I'm not sure what else I can add to all the rave reviews already multiplying in bloggerland about The Fault in Our Stars.
Except to say, that in my humble opinion, they're all spot on - rave away!
I read Paper Towns about 3 years ago (I was interested to note how my blogging style had changed in that time). Back then I was impressed by Green's ability to capture teenage dialogue so perfectly - the sass, the attitude, the humour.
The Fault in Our Stars is no different.
Hazel and Augustus may be living with cancer but Green shows how humour can add to quality of life and promote resilience. He also shows us ways of being strong and determined and that it's okay to ask for help. He shows us ways to live our lives, the importance of connecting & relating to those around you. He shows us the good bits and the bad bits. And he shows us ways to grieve.
This book is about older teens, therefore the content is more suitable for older teens. There are numerous sexual comments and a couple of low-key sex scenes. However, this is a book about relationships, life and death and therefore suitable for anyone old enough to grapple with such ideas!
As an aside, I love how The Great Gatsby has completely insinuated itself in to my life at the moment. There was a Gatsby reference in 1Q84 (below) and now we have another one in this book!
In reference to a character in a book Hazel & Gus read together, "He isn't a con man or not a con man; he's God. He's an obvious and unambiguous metaphorical representation of God, and asking what becomes of him is the intellectual equivalent of asking what becomes of the disembodied eyes of Dr T.J. Ecklesburg in Gatsby."
After Paper Towns I wanted to read more Green. I don't know why I waited 3 years to do so - perhaps I was concerned he wouldn't live up to my high expectations?
But he did...and I will definitely read his other books - soon!!
I haven't read The Great Gatsby for 15 years or more.
Last week I saw a preview for the Baz Luhrman movie with Leonardo Dicaprio as Gatsby. It looked extremely sumptious, extravagant and dramatic. I also felt that liberties were being taken with the story!
When I got home I pulled my copy off the shelf and promptly began rereading it.
I first read The Great Gatsby in my teen years for a school assignment. At the time I was disappointed by how slight the book was. Back then I judged a book by its size!
At 15, the romantic angst and longing of Gatsby seemed rather ridiculous. The book was full of un-nice people; the only person I liked was Nick and I couldn't understand why the book wasn't about him instead.
However, I duly took on board the stuff about the green light, FSF's use of the narrator, the eyes of Dr T J Eckleburg and the whole illusion/reality debate, but I didn't really care - just enough to get a good mark in my assignment!
I can't remember why I chose to reread The Great Gatsby in my twenties.
Perhaps I was in the middle of one of my Paris love affairs? Or feeling nostalgic for ye old New York? Maybe I watched the old Robert Redford and Mia Farrow movie?
Either way I rediscovered Gatsby, Daisy and Nick and saw them with fresh eyes.
I loved the sparse, finely honed use of language. I loved how FSF evoked the time and place and I appreciated the complexities of his characters far more.
And now...fifteen years later...I was once again struck by the ridiculousness of Gatsby's desires and dreams and how little Gatsby based them on reality. He was the type who lived very much for the future...he would be happy when rather than now.
"There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams - not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion."
In January I read The Beautiful and Damned and realised how much it was the forerunner of Gatsby.
FSF saw that making these un-nice people the narrators didn't work; it was too hard to work up any sympathy for them. But seeing them through someone else's sympathetic eyes allowed us to view their complexities and foibles more favourably.
"Gatsby...there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life."
"Daisy took her face in her hands as if feeling its lovely shape."
"Jordan, who had begun to balance an invisible but absorbing object on the tip of her chin."
I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed this reread. Compared to the long-winded The Beautiful and Damned, Gatsby was exquisite in its precision. This reading allowed me to see the writer at work - the effort behind the scenes to make The Great Gatsby flow and connect so effortlessly was a delight in craftmenship.
I'm curious now to see what Baz Luhrman can bring to this story!
The Beautiful and Damned was the book I chose for the recent Classics Clubs Readathon - (starting post) and (end post).
I love The Great Gatsby and I thought this would be a similar quick, engaging read, suitable for a readathon. I also recently read a biography on Chanel and Hemingway's A Moveable Feast where the Scott Fitzgerald's were referenced several times. I knew this book was said to be biographical in nature and I was very curious.
The first problem I had is that this is not Scott Fitzgerald at his best. The story is slow to start and there are odd chapters written like a play. The ending is also poorly realised and unconvincing.
The second problem is the length. Too many words that say so little. There is almost none of the succinct, revealing and elegant phrasing that you find in The Great Gatsby.
The third problem for me, was Zelda/Gloria. Scott regularly used Zelda as a model for his female characters. Zelda's mental health issues are well documented - whether it was schizophrenia, manic depression or the more recent suggestion that she had borderline personality disorder.
The stories told by Anthony about Gloria's flippant attitude towards money and work, her angry outbursts that became "the primary duty of Anthony's day" and anecdotes like the tomato sandwich and laundry bag all rang true.
Gloria's oft quoted maxim of "How I feel is that if I wanted anything I'd take it" sums up her attitude towards people, experiences and things.
Up until a few years ago I would have read about this type of personality with curiosity and perhaps a little bit of disbelief. But having someone in your life who actually acts like Gloria is exhausting, trying and incredibly frustrating. There is nothing charming or lovable about it at all!
But I'm obviously meant to be learning something from all this as I keep reading books and watching movies that feature such personalities!
Scott obviously learnt from this book that making the carefree, decadent aristocrats the protagonists didn't necessarily work as it's hard to make them appear sympathetic, romantic or charming.
