The book Blame the Stars, the reviews of which are presented below, is the sixth novel by the American novelist John Green, who was released in 2012. In 2013 and 2014, this book became a bestseller in America, then it was translated in many countries of the world. In 2014, the novel was filmed by director Josh Boon.
Reviews on the book "Blame the Stars" are mostly positive. Therefore, it became so popular, and after that it was embodied on the screen.
How many pages are in The Blame the Stars? 285 pages, and each of them reveals a new facet of the mystery of human relations.
The content of the book Blame the Stars is of interest to many.
Briefly about the plot
The genre of the book Blame the Stars is a novel written in the first person. The work tells of a 16-year-old girl named Hazel Lancaster. It is on her behalf that the narrative is being conducted. The main character lives in America in Indiana. She has a terrible diagnosis - thyroid cancer, metastases have already begun in the lungs.
Support Group
Hazel can only breathe with a special oxygen cylinder. Because of this, the girl rarely leaves the house, often just lies in bed and reads one book all the time. Her mother decides that she is depressed, begins to insist that Hazel go to a support group.
The book "Blame the Stars" completely captivates the reader from the first lines. She helps to sincerely feel all the problems and sufferings of the main character. Hazel begins to go to a support group, which meets once a week in the church basement. There are cancer patients. Meetings depress the girl even more. She begins to communicate with only one guy named Isaac. He has a rare disease - eyeball cancer. He had already lost one eye, and a second one under threat. Hazel goes to the group only at the insistence of his parents.
Quotes from the book Blame the Stars help you understand how hard it is to deal with incurable diseases at such an early age. For instance:
Worse than being a teenager with oncology, there is only one thing: being a child with oncology.
The feelings and emotions of a seriously ill girl are subtly conveyed by the author of the book āBlame the Starsā. A description of her feelings and moods is the main motive of the story.
At the next meeting, Hazel met with the 17-year-old Augustus Waters. His leg was taken away several years ago due to osteosarcoma. The guy looks at Hazel without a break, and the heroine is worried about thick cheeks and ankles. She became fat because of steroids, which she is forced to take.
Gus claims to be most afraid of oblivion. The main character answers this, that oblivion is an inevitability for all mankind, therefore such fear should be ignored. She got this idea from Van Hutenās novel āRoyal Ailment,ā her favorite book.
In the evening, Gus invites Hazel to visit. The author of The Guilty Stars, John Green, carefully and even lovingly describes communication between young people. They set off to watch a movie with actress Portman, which, according to Gus, Hazel looks like. On the way to the stop, the guy puts a cigarette in his mouth, which angers Hazel. After all, itās hard for her to breathe, and he voluntarily kills his own lungs. With great difficulty, he manages to convince the girl that he does not light cigarettes:
This is a metaphor, look: you are holding deadly rubbish in your teeth, but you are not giving her the opportunity to fulfill her deadly mission.
Quotes from the book "Blame the Stars" accurately observable the state of the main characters, many of them can become aphorisms.
Hazel's story
On the way home to Gus, Hazel tells him his story. In a brief summary of The Blame the Stars, we dwell on the main points of this story.
The fourth stage thyroid cancer was discovered at the age of 13. A year later, lung metastases began. Parents tried all the methods of treatment, eventually finding a medicine that could stop the growth of metastases. They managed to keep the lungs, but no one can say how much they can hold out. As a result, a girl can lead an almost normal lifestyle, even go to college lectures, where she is in her first year.
Gusās house contains a lot of biblical sayings, and his room is laden with basketball prizes - he did this sport before the operation.
An interesting relationship between Hazel and her former classmate. Here's how the couple responds about their communication:
Obviously, everyone Iām destined to talk with for the rest of my days will feel awkward and remorseful.
Only after reading the entire book āBlame the Starsā, you can understand how hard it is for the main character. She has practically no friends. Seeing how hard it is for her friend to communicate with her, Hazel hurriedly ends the conversation.
Favorite novel
That same evening, she again begins to re-read her favorite book. It tells about the young Anna, who lives in California. Like the main character, she is sick with cancer, only a very rare form. Hazel bribes in this book that the disease is spoken of as frankly as possible:
Children with oncology are essentially side effects of a ruthless mutation, due to which life on Earth is so diverse.
Over time, her condition worsens, and her mother has a relationship with a tulip dealer from the Netherlands. They are going to get married, and the girl at this time has to prepare for a new course of treatment. The novel has an open ending, it ends literally at a glance.
Hazel is convinced that Anna eventually dies, and how the fate of the other characters of the work will turn out, she is not interested. She constantly writes letters to Peter van Houten, but he never answers. Having left America for Holland, he turned into a recluse. The main character expects that he is working on a continuation of the novel, wants to know if this is so in reality.
