The fault in our stars (slight spoiler)

Why I recommend this book

The plot is NOT as cliché as many other love stories filled with intensive crying, fighting and even vigorously dying in the name of love. Provided cancer at young ages, the characters were well aware of the last day, and it somehow presents me a feeling (by the tongue of the female character) where time proceeds and life progresses even I have a deep grief for my loved one. It is such a resonant feeling in most peoples’ life (I guess) - at least it reminded me of my grandma’s pass-away.

My feelings had been ‘manipulated’ by the plots, and my mind was quite enjoying. My emotion was building up by the Netherland fantasy, and then dropped steeply with the strongest disappointment (ever in the book), in which characters got grumpy after they found out the author of a best-ever-in-life book is too much of a jerk to match a sympathetic being living in the imagination. There are more than the mentioned plots that would bring you joyfulness, sadness, calmness (plus more my words failed to enumerate).

If you are a reader full of sympathy, the book would help you pick up faded memories. If you were hurt deeply from a relationship, the book would comfort you in a way to never loose your faith in love even you will experience foreseeable death (killed by cancer alike). One of my favorite verdicts was printed on the book cover, quoted “You laugh. You cry. And you come back for more”. Indeed, I’d come back for more with an uplifting spirit. Yes, this piece of art offers uplifting spirit, disguised by a sadness husk. Isn’t it a genius?

— 2022/01/17 (while listening to ‘Heavy’ by Linkin Park)

Sparkling moments/best quote

  • The journey literally began at the Author’s Note. Can not help myself duplicating as below:

    Neither novels nor their readers benefit from attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea that made-up stories can matter, which is sort of the foundational assumption of our species.

    It is such a brilliant way of setting the tone. Though much appreciated to author’s honest, there is also foundational assumption on the basis of FACTs. Thank you John, but species including me could not resist to find interior rational whatever slim benefit might be received. Yet more species were trying to search ‘An Imperial Affliction’ in the real world, though it is a made-up book in this book.

  • The appearance of the male character (i.e., Gus) has an irresistible sense of crooked behaviors to teenage girls (I could simply guess since I’m a male). For me, the most ‘ingenious’ Gus behavior is always the moves to take out a cigarette from a pack, followed by him putting it between the lips WITHOUT lighting.

    This sort of reminded me of the high school days, when ‘crooked’ boys were smoking vigilantly, trying to hide away from school teachers. Gus did it in a new level. First of all, he did not light up the cigarette or pretend being cool by smoking (although he might pretend to be cool by acting differently, but acceptable given the age). Secondly, Gus did it (or John Green composed so) for his reason - a ‘metaphor’ (quote below).

    You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing.

  • I hate to provide further sneak-peek as I promised this would be a slight spoiler. Therefore, just snatch the book and start reading.

Things I don’t quite understand

  • Why the book was named after “the fault in our stars”?

    Or does it matter to comfort my rational mind (considering Author's notes)?

    The words that was explicitly indicating crossed-stars and faults are located in the email reply from Peter Van Houten (or the de-facto assistant). Duplicated below:

    I am in receipt of your electronic mail dated the 14th of April and duly impressed by the Shakespearean complexity of your tragedy. Everyone in this tale has a rock-solid hamartia: hers, that she is so sick; yours, that you are so well. Were she better or you sicker, then the stars would not be so terribly crossed, but it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he had Cassius note, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.” Easy enough to say when you’re a Roman nobleman (or Shakespeare!), but there is no shortage of fault to be found amid our stars.

    Wait… I can smell a snippet of cliché, or shall I put too ‘old-fashioned’? I’ve been enjoying the teenage flirting throughout half the book, and suddenly figured out the title is composed under Shakespearean framework? After some research, I tend to think astrology senses might be the primary reason the book tries to convey. Here are some book comments from a astrologer, https://crystalbastrology.com/fault-stars-star-crossed-lovers-astrology/. The term crossed-star lovers, by definition is, “It basically means that there was a ‘malefic’ or evil star involved in the fateful first meeting” (quoted the comments). Although it might be true for John Green (being a literature influencer), the well-known Romeo & Juliet has carved deeply into the creation of a tragic love story, but astrology could have better inspiration or explanation on the why part of a fateful relationship. I just cannot agree more on the saying, “Better to have loved and lost – than never to have loved at all”. My favorite line in the second half of the book situates in the very last part where Gus’ letter revealed “You don’t get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choice. I hope she likes hers”. In other words, for a forseeable tragic relationship, you are not able to decide the fate or path, but you are able to choose whom in the story with.

    My rational mind keeps alerting me the very last remaining unfolded: how come wrong resides in the stars rather anywhere/anyone else? By instinct, I’d think it might be the first to blame where the astrology has a flaw in designing such a mechanism that allows aligned stars/planets to come across. It is human nature (I guess?) to blame the unknown/uncontrollable to serve as a distraction, or alternatively, swallow as is with a reluctant monologue speaking c'est la vie. The fault in our stars lies in the former. Both Gus and Hazel have chosen each other as the one to be hurt, and logically there is nothing wrong in people. To be fair, it is really not a big deal as ‘there is no shortage of fault to be found amid our stars’. In other words, people get more flaws to blame.