After asking friends on Facebook and twitter for
recommendations, and wanting to take a
breather from the heavy classics for a few months, I fell for Stephen Chbosky’s
The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Lauren Weisberger’s Revenge Wears Prada. Watch out for my thoughts on Weisberger’s
offering at a later date – but for now I’d like to focus on Chbosky’s offering!
I’d heard a lot about this book from many different people,
so I had very high hopes. Having refrained from watching the recent film
adaptation, I wanted to read the original text first before spending the night
with Emma Watson et al. I had no idea what the story was as I’d been fortunate
enough to stay away from any revealing blog posts, twitter feeds and book
reviews. So needless to say I went into reading this book completely unaware of
what to expect.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I thought at the very beginning, though I found Chbosky’s writing beautiful and emotionally charged; he has an acute way of capturing anxiety and emotion without using excessively floral language. I think ‘normal’ is the best way to describe it for me, and it depicted the protagonist very well. Nevertheless, I was hooked, and found that I became more and more involved as the book went on.
Chbosky’s book involves the life and trials of Charlie as he
enters into the world of young adulthood after starting High School. Our
beloved Wikipedia describes it as a ‘coming-of-age
epistolary novel’, which involves the reader following him through
experimentation, sexual exploration and emotional struggles. Charlie’s adolescent confusion is depicted by
Chbosky in such a simple way, yet there
is a depth to Charlie’s narration, despite his simplistic and honest tone. The
characters are very believable and, at the same time, unusual, and the web
of relationships both romantic and platonic reflect the twists and turns of
real life.
As the title suggests, Charlie is a wallflower; an observer.
However, it seems to me that Chbosky is not only labelling Charlie, but also
the reader. As the reader, or the recipient of Charlie’s letters, I felt as
though I was watching his life from a distance – unable to change anything, but
noticing all the details and particulars of every-day things which would
normally remain unnoticed to the average passer-by. We are able to assess
Charlie as Charlie assesses his own peers.
The epistolary nature of the book really reminded me of the
countless classics I read for my degree. The epistolary novel was popular back
in the eighteenth century and was a fantastic way of assessing and exploring
society and its faults in its (supposedly) everyday glory. Perks
really is a modern classic; bringing traditional literary technique into the
present day.
However, it is the very powerful ending which made me
realise why there has been so much hype around this particular work of fiction.
Chbosky really hits the reader with some very strong emotions and I was left
reeling for a number of days. This alone has made me eager to re-read the book
– just weeks after finishing it for the first time. I can really see why people
have been urging me to read the book. However, one friend said she found the
film to be much more emotional since she was affected by Charlie ‘constantly
sobbing’. I don’t feel this is especially strong in the book until the end –
and am very interested to see the film to really see how the book can be
interpreted.
Perks isn’t too
long- it seems to be perfect for anybody who, like me, is intrigued by other
people’s reading choices, or those who want something new. However, do not be
fooled by the length of the book– it will draw you in and
leave you turning the events over in your mind long after the final page has
been closed.
Jo
xxx
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