The Fault in Our Stars: Redux

I don't often re-read books, but I think it can certainly be a valuable practice. Some books have such a special feel that it's impossible to find something that quite compares, and re-reading that book is the only way to get the magic back. I've re-read Harry Potter, The Hobbit, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Book Thief, and had excellent results with all of them. Re-reading provides you with new insights into a book, and occasionally reveals to yourself how you've changed as a person.

As some of you know I was an enormous fan of John Green's latest novel when I read it the first time. When I started re-reading TFiOS I was motivated almost entirely by a desire to rekindle some of that magic that I felt during my first reading of the novel. A secondary motivation, however, was also present. I know a few people (not many) who think this book is super overrated, and I wanted to read it with a critical eye in order to prove to myself that these critics were indeed on crack, and that I was completely correct in hailing this novel as one of the finest I've read in the past three years. So how did TFiOS bear up under my increased scrutiny? Was I able to recapture the magnificence of the first reading? Did I independently determine its timeless literary merit in the face of countless (one) detractors?

Basically the answer to both of the above questions is yes...and no. I found it easy to engage in the story, just as I had the first time. I still found the characters likable and the emotions accessible and real. It still tugged at my heartstrings, made me smile, and kept me up later than I'd have liked. However, some of the magic was gone for me. I enjoyed it, but I didn't fall in love with it all over again. This brings me to my second point: the book's literary merit. On the second reading I was freed of the tension of finding out what happens next. Some of the emotional cachet was gone for me, so I had more mental resources to put into looking at the book as an actual work of literature and not just a vehicle for visceral emotional reactions. What I discovered was slightly troubling, though in retrospect not unexpected. As a work of literature the book is decent. The themes aren't subtle, the characters are a bit exaggerated, and the writing feels a little stale after a while. The dialogue between the characters feels somewhat unnatural as well, which is a claim I'd heard from others that I hadn't given any credence to in the past. I've spent enough time with teenagers by now to realize, however, that no sixteen year-old has the term "toe-specific dysmorphia" in her lexicon. These issues essentially amount to a few literary quibbles. They don't make it a bad book, but I think they do keep it from being a truly great book. The story is still lovely, the messages are interesting and thought-provoking, and the emotions the book elicits are valuable and cathartic, but I'm not sure this book deserves a plinth in the pantheon of Greatest Books Ever. It's a book that is deserving of the elevated position it currently holds, but which will likely not withstand the test of time in the way the true greats have and will. If you haven't read it already, I still give it a strong recommendation. If you've already read it once, it might be better to enjoy the memories.

Redux Rating: 8.5/10

Crossing to Safety

Some months ago I began reading a book that I never finished. It was called The End of Your Life Book Club, which is about a family that reads books together as their mother dies of cancer. Although I didn't get very far into the book, I got far enough to read a lot of praise for Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. I'd had another of Stegner's books, Angle of Repose, suggested to me previously, and I knew that Stegner was the favorite author of some of my most literate relatives, so I figured I'd give this one a try. I'm really pleased that I did. Crossing to Safety turned out to be a beautiful book about the power of enduring friendship in helping to cope with the joys and tragedies of life with grace and compassion.

Crossing to Safety has an exceptionally simple premise: two young married couples form a lifelong friendship, and ride the ups and downs of life together. The book is unconventional in that there is no antagonist or huge conflict at the center of things. It's tension is simply the tension of ordinary living: illness, unemployment, war, death. But the joys of ordinary living are there too: births, weddings, successes, laughter, and love. The book doesn't attempt to idealize the relationships in the story. There is tension between friends and between families, but it is never overly dramatic or destructive. Stegner writes beautifully, and has a keen ability to describe ordinary things with a clarity and charm that never comes across as disingenuous. His writing feels like a combination of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. His prose is clean and concise, yet vividly descriptive and lush.

This book was truly excellent, and anyone who believes in the power of friendship and the joy of everyday life will benefit from and enjoy reading it.

Score:9/10
Read this book if: You want something that is calm and gentle with a measured degree of hope and joy.
Don't read this book if: You want a strong central conflict and a clear and direct plot.

Fangirl

This is the second novel by Rainbow Rowell that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. The first is, of course, Eleanor and Park, the delightful novel that introduced me to Watchmen. Ever since reading E&P I’ve been impressed by Rowell’s carefully crafted characters and realistic yet hopeful story lines. When I saw that she had published another novel, and that it was getting rave reviews, I just had to give it a try. I’m glad I did. I found in Fangirl a story that is more conventional than E&P, yet no less delightful. Rowell still manages to strike a great balance by creating a book that addresses serious real-life issues, while still providing likable characters and a pleasant reading experience.

Fangirl is the story of Cath, (short for Cather, which I assume is a nod to Nebraska-born novelist Willa Cather, who joins Rowell as one of just a handful of good things to come out of the state) who is an avid writer of Simon Snow fanfiction (Snow obviously fills the place of Harry Potter in Rowell’s world). When Cath goes to college she finds that she must try to balance her academic rigors (which include a fiction writing professor who considers fanfic to be plagiarism) worries about the father that she left at home, struggles to maintain a relationship with her twin sister, and of course trouble with boys.

I really liked Fangirl. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite YA novelists, and this book was charming, engaging, and addressed serious issues without becoming too heavy. It suffered from some of the minor flaws that tend to plague the genre, namely a tendency towards sentimentality and romanticism, but that was kind of what I was hoping for, so I wasn’t bothered. The book also made me want to eat corned beef hash, which can be either good or bad depending on how you look at things. Anyway, I liked this book, and I hope others will too.

Score: 8.5/10
Read this book if: You like the world of fanfiction, are just starting college, or feel nostalgic about your early college years.
Don’t read this book if: You dislike occasional schmaltz.