The Fault in Our Stars

I first heard about John Green's The Fault in Our Stars a few years ago when my good friend Katie read it. I remember her telling me that she liked it, but that she would not see the movie that was being made of it because she did not want to cry in front of that many people (a sentiment I completely understand).

I was looking for an audiobook to listen to on my way to Ann Arbor for my friends' wedding last weekend, and I saw that The Fault in Our Stars audiobook is almost 8-hours long, which was the total length of my trip. Done and done.

The Fault in Our Stars is about two young people who meet at a cancer support group. Thematically, the book is about how society treats people who are sick, as well as the relationship between reader, book, and author. The book was narrated by Kate Rudd, and she did a spectacular job. She had to narrate the dialogue of men, women, teenagers, and adults. Once I got into the book, I could tell who was supposed to be speaking based on her slight and non-distracting inflections. As for the book--I liked it. I know that commentators have recently criticized the trend of adults reading YA fiction, but I generally fall under the camp of like what you like (a media libertarian?).

One of my favorite passages had to do with the relationship of readers to books. The author wrote:

Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books . . . which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal.

YES. And while this book does not qualify under either category for me, I did enjoy listening to it.

I rented the move adaptation when I got home on Sunday, but I did not enjoy the movie as much as the book. In a book, even an audiobook, it is possible to imagine young adults who are witty and end every conversation with a sly reference to the beginning of the conversation. On screen, however, when that quick dialogue is coming out of the mouth of a young adult, you are forced to remember that young people do not speak that way, and it took away some of the enjoyment for me.