John Green - The Fault in Our Stars

I'm a bit late reviewing what has become the hottest YA book of the last few years. The fact is, I hardly ever read young adult novels - which means this might be an interesting review for those like me who are generally more drawn to adult fiction, classics, or things that are a bit more 'literary' in general. I downloaded the novel on my kindle, after all the hype, particularly now that the movie has come out in the States. I figured I would probably see the movie eventually (I haven't yet) and I wanted to read the novel first.

I know this will shock many people, but it took me a while to get into it. In the beginning I was turned off by the writing style and the overly self-analyzing first person narrator, as well as some of the characters. But, like I said, I'm not used to reading contemporary young adult fiction and I was looking at it very closely through my Literature-Ph.D.-candidate reading glasses (probably more than I would have another book, because it's ya and written by a youtuber). As the story went on, however, I was completely sucked in and read it in about two days, forgetting my stylistic qualms. I'm pretty sure everyone and their mother knows the plot of this novel, but I still don't want to spoil it for people who may not have read it. Hazel Grace Lancaster is a cancer patient who meets dreamy Augustus Waters at a support group meeting. The two develop a friendship and then something more, end up in Amsterdam to meet the reclusive author of Hazel's favorite book, in order to ask him what happens to the characters after the story ends. Things don't go exactly as planned - let's leave it at that. But the biggest plot twist is at the end. Suffice it to say that I finished it while on a train ride and was literally sobbing - mascara rolling down my cheeks, nose dripping and all that fun stuff, while the people around me looked concerned. I didn't see the ending coming and John Green built it up just perfectly. It was touching, but not sentimental or overly tragic.
I still have to say I'm not as obsessed with this book as a lot of people are. If I had read it 10 or 15 years ago, I'm sure I would be, though. I did really enjoy it at the end, and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an easy-to-read, gripping story that deals with a touchy subject in a respectful but also lighthearted way (at times, at least). I like that it's not the typical cancer-book. The characters have lives aside from their illness, they're not saints, they have interests and hopes and fears. A lot of deeper questions are raised about life, the meaning of suffering etc., but John Green doesn't bang you over the head with them - or with the answers. Before I started the book I had read somewhere that the author is Episcolapian, so I was actually expecting a bit of a clearer message relating to salvation, life after death, grace or something. But thinking about the story later on, I actually appreciate the subtlety of the dealing of these topics, and the focus on the characters and the story more than their philosophical implications. Once again, I guess I just need to come to terms with the fact that this is a contemporary ya novel and it fits the genre.
Definitely pick it up if you're in your teens or enjoy YA in general. I did like it more than I was expecting and will probably watch the movie at some point, too. (I'll do a blog post about it, when that happens). I always like that good cry at the end of a book or film!

Muriel Barbery: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Am I the only person who didn't love this book? I picked it up at the airport a few months ago, inspired by all the hype from magazine reviews and blogs alike. I have to say I read it in a short time and I liked it pretty well in the beginning, but gradually I started to get annoyed with the protagonist and that ruined the book for me, since the whole story rests upon the sympathy it can encourage towards the main character. This is Renée, a middle-aged consierge of an elegant building in Paris, who outwardly is everything society expects from her - fat, addicted to television, totally alone except for her cat - but who actually is (supposedly) an intelligent, knowledgeable autodidact, who loves books, art, music and philosophy. The only other important character in the book is Paloma, a 12 year old who lives in the building and has decided to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. She is also very much misunderstood, by her family in this case, and spends time listing "profound thoughts" which generally boil down to reasons why everyone around her is stupid and life is not worth living. The two points of view alternate in first-person chapters as gradually the two characters get to know each other and find comfort in one another's understanding and esteem. The problem is that they are so busy scrutinizing their neighbors and criticizing their stupidity and their interest  in onlyfutile things that they end up sounding like complete snobs themselves. Of course the victims of their sarcasm are people who look down on them, while they are probably culturally and intelligently their inferiors, but still, by mocking their every word the main characters don't come off much better. And ok, Paloma is professedly a disagreable cynic who hates the world and all the people in it, but Renée is supposedly a sweet, insightful woman with an eye for beauty in all its forms. How are we supposed to believe this when she appears to consider herself better than anyone around her? The only time she is likeable is when we see her with the only other character besides Paolma that she likes, Monsiour Ozu. Finally in her relationship with him we see a more human, and humble, side of her, given all the insecurities of a 54 year old getting ready for a date. Monsieur Ozu is a very likeable character himself, and one of the three things I appreciated of this book, along with the quaint French atmosphere and the unexpected ending. The book's message is pretty obviously to dig deeper and not be deceived by the appearance of things, and the two leading ladies are different from what the other characters expect, just not in the way the author, I suppose, intended them to seem. As for the acclaimed deep philosophical reflections on art, time and the meaning of life, (which also are supposed to show the uniqueness and brilliance of the two ladies) they actually boil down to a bunch of pretentious platitudes and a few apparently erudite, but really clichéd, quotes.

