It’s true that I did in fact see the movie before reading the book, but nevertheless, it was the story and the characters, not the visuals and the acting, that had a massive impact on my life. This book has great personal meaning to myself, as I can relate so much, to more the a few of the characters. Alongside that, even though the book falls under ‘teen fiction’, it has a certain fairy tale feeling to it, and it definitely has a sense of realism about it. Now don’t confuse yourself by thinking that by fairy tale, I mean flying people, and pixies, and mystical lands. No. I mean that, under all of the real world stuff, and the modern characters and settings, it is a very beautiful story, and is actually quite magical. Especially from the point of view of Charlie, the main character in the book.
I do owe a special thanks to Stephen Chbosky for writing this book, because it put so many things into perspective for me, and gave me characters, and feelings, and situations, that I can relate to on such a personal level.
Now, onto my actual thoughts on the book…
The book is written in a very original and inventive format, and offers the reader a perspective from the character that you don’t get with most books. It’s also quite strange how, even though the story revolves around a pretty ordinary life, and doesn’t have anything major happen in it, it is still so easy to perceive as a little nice story book, and not as a drama, with so much intensity and darkness to it – alongside all of the nice stuff as well. And it is so enjoyable, and will make you laugh, smile, cry, and have you feeling mass amounts of empathy and sympathy for the characters.
Naturally, as a teen drama, the book tackles many important issues that teens can relate to. The main ones being homosexuality, important life choices, past traumas and certain mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, and simply getting through school. I personally think it’s things like this which really give a book its essence, and is what really grabs with the audience’s attention.
That, in my not so humble opinion, is what makes this book so good, and I definitely consider it a masterpiece. You see, if you can’t relate to anything in a book then it’s just really just a bunch of words without meaning, and why would you even bother remembering just a bunch of random words? Although this books actual story is about Charlie, and the main theme of the book; I believe, is finding your place in society, I’d say the book is actually more of like a guide, or even maybe a kind of bible for everyday teenagers. It tackles so many things, and is so impossibly easy to relate with, that it’s hard to consider it just a regular novel.
Even – or rather especially – the way that it is written suggests that what I said is true. Getting to see the entire story from, not only Charlie’s point of view, but getting his own actual and personal thoughts on the situation, gives us so much more insight than just a simple story book.
My favourite character in the book is the Charlie’s English teacher, Mr.Anderson. I don’t think it’s anything in particular, maybe simply his outlook on life, and his love for English, or maybe his simplistic yet comforting lifestyle. Whatever it is, something about him gives me deep feelings towards his character, and I regard him as one of my all time favorites.
My overall thoughts on this book are that it is very original in its style of writing, it is scarily easy to relate to, and I think any teen having typical teenage stuff going on, would love this book. However, it is a very deep book, and requires a lot of attention and passion to truly appreciate it, and so I wouldn’t read this unless you do really do enjoy literature, or this style of book, or this genre, etc.
This book gets a 3.8/5 for its overall story and entertainment factors and so on, and it gets a 5/5 for me personally.
Been There, Read That. 