Snobby Little Me reads the Fault in Our Stars (Finally)

Artwork courtesy of le boif, check out his Instagram
@mrgeraghty to see more of his mad skillz

After a brand new copy of The Fault in Our Stars lay undisturbed on my bookshelf for the guts of, say, 2 years, I finally admitted to myself that I would never, voluntarily, pick it up merely to satisfy my curiosity as to what all the fuss was about. After all, YA (young adult) fiction is far from my comfort zone, and I'm ashamed to admit I always thought it below me - less stimulating, less challenging, compared to my beloved classics. Even apart from that, it's popular literature after all, about a teenager with Cancer who falls in love for goodness sake - seemingly so cliché. The usual PS: I Love you/The Notebook style 'tear-jerker'. Bleh.

Our paths were fated to cross eventually however, The other day, whilst going through the lengthy process of cleaning my room, the thought of listening to an audiobook occurred to me (as I haven't gotten quite so good at reading that I can do it without looking yet). However, I would never settle for just listening to a book I'm actually excited to read (because it feels impersonal and, frankly, like cheating), I decided to stick on a YouTube video of a lassie reading the first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars - just for curiosity's sake, and to make the time drag by a little faster.

I spent the first little while marvelling at what a fantastic idea it was, and how much of the story I was absorbing, unconsciously, without any effort whatsoever, while the boredom was stowed safely away. A few minutes in, I actually found myself smiling at a few of the witty remarks made by Hazel (the protagonist, and narrator). I slowly developed a slight interest in the characters, but mostly, a new-found, wholly unexpected respect for the author, John Green. It impressed me that he could write on behalf of the teenagers of today, without being condescending, tiptoeing around taboos, or being too annoyingly teenager cringe-y. But as my tidying task was nearing its end for the evening, and chapter 3 was brought to a close, I was quite happy to put an end to the whole thing, and dismiss it as quite an entertaining teenage book. As in, entertaining for, y'know, YA.

A Fault in Our Stars-esque pic of  what appears to be
 a cloud producing factory. 

That night I snobbily returned to my usual sort of book, but found my mood to clash drastically with it. I entered into diagnosis mode and prescribed myself a comfort book. On the journal to grab one of my Fifty Shades books (blatantly unashamed), I caught a glimpse of The Fault in Our Stars... I grabbed both and settled back into bed. Faced with my heavy decision, I decided that I had over-indulged my beloved Fifty a tad too much, what with the new Grey book, the movie, etc. So I gave The Fault in Our Stars a test-drive. And then I kept reading. And kept reading... Before I knew it I was reading late into the night (a thing my brain rarely lets me do with classics after midnight). It was entertaining, I won't deny. Entertaining enough to make the hours whir by and for a lie in to be needed to recover.

With a plot twist I saw miles ahead, a rather cute life goal, and some complex ideologies about death and the universe, I softened to the genre. They even stuck in a ceci n'est pas une pipe reference - major brownie points. Hazel is intelligent, if a little self-sacrificing for my liking; meanwhile Augustus is charming, open and very boyfriend-material-y. Hell, I even started rooting for the young lovers.

Did I shed any tears? Well, no. But I did well up at one point if that counts. Green called to mind the closeness you can have with one particular person (whether it's le boif, le girlf or le bff). A connection you share only with them. You tell them everything, they become an integral part of your life, and then - they're gone. And in their place - well, nothing. Your own private interactive diary, missing. The one person you share all your hopes, fears, and secrets with isn't around when you face your biggest plunge - to paraphrase Green - the scar they've left behind for you to bear.  The only person you want to talk to about how you feel can't indulge you. The thought of that raw loneliness in an encouragement to all the rest of us to cling to those we care about and relish what time we have with them.

So while I may not have broken down in tears whilst reading Green's best-seller, I did get something from it. Namely, I got that same childish glee, the reading frenzy feeling that I haven't felt in years. More importantly it was a little reminder to me to appreciate those closest to us. Because an infinity of time with the one you love is never enough, and one day that infinity will come to an end, and the two are forced to part.

I also learned a valuable lesson: don't judge a book by its genre.

One word review: surprising
Star rating: 3/5

Book Review 2: Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Book 2 of 50 ladies and gentlemen, and one I've been dying to read for quite some time now. Tess of the d'Urbervilles is by an English writer, Thomas Hardy, who was around in the 1800s. He's one of the greats, and he ticks off the 'book by an author you've never read before' box for me on my book challenge. Tess of the d'Urbervilles was quite unlike anything I've ever read before and has immediately become one of my favourite books of all time, if not my favourite book of all time (The Picture of Dorian Gray is pretty hard to top). The book is about a young lady by the name of Tess Durbeyfield, who lives in rural England, with her poor family who dabbles in agriculture. Mr Durbeyfield discovers that he is a direct descendant in a line of wealthy noblemen, the d'Urbervilles, and from this discovery, Tess's life and future is completely altered.

One of the first things I noticed about Thomas Hardy's writing style, was his ability to romanticise any seemingly mundane sight into such beauty and delicacy. An example of one such description was that of the deceptively simple shadows of cattle, "Thus it threw shadows of these obscure and homely figures every evening with as much care over each contour as if it had been the profile of a court beauty on a palace wall; copied them as diligently as it had copied Olympian shapes on marble façades long ago, or the outline of Alexander, Caesar, and the Pharaohs." To make such an observation, hinting at nature's neutrality, and suggest that in essence something so powerful as the sun should treat a cow with as much respect as it would a Pharaoh, is so inspiring and enlightening, and I praise Hardy highly for it.

