Miles is a nerd; a scrawny, friendless nerd with a penchant for famous last words. The story begins with Miles waiting to leave Florida for Culver Creek Prep School in Alabama. When asked why he simply responds ‘I go to seek a Great Perhaps.’ (Incidentally, the famous last words of writer François Rabelais.)
He finds it in friends, smoking, drinking and pranking, of which all orbit a single life force. Alaska. The bookworm, ever mysterious, slightly screwed up; Alaska, it’s no surprise that our young protagonist falls head over heels in love instantaneously.
When tragedy strikes, Miles and his friends take an emotional and philosophical journey which helps them to answer Alaska’s frequently asked question, “How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?*”
The book is split in to two parts, ‘Before’ the tragedy and ‘After’- I loved it that way. The transition between experiencing a Great Perhaps and dealing with it’s sudden loss was amazingly done. The plot however, was predictable, I was sure of what was going to happen in the first 50 pages and I was almost I was right when it came to the mystery. The emotions that came from these wonderful characters, were raw, they were real and they were beautiful.
The predictability made absolutely no difference to me, I loved this book. Loved it. It was incredibly written, some passages were so moving they literally took my breath away. (Usually this was accompanied by a clutch at the heart and the fighting back of tears.) I particularly enjoyed the final prank, while hilarious it was also heartwarming, a true homage to an incredible friendship.
John Green has the ability in both his vlog and his writing to completely captivate his audience. (Well, he captivates me, anyway.) I find myself being able to take his words, hastily paint it over real life and marvel and the wider perspective, so it’s no surprise I felt the familiar pangs of reminiscence when reading Looking for Alaska.
Quite suddenly, I was 17 years old again and at the beginning of my own adventures into experimentation and recreation.
I was me, he was him and we were about as messed up as each other. He was 24, a drug addict and I, much like Alaska was hell bent on self destruction. I was a lot like Miles, too; finding adventure in at-the-time dangerous activities but all the while, trying to find a comfort in the void of misery I inhabited.
He captured the loss perfectly, having been there myself round about that age, I felt most of the emotions the characters did. There was no resolution for them in that respect and I don’t think there ever really will be.
I was me, he was him and we were about as messed up as each other. He was 24, a drug addict and I, much like Alaska was hell bent on self destruction. I was a lot like Miles, too; finding adventure in at-the-time dangerous activities but all the while, trying to find a comfort in the void of misery I inhabited.
He captured the loss perfectly, having been there myself round about that age, I felt most of the emotions the characters did. There was no resolution for them in that respect and I don’t think there ever really will be.
Green evidentially didn’t forget to be awesome when he wrote this book and if his others are half as good as this one they can be nothing short of great.
Rating: ★★★★★
*straight and fast.
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