My brother handed me Perks of Being a Wallflower one or two years ago. He urged me to read it, observing that it was essentially "a 90's version of Catcher in the Rye." I finished the novel two days later, and I consider myself a better person for having done so.
Perks explores the life and mind of a high school freshman named Charlie through a series of letters that he writes to an anonymous friend. Charlie is scarred by the sexual abuse that he suffered as a child, and he enters high school shortly after his best friend committed suicide. Charlie decides that he wants to actively participate in life, instead of spectating from the outside like a wallflower. The story follows him as he navigates the social dynamics and pressures of high school, such as drugs, alcohol, sexuality,and the meaning of love and friendship.
Charlie's desire to participate in life opens him up to both beauty and
pain, often at the same time. His two best friends, Patrick and Sam, each carry their own burden of a painful, troubled past. Patrick struggles to find his identity as a homosexual in the hostile world of high school. Sam, Patrick's stepsister, has been abused and neglected, and she craves affirmation from a boyfriend who is revealed to have cheated on her. Charlie forms a powerful bond with Sam and Patrick, and as they make their way through the jungle of high school, they overcome their tragic past and discover meaning and fulfillment. In an iconic scene (beautifully portrayed in the movie, by the way),while driving with his friends through the city with the windows down, Charlie declares that "In that moment, I swear we were infinite."
Charlie's family is a world unto itself; in many ways, they embody the repressed American suburban household stereotype. Charlie's father is a good but emotionally cold man. His mother is "always on a diet", and she "never seems to hear" her husband's compliments. His sister finds herself in an abusive relationship (Charlie's English teacher remarks that "We accept the love we think we deserve"). Charlie's older brother plays football at Penn State, which adds to the externally-attractive-but-internally-tragic suburban household theme--several scenes are devoted to Charlie's family watching football around the television, avoiding real, genuine conversation.
Side Note: The dark irony of an abused boy's connection to Penn State football did not escape me. I do not know if this is a coincidence. Football is an interesting motif in this story, though; Patrick's closeted boyfriend Brad is the star quarterback of the football team, and he ultimately rejects Patrick when Brad's dad walks in on them during a moment of intimacy. I digress. Football! Sports! Athletes! End note.
Perks of Being a Wallflower is a character-driven story, as opposed to plot-driven (think The Hunger Games). The plot doesn't zoom along, there aren't really any moments of suspense, and most of the narrative simply describes Charlie's thoughts and feelings. No one would accuse this novel of being too fast or furious. That being said, I discovered (and continue to discover, every time I read Perks) endless layers of depth within each character and relationship.
To conclude my conclusion, Perks has changed the way I view the people in my life. Everyone, like Charlie, carries some kind of burden, which defines the way they view the world. This isn't a completely revolutionary idea, but it's much more real to me after reading this novel. Would it be cheesy for me to say that Charlie represents all of us? Maybe. I'd still say that Charlie can offer something to all of us.
--Spence
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
The Perks of Being a Wallfower
Every now and then a book comes a long that kicks you right in the feelings. Well, I won't just limit this to books, though this is what this particular blog is about, but all art forms. All have these "tour de force" works that enter their realm. These are the works that change not only how you feel, but who you are. From the time you start till the time you finish you are a different person, much like listening to any song by Machine Gun Kelly (just kidding...or am I?). It may not be a way you can put in to words (again, like MGK), but there is something fundamentally different about you.
Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is that work. It is a young adult fiction novel that revolves around a boy named Charlie who is writing letters to an unknown "friend" about his freshman year of high school. It's a coming of age story that takes issues such as homosexuality, drugs, drinking, sex, and abuse head on. The entire novel is structured around Charlie's letters as he talks about his friends and his life in a brutally honest way. What is most surprising about this novel is that it made its debut in 1999 but remained a cult book for all these years. It was recently made into a film which is more of an enhancement on the novel then a separate entity unto itself.
This is a novel that every high school student must read. Although published in the '90s, I would say that it is more relevant today than ever. The topics Charlie chooses to write to his friend on are saturated with honesty and love. It's almost unbelievable how much love one freshman boy could have for people (yes, I know he's a fictional character, but still) despite their obvious flaws. He spends much of his time with two friends in particular, Patrick and Sam, a brother and sister duo that bring a very interesting and unique life perspective to Charlie's quiet world. They are the outcasts and the misfits of high school and are perfectly content with that social status. Patrick even, at one point, begs the question, "What is the difference between us and the popular kids? Is it the clothes we wear?"
I loved every moment of this book and found myself wishing the story wouldn't end when I was nearing the closing pages. I wanted to know more about Charlie's life and what went on in his mind. The innocence in which he writes is painfully beautiful and simple. In many ways it drew me back to a book I had read earlier by James Franco, Palo Alto, which dealt with adolescent kids exploring and destroying their lives. Not to say that Charlie was ever destroying his life, but the style is succinct and blunt. Something you would expect from a freshman in high school.
Relevant to anyone who has ever ventured into a high school, this book hits right at home. By standing on the edge of life and choosing to perceive rather than participate, Charlie opens a world to readers that can only be seen through the eyes of a wallflower.
-- Zach
Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is that work. It is a young adult fiction novel that revolves around a boy named Charlie who is writing letters to an unknown "friend" about his freshman year of high school. It's a coming of age story that takes issues such as homosexuality, drugs, drinking, sex, and abuse head on. The entire novel is structured around Charlie's letters as he talks about his friends and his life in a brutally honest way. What is most surprising about this novel is that it made its debut in 1999 but remained a cult book for all these years. It was recently made into a film which is more of an enhancement on the novel then a separate entity unto itself.
This is a novel that every high school student must read. Although published in the '90s, I would say that it is more relevant today than ever. The topics Charlie chooses to write to his friend on are saturated with honesty and love. It's almost unbelievable how much love one freshman boy could have for people (yes, I know he's a fictional character, but still) despite their obvious flaws. He spends much of his time with two friends in particular, Patrick and Sam, a brother and sister duo that bring a very interesting and unique life perspective to Charlie's quiet world. They are the outcasts and the misfits of high school and are perfectly content with that social status. Patrick even, at one point, begs the question, "What is the difference between us and the popular kids? Is it the clothes we wear?"
I loved every moment of this book and found myself wishing the story wouldn't end when I was nearing the closing pages. I wanted to know more about Charlie's life and what went on in his mind. The innocence in which he writes is painfully beautiful and simple. In many ways it drew me back to a book I had read earlier by James Franco, Palo Alto, which dealt with adolescent kids exploring and destroying their lives. Not to say that Charlie was ever destroying his life, but the style is succinct and blunt. Something you would expect from a freshman in high school.
Relevant to anyone who has ever ventured into a high school, this book hits right at home. By standing on the edge of life and choosing to perceive rather than participate, Charlie opens a world to readers that can only be seen through the eyes of a wallflower.
-- Zach
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