Hardy's descriptions of nature and the sun, also seem to create a gap between his description and reality, the former seeing somehow embellished. It opened my eyes to the beauty around me. I was inspired to wake before dawn and witness what Hardy describes so vividly, yet somehow the muse doesn't compare to the artist's interpretation, "In the twilight of the morning, light seems active, darkness passive; in the twilight of evening it is the darkness which is active and crescent, and the light which is the drowsy reverse."

It is not only his descriptions of nature which appear to embellish reality, however. Hardy managed to add more beauty, wonder and character to that which is thought to be perfect and unparalleled: love and passion. On seeing "the desire of his eyes"  Clare cannot control himself and simply has to give passion its way and hold her in his arms, "Resolutions, reticences, prudences, fears, fell back like a defeated battalion." Looking at Tess through Clare's eyes: the women who has stolen his heart, was such a thrilling experience, and one so rare. It made me wonder about the extent of today's men's love and desire, which appear to dull in comparison to how Hardy envisions them, and begs the question: are their hearts lacking or merely their tongues? Do men feel this same level of passion, desire and love that Hardy did? Down through the ages women have maintained their interest in love, it's easy to see how much we hunger for it by merely taking a look around a bookshop or a DVD shop and seeing all the romances, but when did men stop writing about love? Did they stop feeling it the way we do?

Hardy does address the idea that time will bring a loss of feeling and emotion, echoing my musing that men in today's society may not feel love in the same extremity, or perhaps it has adapted. In the line "It was probable that, in the lapse of ages, improved systems of moral and intellectual training would appreciably, perhaps considerably, elevate the involuntary and even the unconscious instincts of human nature."  I am reminded of HG Wells' futuristic society in The Time Machine, which I shall be reviewing next.

On the final note of Hardy's philosophising, I particularly enjoyed his touching on the idea of a contained universe and personal reality: "The universe itself only came into being for Tess on the particular day in the particular year in which she was born."  This emphasises Tess's tendency not to over-analyse or muse about the abstract, and reinforces her character as a homely, stubbornly simple country girl, who desires to be nothing more.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles touches on the hypocrisy of men in society, and their demeaning, belittling attitude towards women, and women's pitiful devotion to their male counterparts. Tess takes on the role of a self-sacrificing, self-loathing woman, stereotypical of her era. Hardy portrays Tess as both an embarrassment to the female sex, and yet one so lovable. He paints a picture of a woman severely lacking self respect and perspective as the main character in his novel, yet I do not feel offended, as I often do when a man tries to use a female protagonist (often without success). This to me is a unique talent of Hardy's, and one that I do not myself pretend to fathom, but can appreciate its brilliance.

In relation to his characters, Hardy makes them alive with faults. Tess lacks pride and self respect, while Clare lacks compassion and has a narrow-minded, hypocritical mindset, typical of the time. Faults in general make a character human, but these faults are so drastic, that it makes the characters seem dramatically more human than we are today. Perhaps this is why this novel is so successfully tragic. It is so bittersweet and heart-wrenching, yet somehow I am left with a sense of peace, amongst all the warped justice.

What more can I say but: read it. Just read it, and reread it if you have some more time on your hands. I can praise Hardy no more; instead I sit, and bask in his brilliance.

2015 Book Challenge with the Aid of a Shiny New Kindle

Absences the romantics say, make the heart grow fonder, or as the pessimists say, absences make the heart wander. So romantics, did you miss me? Unfortunately the Leaving Certificate grows ever closer with each passing moment of 'spare time', but in a few months I'll be all yours.

More to the point: book challenges. What better a way to force ourselves to eat chunks out of that 'to read' list, and force ourselves to make time in our ever busy lives for that pastime we miss so dearly, than to succumb to one of those new years resolution style lists, in which you pretty much read everything in sight, and end up with a book in your hand constantly?

Allow me to share my chosen Book Challenge:

Let me tell you, it's not easy to find an author with the initials C.B. though (thank goodness for My Left Foot). Anyway, as an extra challenge, and to motivate me a little more, I'm going to review each of the books I read, starting with Pride and Prejudice which I just finished.

Also as a motivating factor, I very recently purchases a brand-spanking-new Kindle, which I adore with all my being. Now for all you ebook sceptics out there keep your pants on; I accept your arguments, and I have lived amongst you for years, as my stubborn book-smelling, paper-feeling, sentimental self. BUT. Wait for it. After weeks of 'To Kindle or Not to Kindle' musing, my mind has recently been opened to the idea of le Kindle for numerous reasons:

1. My main reason is, books that are out of copyright, (if the author has been dead for 70+ years) are free to download from Amazon. That's soooo many books, and oh the classics *contended sigh*

2, If you haven't tried a Kindle you have to. I have the new Kindle Touch, which has no background light, meaning, just like your hard-copy, you need light to read it. Kindles are anti-glare, they have a paper like display, and are practically so clear they may as well be printed. Not to mention the added bonus of the search function, the percentage of how far you are through the book, the amount of time it'll take you to finish the book (although I don't find that entirely accurate so far) and the ability to highlight passages.

And finally:

3. Going Kindle doesn't mean snubbing paper. As soon as the novelty of your shiny new toy becomes, well, less of a novelty and less shiny it's just a cheap, handy means of doing what you love to do: read. You can still read your prints, I promise they won't evaporate or anything. And you're not betraying them either. I still love my ridiculous amount of books for an 18-year-old to have with all of my heart.

So lassies and fellows, join me in book-ing it up this year, and embrace the shiny new pieces of technology that live to serve. Even Mr iRobot got over his aversion to technology, you can do it too.

Also feel free to share your thoughts with me on Kindles (don't hurt me) and book challenges, or share your lists!

You stay classy bookworms.