that's funny... i heard his voice almost the entire time. in both characters. it was like a female john talking to a male john in my brain. of course, this is also the first john green book i've read.
I've been so lax in my commenting but I watch your videos as you post them including this one. The thing I like about what you said about how he captures the reality of sick kids, both the joy and pain. In reviews I've read so far, not many people have commented on the really painful parts of the book - the descriptions of sickness and stuff - which are very very well done, I think. I'm so glad you touched on that. I look forward to hearing John's reading of the whole book.
I felt that it was really intelligent and well-written and I agree with your take about the emotions in it. I'm always a bit wary about reading books about illness/death/struggles, especially when they're about kids, because I think they tend to focus entirely too much on the sad and hopeless parts. In short, I didn't feel like TFioS was a (as John calls them) "cancer book", it was a book about two fully fleshed-out characters that just happened to have cancer.
Haha, is it weird I agree with everything you said. I can't say I knew or was close to anyone who was permanently sick, but his portrayal in the book still felt so honest. Like, there was a lightness to Hazel's world that reminded you that this was her life, but also the appropriate gravity of realism, which didn't, like, give too much power to that cancer. Didn't personify it by adding layers and layers of metaphor. It felt very tangible, very real.
The only thing that bothered me about the book was that it took me well over 100 pages to like the male protagonist. He was too wordy, too philosophical, and definitely the kind of person I could never, EVER date. He was so entirely my opposite that it really took a while for me to like him.
But, I guess that's part of the brilliance of it. He was incredibly well-written. The character was absolutely consistent, absolutely himself, through the entire book.
I noticed that John writes some of the things he's said in videos when I read Paper Towns back in the day, and then I noticed again while reading TFIOS.
I definitely heard some of John in Augustus too. The thing that bothered me was that the characters were not just smart, they seemed too smart. Overall, however, it was a really powerful book and a really great read.
@Teeftlis I like that they seemed too smart, my favorite books tend to have overly smart protagonists in them. It makes me feel like children are more capable than we imagine them to be, which is true we just often don't admit it to ourselves.
@themefund Yeah, that's a good point. I agree that we spend too much time talking down to children. Also, having intelligent characters does allow them to be more articulate and interesting, but it took somewhat away from the realism for me. I guess I have mixed feelings.
Also, the thing that I took away from this book; other than the fact that I keep getting bits of dialogue or scenes in my head randomly, is that there can be such beauty and humor and even joy in a person's death. Not in the act of them dying, but in the way that it book-ends their life and how important those minutes of life inbetween the brief moments of birth and death really are.
There is no need to fear death, because of all the life that proceeds it.
There was one part when Hazel was yelling, that was totally in John's voice for me, which made the moment a little less intense. But by the last handful of chapters, Hazel and Augustus each had their own voices.
Hazel was very John sometimes in her snarky comebacks, but it didn't take away anything form the book at all.
It took all of me to keep from flipping to the end to see what happened. I didn't, but I was sorely tempted.
@akalaynee I almost always have that struggle against waiting to get to the end. I always want to know what is going to happen to characters, especially when they are basically in constant peril throughout the book.
@themefund I did mostly because I wanted to know if John did what I thought he might. Which he did and I was right, but I didn't know that until later. I just know, that plot-wise, I would have done the same thing. I had those suspicions even before I read it, so I was extremely tempted to find out if my theories were correct or not. Wow this is vague when I'm trying to be non-spoilery.
@akalaynee I didn't give in to my desire to check the back of the book, and I'm glad I didn't. I was honestly surprised when what happened happened. I SHOULD have seen it coming, but it was also like 3 in the morning and I was in an airplane flying home after a long long weekend, so my brain wasn't at 100%
I loved TFiOS. It really is a moving story. I only heard John read the first two chapters but while reading the book I couldn't get John's voice out of my head... It was extremely awkward towards the end when they were in Amsterdam.
@zrzk yeah, that was the most I heard his voice in it for sure. Thankfully I didn't listen to my audio book version first, because it is so good and dynamic it would have been impossible to hear anything BUT John after listening.
@sn4kp4k well, yeah, that's a bit unavoidable. It's actually one reason I went impulsive and bought the book in the airport rather than simply waiting for it to get here from DFTBA.
When it's read on the page (without having listened to it previously) it really has a voice of its own. It's like watching the movie prior to reading the book, you'll ALWAYS see the characters as they are in the movie when reading, unless you read it first... dot com.
@themefund HA i get jokes. but yeah i still dont have a hard copy. my friend has 2 and i have to basically buy one off of her and i didnt want to wait. I DID wait until a day after i got it to listen to it but it was too tempting
@stude444 as I said, there were parts where I heard his voice in it, but most of the book had its own voice. Certainly MUCH more than his previous work where ALL I could hear was John. Not that I disliked those books, or that they were written in John's voice, just that this one stood apart from those in a way that was refreshing.
