by Stephen Chbosky
I don't really get a lot of time for fun reading during the semester, so I feel very lucky to have actually finished a book (especially since the last one I read was read in January....). Perks, especially, was one that I had a hard time putting down; so when I allowed myself some down time last weekend, I finished the last half of the novel in one sitting. And it was worth it.
There is so much to Charlie's story, much more than I had ever expected. Through his letters to an anonymous recipient, we see his perceptions of some really heavy issues. I was overcome with the way in which Charlie would relay the events of the novel. He gives an explanation of what happened, then talks about something else, or describes a memory from his childhood--related or no--leaving the resulting emotions to float above the page, allowing the reader to absorb them and almost...experience them as he does. Sometimes, he is so overcome with emotion that he is not able to bring himself to talk about the event or even certain details of a memory. He gives the information that is necessary to understand, and honestly, it is all one needs to know.
These moments are truly powerful; Charlie's character voice is painfully honest, and as a reader, one is caught up in every story, every emotion he feels as he "participates." He doesn't gloss over anything. He gives the reader the truth, without shame--and I feel that this is one of the strongest aspects of the novel. I loved how I was able to fill in information without it being given to me word for word. It takes a great deal of care and skill to be able to pull that off, and I think Chbosky is a master.
Charlie feels everything purely. One of my favorite parts of the book, from pages 38-39 (the end of part one):
Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called "Landslide." When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.
And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.
I love every one of these big moments, ranging from depictions of his evenings spent with the group watching Rocky Horror, to their parties, or events at school. Even the smaller moments are beautiful.
This may sound strange, but whenever I read a book, I feel like I was meant to read it at that very moment, that either before or after that time, I'm not meant for it. This is one of those cases. There's something about our understanding of the world, the way and time we take to make connections between the things that happen in our lives, that when we make those connections, it is both overwhelming and exhilarating. After being in Pittsburgh over Spring Break, and having thought about my own experiences from high school, and realizing that I'm finally starting to understand myself and who I am, this book was exactly what I needed. As Perks demonstrates, life is much more complex than we can ever fully understand--and by participating, as Bill encourages Charlie to do, we are able to make sense, however small, of what it means to be us. Our issues, both external and internal, simultaneously come together and break apart, and in these defining moments (very much like the one described above) we know something more than we did before, even if our understanding is still very slight.
Charlie has his share of family problems. He has to deal with the deaths of important people in his life. He encounters complicated issues many teens face. He has great friends in Patrick and Sam--who are awesome, by the way, as imperfect and flawed as they are--who introduce him to many people and many new things. Charlie's story is beautiful. This is an important book, not only for teens, but everyone.
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