed by anyone who can be so wildly successful at such distinct ventures.
- I liked this book much better than Crash Course History.
- Hazel’s voice, particularly her sense of humor, often reminded me of John Green’s Crash Course History persona.
- This book is about two kids with cancer falling in love.
- Unsurprisingly, given the subject matter, I was crying for much of the book. Still, it was a very easy read. I blew through it in just a couple of days.
- The story follows the formula of “good, heartwarming things happening to people in intensely tragic situation.”
- Other stories in this theme include 12 Years a Slave, Schindler’s List, and Hotel Rwanda.
- It’s so hard to get people to look at hard things. So books/movies about hard things often try to make it as easy as possible. I once read someone somewhere say something like “Shindler’s List is a story about life, but the holocaust is a story about death.”
- This is probably a good thing, because readers/viewers still end up reflecting on the harsh reality, and if the creator didn’t make it easy viewing, nobody would ever look.
- For example, I have heard the African American History Museum in DC is not like this (i.e. it doesn’t pull punches), and I still haven’t been there to see it yet.
- Hazel is in a devastatingly horrible situation. Augustus Hazel the very best thing Hazel could be given. The meaningfulness of a gift is proportionate to the recipient’s depth of need. It’s more complicated than that, but to get more into it would give too much of the story away.
- Hazel compares herself to a grenade. She is a sadness bomb who will eventually hurt everyone who loves her.
- She feels responsible for ruining her parent’s lives.
- For example, when her friend Issac goes blind and his girlfriend breaks-up with him, Hazel partially empathizes with the girlfriend. She says it was not nice of Issac to go blind. She’s clearly thinking about herself. She feels like by getting cancer and causing sadness to everyone, she’s somehow not being nice. Somehow, making the wrong decision.
- With Augustus, she feels like she has the choice. She can choose not to fall in love, and that would somehow be doing him a service. The asshole author seems to agree with this logic at one point.
- The book resolves this question by reversing the circumstances. When Augustus gets sick, Hazel realizes that she would not be served if Augustus could magically make her love for him disappear. That’s just not the nature of love.
- Hazel’s feelings towards Augustus, helps her understand her parent’s feelings towards her. It resolves lots of guilt and tension. The catharsis reminded me of this moment in Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade between Kayla and her father.
- The book is also really helpful for thinking about how to be around sick people.
- Try your best to be available whenever you might be wanted.
- Express your love for the person.
- Listen.
- Encourage them to take care of themselves.
- Encourage them to connect with people in similar situations.
- Don’t expect affirmation from them. Expect anger.
- Try to support their caregivers.