Nick Hornby: A Long Way Down

I had never read anything by Nick Hornby before, but I had seen various movies based on his books, like the funny High Fidelity and About a Boy, so I pretty much new what to expect when I started this novel - which had been sitting on my nightstand for a long time, always substituted by another book in my to-read list. I guess this isn't my favorite genre to read, and I guess I knew it before I started the book. All the same, it's a pretty good find if you're looking for a fast read that is usually enjoyable and occasionally downright funny. The idea is original enough, with four different people who meet on top of a fifteen-story building in London on New Year's eve, ready to commit suicide for different reasons, and end up walking back down together and spending the next months in each others company, only to realize that they each have something worth living for. This summary actually makes the book sound a lot more sentimental and positive than it really is, but if you know Nick Hornby at all you know that he uses cutting humor and unlikeable characters and has no interest in delivering a warm-hearted deeply meaningful message. I have to say, the beginning bothered me a bit, probably for the light way in which such an important topic is treated (not that I wanted to get depressed reading it, but is wanting to take your own life really such a funny and light hearted decision?). The tone of the narrative has the positive trait of never falling into melodrama or cheap inspirational tones, but it does remain fairly superficial throughout the book. The question of what is worth living for is never actually raised, seeing that the answers the carachters find for themselves - a little self-respect, a couple friends to go out with once in a while - are insufficient to say the least. I came to terms with the tone as I slowly realised that none of the characters were really suicidal to begin with. So the story is just a fun take on how life's problems, big or small, will eventually sort themselves out - or not, but then you'll generally find a way to survive them anyway. I don't think the author really wanted to delve deeper but if he did, then I have to say he failed, since at the most he might have suggested that the meaning of life is in the small things, or something equally banal. The plot does get interesting - as the characters' situations only get more and more complicated - and the absence of glorious moments of redemption in such a comic setting does merit an applause. The idea of narrating everything from the four characters' point of view - alternating from one to the other - is interesting, and shows the author's desire to experiment with different voices. The continuous jump from the perspective of a middle-aged lonely woman to the one of a young foul-mouthed girl, a has-been TV host, and then a failed rock-star wannabe makes the story more compelling, but the voice that the reader hears throughout the novel remains pretty much the same witty and self-deprecating Hornby trademark. Infact, for the most part I could imagine a young John Cusack or Hugh Grant narrating the whole thing - due also to the fact that, given the 4-monologue structure, the book seems a lot like the script for a movie or tv show.

Thus said, if you're a Nick Hornby fan (and I do enjoy him quite a bit myself - at least from the movies I've seen), you'll probably love this book. If you're more like me, you might want to jump straight to the next less tv-comedy type book that's been sitting on your nightstand.

Katherine Mansfield: In a German Pension

This is a collection of short stories published in 1911 and it is Mansfield's first published book. I have mixed feelings about it, since I like her writing style, which is very pre-modernist and minimal, but struggled with its crude cynicism. Most of the stories are written in first person and describe the affectations of the German bourgeoisie at leisure, as seen by the author during her stay at the Bavarian spa town of Bad Worishoven. The voice that comes through is that of a very modern and independent woman, who questions the conventions that she witnesses among the other guests. But the voice is also very bitter and sarcastic, with never a kind word for any of the characters. It's an effective portrayal of the emptyness and snobbery of those around her, who are constantly patronizing the young writer (like the Professor does in The Modern Soul, for instance), and who end up seeming stupid as the events take their course. The Sister of the Baroness, for example, tells of the guests' delight to hear that an aristocrat is going to honor their pension by sending her daughter to stay, and of their dismay when they realize that the Baroness's "sister", who they have idolized, is only a servant. The narrator, who is always extremely polite, quiet and meek is actually not very subtle in mocking these Germans, who are so wrapped up in class differences and yet can't tell a noble from a common servant. Mansfield's look on marriage and motherhood is sour, as well. Her opinion on men appears especially negative, considering their oblivion to the pain of child-bearing, in At Lehman's, or their vulgar nature, in The Swing of the Pendulum. Not that the women seem much better, especially with their weekness-turned-falseness towards men (the cruel and cold Elsa in A Blaze), and with their hardness towards one another. Mansfield is often quite funny in her wry observations, and even the titles and names she gives to the characters are ironic, such as The Advanced lady. One story that stands out is The-Child-Who-Was-Tired. In other stories we witness the desperate fall of any moment of hope or kind thought, but this tragic narrative is the only one in which bitterness is mixed with true compassion, making it a real gem. I've never read anything else by Katherine Mansfiled and would certainly like to, as I did appreciate the collection, and especially since the author herself in later years considered the book "nothing to be proud of" because of its youthful bitterness. And I have found in other authors that the first works are more cynical, as though the bitterness of youth at the realization that not all in life goes as it should weren't yet softened by a deeper understanding of and compassion toward human nature.

Susan Dunlap: The musician's daughter

One thing I'd like to make clear is that not all the books, music etc that I'm writing about I recommend or I consider favorites. Obviously most of my posts will be on likes - especially since if I knew I wasn't interested in something I wouldn't read, listen or watch it in the first place - but basically I plan to just write about things as I come across them and give my honest opinion.
That said - my latest read was The musician's daughter by Susan Dunlap, which falls into the category of books that are not going in my favorites. Not that I think it's bad, and depending on what you like to read it may be a good book for you, but it's certainly not great literature.
It's a historical novel about a young girl living in Haydn's Vienna whose father (a violinist at the court of prince Esterhazy) is murdered. The young protagonist, Theresa, starts investigating her father's death and finds that he was involved in political affairs aiding the Gypsies who live in a camp on the outskirts of town and their relations in Hungary, in an intrigue of blackmail, falsehood and music. Thus, a whirlwind adventure ensues involving the beginning of love, working as a copyist for her beloved godfather Haydn, her strict pregant mother and a powerful cruel uncle.
I have to say, the novel - which I believe is marketed towards young adults - is very well plotted and suspenseful. I personally bought it for a long plane ride and it was perfect, since I had trouble reading the better written and more interesting novel that I had taken, due to continuous interruptions and lack of sleep. Probably if I were still in my teens I would have enjoyed it more. I recommend it if you want a fast read and if you like historical novels, but don't expect well constructed and believable characters, deep reflections or true to fact history.
In that case, you may very well enjoy it.