Books

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (Dutton, $19)

The scourge of cancer is never easy for anyone involved, especially if a teenager is diagnosed with this dreaded disease, and should be focused on high school, friendships and shopping instead of chemotherapy, radiation treatments and debilitating side effects.

Award-winning author John Green has touched upon this very unthinkable subject with his latest novel, the thought-provoking “The Fault In Our Stars”, which has already topped the New York Times bestseller list.

The story centres around Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenage girl from Indianapolis who is living with lung cancer and has withstood the rigorous treatments to end up with NEC (No Evidence of Cancer) status. However, Hazel is a bitter, cynical individual, who can’t stand her mother’s smothering attitude and her father’s propensity to cry at the drop of a hat. And those resentful feelings carries over to her cancer support group, which is lead by a social worker whom Hazel has virtually no confidence in towards getting to the path of physical and emotional healing.

That changes when she meets fellow cancer patient Augustus Waters. A patient who lost a leg to bone cancer, Waters’ sense of imagination and optimism introduces a whole new world to Hazel, and having her read the books of Dutch novelist Peter Van Houten – especially “An Imperial Affliction”, which does not have an ending – creates a much wanted diversion from her harsh reality (especially when she has to go around with a portable oxygen tank).

As a result, a strong bond (and later an intimate relationship) is created between Hazel and Augustus, and they decide to embark upon a brief trans-Atlantic journey to Amsterdam, so that they can personally meet up with Van Houten and find out how the final volume of his “Price of Dawn” series of books concluded. But somehow, this literary quest is tainted when it is revealed that one of them is much sicker than the other, and the prognosis is not good.

Green has written a sensitive, powerful novel that shows how time can be so precious, especially when teens are faced with the mortality of cancer. There’s plenty of cynicism, revelations and letdowns, yet a good friendship can provide so much value and be an effective type of medicine. The ordeal of Hazel and Augustus can be seen as tragic, but their love for each other, and their shared interest in the works of a favorite author (the chapter dealing with their encounter with Peter Van Houten in Amsterdam is quite a reality check and life lesson) shows that there can be hope in the face of imminent loss.

With a novel like “The Fault In Our Stars”, readers of all age groups can get a very reaffirming message to how to live a life fully (albeit a short one) right to the end.

This review originally appeared in the February 23 edition of The West End Times.

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