Girl with cancer falls in love with a boy with cancer. One of them dies, and the other is left heartbroken.
How original.
By the way my peers praised John Green‘s “The Fault in Our Stars,” I thought it’d be drop-dead, cry-your-eyes-out, unforgettably amazing. I was seriously disappointed.
The plot wasn’t unique at all. It followed every other cancer love story, like “A Walk to Remember.” It’s a love story between two people who have no future together. It’s about the struggle with cancer and the happiness that can be found in life, regardless of how long it lasts.
I’d be more comfortable with the bland story line if the characters were a bit interesting, but they were too cliché. As soon as Augustus Waters is introduced, I rolled my eyes, hoping there is more to him than the whipped hot boy he is. I’ll save you time- there isn’t. Sure, he is a nice guy and all, but coming across a Prince Charming like him almost never happens in real life. This makes it so much harder to take the story seriously.
Getting bored with the characters and plot, I attempted to approach the book analytically. I shouldn’t be too surprised, but there was nothing to analyze. Everything that could have been analyzed, or any symbols within the story, were extremely obvious or blatantly told (Augustus’ cigarette habits.) While I doubt I picked up on every symbol or metaphor, it was boring to read a book where everything was pre-explained.
I fell asleep twice while trying to read “TFIOS,” but I will admit that I got choked up at the predictable ending. While the story isn’t original, it is still a classic story that everyone falls in love with over and over again. It’s a cute story–I’m glad I read it,– but if you’re looking for a somewhat challenging or different perspective on the traditional cancer and love story, pass this one right up.
D • Dec 19, 2013 at 8:01 PM
They were cancer patients! One of them is obviously going to die in the end! The fact that the book has so many quotable and realistic details is what makes it so freaking amazing!
“That’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt,”
YOU MUST FEEL PAIN, NOW!
Okay? Okay.
D • Dec 19, 2013 at 7:59 PM
“That’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt,”
YOU MUST FEEL PAIN, NOW!
Okay? Okay.
k.. • May 20, 2013 at 7:29 PM
You’re terrible. This was the best book ever. You know nothing about reading. You have been dismissed!
L • Mar 20, 2013 at 5:33 PM
You have missed the point of this book entirely, my good sir. I don’t know if you realized this, but this is a cancer book. I don’t know what you wanted from this. You say that it is entirely cliche, but the characters frequently and openly point out that cancer is not all sunshine and roses. They face it with reality, not accepting phrases such as “without pain, we could not know joy”. They challenge the clichés with witty humor and a realistic outlook on life. John could have made Hazel cynical and depressed, waiting for death, but he did not. He made her someone who searches for meaning to life. Isn’t that what we would all do, in her circumstance? She’s coping. I’m sorry if you find this realism cliché. And it is realism, by the way. John got to know a cancer patient very closely, and she is a lot of what is inside this book. This book is a romance as well, but that is just a bonus. Is you look deeper, the true meaning is when Hazel is coping and learning herself. I am genuinely sorry that you didn’t like the book, because everyone should be able to enjoy this book as I have. It makes you think, and I think I have learned more about life and what it means from this book than I could have anywhere else. You say the characters aren’t real, that no two people could fit this nicely together, but again I think you have missed the point of the book. John was gearing towards an insight on cancer, not a gushy love story. If these characters had any more on their plate than they already do, I don’t think the book would have worked as nicely. We would have been focused on love issues rather than the fear of oblivion, so John had to make a decision. I think he chose the more important point. You say they don’t have their faults, but of course they do. Augustus waters is a pretentious, arrogant teen with cancer.. and I’d say cancer is a pretty big issue, it can make it hard to accept someone and get close to them. Even if the characters were perfect, they still have the giant issue of death staring them in the face, and they still deal with it as any human would. Augustus definitely has his moments, like with the G-tube, Isaac smashes countless trophies, and Hazel who calls herself the Grenade and refuses to come close to anyone. She snaps to her parents like any teenager. The characters have their faults, and no matter how few faults they have I think we can all agree they are prominent. The book may follow a typical cancer story, but no cancer book could be as hilarious as this one. No cancer book has Van Houten, or complicated paradox theories. None blatantly challenge old ways by creating ‘the charity for people with cancer who want to cure cholera’. They have their moments of sentimentality,but that is just being true to life. We all get sentimental, especially when facing and contemplating death. They certainly have plenty of time to contemplate. I do hope you read this comment and give the book a chance. Try to look at it through the viewpoint I have given, because it is a truly wonderful book when you do.
John • Mar 20, 2013 at 1:28 PM
I do find it quite interesting that authors regularly use the very serious diagnosis of terminal illness as a vehicle to drum up artificial ‘romantic’ drama.
Romance stories are so awful these days, using bland two-dimensional characters that embody the ‘perfect’ idea of a relationship, then throwing in a ‘hook’ to drum up artificial drama. Cancer! Stalkers! Exes! Parents! God forbid, a couple in a story learn to deal with problems coming from each other. In reality, no two people are compatible like puzzle pieces – sacrifices are a necessarty part of every healthy relationship.
Cancer is a serious thing, but the way it’s portrayed in fiction rarely deals with the loss of life itself, usually too focused on making those final moments count instead. A good lesson, sure – but it takes away the tragedy and replaces it with a hollow sweetness that lacks substance.
These books instead bring us to fantasy worlds where the pre-molded perfect person is waiting for us, as long as we deal with the problems of the outside world, creating a very artificial and unrealistic idea and expectation of what real romantic relationships are like – ignoring the reality that you have to work for and make sacrifices for a real romantic relationship.
I suppose you could say it is just – after all, we read to escape reality, not confront it – but at the same time, we can’t let these sickly sweet books change our perspectives on very serious matters.
um • Mar 17, 2013 at 8:29 AM
I guess a couple things:
1. The book is a book in which the main characters have cancer. In that, it’s predictable to an extent. I don’t think that it’s fair to say that the way they dealt with their cancer or used their wishes or lived their lives is at all cliche.
2. Symbolically there were, of course, the obvious metaphors, explained to you through the characters. However, if you take the cigarette metaphor, you can easily find that it has more than the meaning given by Augustus. If you look farther in depth, readers will be able to stumble across many less obvious symbols, etc, if that’s what they want to find.
3. I highly doubt you fell asleep reading this book.
4. “I fell in love the way you fall asleep, slowly, and then all at once.”
Truloose • Mar 14, 2013 at 8:36 PM
There were some neat things in there that weren’t run of the mill. The Whole Van Houten thing was unexpected and his parts made the book feel completely different/fresh. 7/10
Jackie Povitsky • Mar 14, 2013 at 8:03 AM
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books like An Imperial Affliction, which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal”
“THE FAULT IN OUR STARS” IS THAT BOOK, OKAY?
Beyza • Mar 14, 2013 at 8:02 AM
“Books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”
STOP HATING, IVANA.
Okay? Okay.
Morgan • Mar 14, 2013 at 7:59 AM
We’re not friends anymore, Ivana. I love you, but this is unacceptable.
OKAY?