Book Review : The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)

Ironic. That's how I would like to sum this book that deals with terminal illness and yet pulsates with more life that many other books that I have read. This book is a reminder that life is but the sum of the moments that we choose to live to the fullest . Power, popularity and the riches notwithstanding, man cannot choose immortality. But yes, happiness is definitely within one's reach.

This moving tale of Hazel and Gus, two teenagers who meet through a Cancer Support Group and then go on to fall in love is one of John Green's most popular novels. The narration is at a comfortable pace and encompasses all aspects of a terminally youngster's life. The change of lifestyle as one drops out of school, the parents whose life comes to a standstill, and yet the need to maintain a certain degree of normalcy, John Green touches upon each of these and more without wallowing in pity and swamping the readers in a wave of suffocating sympathy.

One of the high points of this book is the tender love that blossoms between the leads. The selfless love demonstrated by Gus when he tries everything within his reach to fulfill Hazel's dream tends to make a deep impact on the reader.

The other high point is Hazel's obsession with a book named 'An Imperial Affliction'. She is obsessed with the book that ends in mid sentence and leaves the reader guessing about the fate of the characters. She even manages to convert Gus who begins to share her passion to track down the author and find out more about the unfinished story. While at times her obsession seems irrational, one has to understand it from the perspective of a terminally ill kid who knows that her days are numbered and there are few things that can really engage her mind. At such a point in one's life, even a simple thing like deciphering the climax of a story seem to be a crusade that gives one the will (and the strength) to live on.

A wonderful book. Nothing too voluminous and written in lucid style. Pick it if you are looking for a short read and you will not regret it !!!