Augustus calls her, who also read the book and is disappointed with the uncertainty at the end. Gus calls the main character to visit, together to support Isaac, whom the girl left on the eve.
Interestingly, the final opinion on the book in Gus is formed only after a week. He receives a response from the author of the book in an email. Van Houten informed him that he wrote nothing more and never will be. In the evening of the same day, Hazel sends him a letter to the same email address to inquire about the future of the heroes of the work.
While she is waiting for an answer, she finds out that Isaac had surgery, admitting that he no longer has cancer. Now he is completely healthy, but completely blind. Hazel comes to a friend in the hospital, he still suffers from the betrayal of his beloved, who promised to stay with him until the very end:
I believe in true love, understand? People lose their eyes, get sick, what the hell, but everyone should have real love, which lasts at least until the end of life!
Soon van Houten meets Hazel. To her surprise, he writes that he cannot answer her question so that she does not turn his ideas into a sequel. He is ready to discuss such things only in private conversation, but in the coming years he is not going to leave Holland anywhere. Therefore, he invites her to come to visit the Netherlands, knowing that the girl has cancer of the last degree.
Hazel understands that she does not have enough strength or money to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, her parents spent all her savings on her treatment. In America, there is the Ginny Foundation, which provides children diagnosed with cancer with the opportunity to fulfill their last wish. But she already used it, going last year to Disneyland Park.
Friend help
A few days later, Gus invites her to a picnic, which suits in the Dutch style. He tells her that he is going to use his own desire for a trip to Holland, and is going to go on a trip with her:
Remember, Iām not going to give you my Desire. But I, too, had an interest in meeting with Peter van Houten, and without the girl who introduced me to his book, it makes no sense to meet with him.
The treating doctor Hazel is skeptical about her trip to Europe, allowing her only accompanied by an adult who is aware of all the features of the disease. At the family council, it was decided that Mom would fly to Europe with the main character.
At the last picnic, Gus tried to kiss Hazel, but at that moment she was not ready to move on to the next stage of the relationship. In the evening, she tries to figure out herself why she avoids the kiss of a young man to whom she is not indifferent. On the network, she discovers data about ex-girlfriend Gus, who died of brain cancer. Then she realizes that she does not want to make him suffer again. Hazel feels like a grenade that can explode at any moment, so he decides to minimize the casualties. She cannot save her parents from grief.
Hazel's condition is getting worse
Hazel develops oxygen deficiency, terrible pains begin. Doctors find out that her lungs are filled with fluid. For almost a week, she is bedridden in the intensive care unit.
In this case, new metastases are not found in her. Liquid from the lungs is pumped out, it becomes noticeably lighter. The girl re-reads the letter from the writer and decides to go to Europe, despite the fact that the doctors are against it.
The essence of the book āBlame the Starsā is the story of the incredible willpower that patients have if they find the strength to fight the disease. This is also a novel about hope and love.
After receiving consent from the Ginny charity foundation, Hazel, along with Gus and his mother, goes to Amsterdam.
Travel to Holland
On the way to the airport, Hazel and his mother call in for Gus, where they become unwitting witnesses to his scandal with his parents. They do not want to let their son go to Amsterdam, but he insists on the need for a trip. At the airport, Hazel constantly catches surprised and curious glances:
Sometimes itās the worst in the fate of a cancer patient - the physical symptoms of the disease separate you from others. We were unequivocally and completely different, and this was manifested with particular obviousness.
When Hazel's mother falls asleep on the plane, Gus confesses her love. A wave of strange inspiring joy rises in the girl, but she does not dare to admit this guy.
The flight goes well, they book rooms in an inexpensive hotel called the Philosopher. In the evening depart for a romantic dinner. Lovers sit on the terrace, drink champagne, watching the elm seeds fall into the canal. Revelation is coming, Gus talks about his girlfriend who had brain cancer.
Meeting with the writer
The meeting with the writer, which took place the next day, disappoints both heroes. The writer is a complete and unattractive drunken snapper. He does not answer their questions, stating that Hazelās whole life depends solely on the pity of those around him:
Van Houten was looking for the most offensive way to tell the truth that I had long known. I ā¹...āŗ many months ago I found the most painful ways to describe my condition.
Hazel left all in tears. The writerās assistant catches up with them, advising them to go to the Anne Frank Museum. There, the heroes kiss for the first time, and at the hotel they make love. The next morning, Gus says that his remission is over, and metastases affect almost all organs. For the sake of a trip to Amsterdam, he interrupted treatment. The fear of oblivion returns to Gus.