I didn't care about their disillusionment, their despair or their decline as I didn't like them very much. Gatsby works because the same disillusionment, despair and decline is told through the eyes of a sympathetic outsider.
Is The Beautiful and Damned a classic? Only just.
The real interest for me was seeing how a writer developed and practiced his craft until he was able to produce a truly great classic like The Great Gatsby.
I have to say that today has been a thoroughly enjoyable day.
A day completely devoted to books and reading. Not as much reading as I would have liked, but I spent a lot of time thinking about reading!
It has been a long time since I spent a whole day reading and curiously I found it difficult to stay focused for more than an hour or 2. I was distracted by my husband, housework, blogging, the news and I kept dozing off (much to my husband's amusement)!
I think that choice of book is important. You need a book that sweeps you up, carries you away and becomes an unputdownable.
The Beautiful and Damned was not one of those books, so perhaps that's why I struggled with focus.
- What book(s) did you read during the event? The Beautiful and Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald
- What book(s) did you finish? I completed 213 pages of 364
- What did you like about our event? I loved the community feel. I enjoyed knowing that there was a group of like-minded readers from all over the world reading a classic at the same time as me, checking blogs, facebooking, twittering and Instagramming their progress. I enjoyed visiting other blogs and seeing what else people were up to. I appreciated that there was no pressure to read all day or to read a certain number of books or pages. The readathon also gave me a reason to devote a whole day to reading.
- Do you have suggestions for future Readathons through The Classics Club? I'm in a weary happy glow of book love right now :-) Perhaps, when I'm less tired, I might have some thoughts about quicker ways of keeping track of everyone's progress. Given that we're all connected because of blogging it's logical to use that as the main tool. But it can be a slow process and distracting! I also had the same problem when I checked into facebook and Instagram, so perhaps the problem was me after all!!
- Would you participate in future Readathons? Definitely - I loved it! Thank you to all the lovely folk at the Classics Club for organising and running their first ever Readathon. I hope you found the experience as worthwhile, enjoyable and rewarding as I did.
Happy Reading and Good Night.
I finally settled on 2 books for the Classics Club Readathon
- The Beautiful and Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald (1 because I love the cover and (2) because I recently finished Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and the chapters on Fitzgerald were the most fascinating).
- A Good School by Richard Yates (because it was slim!)
In Sydney the start time is midnight Sunday 6th January.
I know I wont be able to stay up much past midnight...so I ran a bubble bath and started on TBAD a couple of hours ago. The intro (which I only scanned quickly in case it gave away the story) suggested that TBAD was not one of Fitzgerald's best. So my expectations are not high for Anthony or Fitzgerald.
Now I'm just waiting for midnight with a cuppa and the 2 books in hand to see what happens next!
Perhaps it will be like NYE? Waiting, waiting, waiting for nothing much to happen...or waiting with anticipation for the most spectacular fireworks display ever!
While I'm waiting I will answer the questions posted by Allie at the Starting Post.
- Snacks and Beverages of Choice: Tea, coffee and later on tonight Bailey's on ice!
- Where are you reading from today? I'm reading at home - multiple locations (bed, lounge, back yard, front verandah, bath tub).
- What are your goals for the Readathon? see above
- What book(s) are you planning on reading? see above
- Are you excited? VERY!!!!!
UPDATE #1
8:30am Sunday 6th EST Australia (4:30 pm Saturday 5th EST USA).
I managed to stay awake for an extra hour last night to read some of your early starting posts. In bed I read another chapter before my eyes got too heavy to continue. Page 24/364
"It was a girl in a red negligé, silk surely, drying her hair by the still hot sun of late afternoon".
"The elevated, half a quiet block away, sounded a rumble of drums - and should he lean from his window he could see the train, like an angry eagle, breasting the dark curve at the corner."
I'm now ensconced in front of my computer with my muesli and a cup of Buddha's tears jasmine tea unfurling gracefully. I'm catching up on posts before heading to our local pool to do my morning laps. Today I will take The Beautiful and Damned with me to read as I dry off.
I'm looking forward to a full day of reading.
UPDATE #2
12pm EST Australia (8pm EST USA).
Lots of distractions so far, but I've been thinking about reading all day!
The pool was delicious - it's a 30°C day - the perfect summer's day in fact.
I got distracted by Instagram when I took a photo of my book at the pool...there is now a #classicsclubreadathon tag if anyone else would like to add photos of where they are reading today.
Now I'm back home; the housework is done; the house is quiet...it could be time to get serious about this book.
""Let's walk up the Plaza and have an egg-nog," suggested Anthony. "Do you good. Air'll get the rotten nicotine out of your lungs. Come on - I'll let you talk about your book all the way."'
UPDATE #3
9pm EST Australia (5am EST USA)
Chances are the only ones still awake are those of us in the Southern Hemisphere!
I finally got some solid reading time in this afternoon, but sadly the local news has grabbed my attention tonight. Horrific fires are ravaging Tasmania right now. Hundreds of homes lost, people missing, whole communities devastated. The downside of summers in Australia.
The Beautiful and Damned has been a bit hard to get into - too long in the build up to the wedding I think. But things seem to be racing along now...I may even finish it by midnight!
""A classic," suggested Anthony, "is a successful book that has survived the reaction of the next period or generation. Then it's safe, like a style in architecture or furniture. It's acquired a picturesque dignity to take the place ot its fashion..."''
"'He says unloved women have no biographies - they have histories."" (I was interested to come across this one as it is quoted in the Chanel bio I recently read).
