The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is a story about a terminal cancer patient named Hazel Grace who meets another cancer survivor named Augustus Waters at a support group. The two become fast friends and decide to travel to Europe to visit their mutual favourite author.

The way the book is written is in a very personal and relateable way. The first half is more lighthearted and the second half is more melancholic. The difference in tone is very noticeable. But even though it dealt with heavy themes such as life and death, it still manages to find its way to humour.

This book contains a lot of interesting symbolism such as drowning, where Hazel has water in her lungs and experience shortness of breath but also feels drowned by the reality of her life. One of the most prominent themes in the book is the fear of nothingness. Augustus very often talks about how he is afraid of just going away forever and dying young, and because of this he wants to accomplish something before he dies.

A story like this is always going to be very character-driven and this book really manages to create memorable characters. Hazel in particular feels genuine and she is fleshed-out as a protagonist should be. The Fault in Our Stars is narrated by Hazel and the narration is very descriptive. The side characters which include Isaac, the author which the two visit, the parents among others have a fairly minimal role as the focus is on Hazel and Augustus.

Although this book is about two cancer survivors it never feels like a story about surviving cancer but rather something of a coming-of-age story. Hazel matures a lot troughout the story and the character development is interesting to read.

To summarize: I’d recommend this book to people of most ages. It’s easy to read and contains elements which most people could find interesting.

Edvin Basic. Peer corrected by Alexandre Bezobrazov, Sebastian Jandrén, and Moa Näsman. NATE15