Further in the book āBlame the Stars,ā a summary of which is given in the article, it is said that the young man continues treatment when he returns to the United States. Hazel comes to him every day, but watching her boyfriend is getting harder.
Gus soon finds himself in intensive care, now he only moves in a wheelchair. This is the last stage of the disease. Most of all he dreams that the world would know about him, but dies in complete obscurity. One night he manages to get out of the house, get to the gas station to buy cigarettes. By this, he wants to prove to others that he is capable of at least doing something himself. He fails to return home. He calls Hazel, who calls an ambulance. From the hospital, he returns doomed, completely dependent on painkillers.
Hazel, on behalf of whom the story is being narrated, notes that for everyone dying of cancer, the last happy day comes when the illness recedes for a while. This day begins at Gus. He spends it with Isaac and Hazel, he asks to write obituaries for him, and then read them.
Eight days later he dies. In recent days, they are seen very little, but Hazel does not suffer from this less. At the funeral of a young man, van Houten arrives, who read about the death of Gus on social networks. After the funeral, the writer calls the girl to talk. He says that Gus wrote a lot to him in recent weeks, promising to forgive boorish behavior if he tells Hazel about the fate of the characters. But the girl no longer wants to know anything and kicks out van Houten.
The next day, she comes to Isaac, learning from him that Gus wrote for her something like a sequel to her favorite book. In the backseat of the car, she notices a drunken van Houten, who again tries to apologize. At this moment, Hazel realizes that one of his relatives also died of cancer.
It turns out that van Houten's daughter died of leukemia, she is the prototype of the main character of the work. The appearance of Hazel, who was dressed as Anna, was simply stunned. The girl felt sorry for the writer, she advised him to go back to create another book.
Arriving at Gusās home, Hazel didnāt find the sequel that Isaac had told her about in his room. A few days later, Gus's dad told her that he had found his notebook with torn sheets. But Hazel can't find them anywhere.
Meanwhile, her parents surround her with close attention, she is afraid that they have dissolved in her, and when she dies, they simply will not be able to live on. She tells her mother about her fears, only then she admits that she has been trying to get the qualification of a social worker for a year. The woman did not want her daughter to know about it, but she already plans how she will live after her death. Parents also swear that they will never divorce.
A friend makes the main character think that Gus was not really writing for her and sent his notes to someone. Hazel contacts Van Houten's secretary. Gusās last letter is not a sequel, but a request in which the young man asks the writer to write works on his ideas. He admits that in this way he dreams of leaving a mark on the history of mankind.
Gus writes about his feelings for Hazel, emphasizing that true heroes do not act, but watch, and his girlfriend is just that. Gus considers his love to be the trail he can leave behind. At the same time, he expresses the hope that the girl is pleased with his choice. In the final, Hazel confirms that this is so.
Similar artworks
Among books similar to āBlame the Stars,ā one can mention the novels by Jody Pickolt, āAngel for Sister,ā Nicholas Sparks, āHurry to Love,ā Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, āOscar and the Pink Ladyā.
For example, the book āAngel for Sisterā tells about the 13-year-old Anna, who, although not sick, suffered a large number of transfusions, operations, and injections over her short life. All this in order to help a sister who is sick with leukemia. Parents do not hide that only for this they gave birth to Anna.
Anna decides to take an unexpected step - to sue her parents, who decided to dispose of her body.
Reviews
Reviews about the book "Blame the Stars" are almost all positive. For many, this novel caused strong and sincere emotions, and some moments were especially remembered and impressed the readers. For example, a father who does not hide how hard it is for him, constantly cries, not trying to appear before others and relatives more than he really is.
Many were impressed by the description of the suffering suffered by patients, especially difficult for children. When reading a book, the reader begins to sympathize with parents who are watching the worst thing you can imagine - the slow fading of their own child.
Those who were dissatisfied with the book "Blame the Stars" note in the reviews that the plot is too predictable. Many also admit that they did not find anything special in the novel. This is not the first work in which terminally ill people are the main characters, ironically related to their ailment. Critics admit that the jokes found in the work on cancer can not be called innovative.So experienced writers call the book fairly standard and little original. The author does not come up with anything new, working on a familiar field with well-known characters.
In addition, as critics say, the characters themselves often look unnatural. For example, on a first date in their life, instead of worrying and worrying, they philosophize. This far-fetchedness and implausibility does not inspire confidence among readers; it is for this very reason that the book is often criticized in the literary world.
And yet, the work subtly conveys many of the thoughts and feelings of the main characters and introduces the reader to the inner world of a seriously ill person.