@themefund Hazel I mean, I heard certain parts in Johns voice, usually quotes and lines I had heard John say in video's, or just things that sounded like something he would say. Which makes sense since he wrote it, so yeah. Good book, rock on.
I'm not sure I would say it's real.
Actually in many parts it felt fake.
The whole Augustus character.. the fact that they meet Van Houten, the fact that he comes to gus's funeral.... it's all too unrealistic.
theOman333 1 week ago
u have a new sub :) !!! i liked ur review !!
hectorste1 2 weeks ago
also, production note: if you're going to bob back and forth that much, you should definitely close your aperture a bit.
fecklessman 3 weeks ago
that's funny... i heard his voice almost the entire time. in both characters. it was like a female john talking to a male john in my brain. of course, this is also the first john green book i've read.
fecklessman 3 weeks ago
I've been so lax in my commenting but I watch your videos as you post them including this one. The thing I like about what you said about how he captures the reality of sick kids, both the joy and pain. In reviews I've read so far, not many people have commented on the really painful parts of the book - the descriptions of sickness and stuff - which are very very well done, I think. I'm so glad you touched on that. I look forward to hearing John's reading of the whole book.
splicegrrl 1 month ago
i have to finish reading huck finn for my english class first....TFiOS is just sitting on my desk tempting me right now. :(
textbookbrooke 1 month ago
I felt that it was really intelligent and well-written and I agree with your take about the emotions in it. I'm always a bit wary about reading books about illness/death/struggles, especially when they're about kids, because I think they tend to focus entirely too much on the sad and hopeless parts. In short, I didn't feel like TFioS was a (as John calls them) "cancer book", it was a book about two fully fleshed-out characters that just happened to have cancer.
Speilbilde 1 month ago
@themefund
This is really great man, your turning out to be one of my favorite youtubers and I'm so glad I found your channel:)
TheRastaDugong 1 month ago
Haha, is it weird I agree with everything you said. I can't say I knew or was close to anyone who was permanently sick, but his portrayal in the book still felt so honest. Like, there was a lightness to Hazel's world that reminded you that this was her life, but also the appropriate gravity of realism, which didn't, like, give too much power to that cancer. Didn't personify it by adding layers and layers of metaphor. It felt very tangible, very real.
spawnofjaws 1 month ago
The only thing that bothered me about the book was that it took me well over 100 pages to like the male protagonist. He was too wordy, too philosophical, and definitely the kind of person I could never, EVER date. He was so entirely my opposite that it really took a while for me to like him.
But, I guess that's part of the brilliance of it. He was incredibly well-written. The character was absolutely consistent, absolutely himself, through the entire book.
talkahuano 1 month ago
I noticed that John writes some of the things he's said in videos when I read Paper Towns back in the day, and then I noticed again while reading TFIOS.
hangingwithNadine 1 month ago
@hangingwithNadine I sometimes wonder which came first: the video, or the written book version.
themefund 1 month ago
@themefund Same here. Too bad it's nearly impossible to pinpoint.
hangingwithNadine 1 month ago
I definitely heard some of John in Augustus too. The thing that bothered me was that the characters were not just smart, they seemed too smart. Overall, however, it was a really powerful book and a really great read.
Teeftlis 1 month ago
@Teeftlis I like that they seemed too smart, my favorite books tend to have overly smart protagonists in them. It makes me feel like children are more capable than we imagine them to be, which is true we just often don't admit it to ourselves.
themefund 1 month ago
@themefund Yeah, that's a good point. I agree that we spend too much time talking down to children. Also, having intelligent characters does allow them to be more articulate and interesting, but it took somewhat away from the realism for me. I guess I have mixed feelings.
Teeftlis 1 month ago
Also, the thing that I took away from this book; other than the fact that I keep getting bits of dialogue or scenes in my head randomly, is that there can be such beauty and humor and even joy in a person's death. Not in the act of them dying, but in the way that it book-ends their life and how important those minutes of life inbetween the brief moments of birth and death really are.
There is no need to fear death, because of all the life that proceeds it.
akalaynee 1 month ago
There was one part when Hazel was yelling, that was totally in John's voice for me, which made the moment a little less intense. But by the last handful of chapters, Hazel and Augustus each had their own voices.
Hazel was very John sometimes in her snarky comebacks, but it didn't take away anything form the book at all.
It took all of me to keep from flipping to the end to see what happened. I didn't, but I was sorely tempted.
akalaynee 1 month ago
@akalaynee I almost always have that struggle against waiting to get to the end. I always want to know what is going to happen to characters, especially when they are basically in constant peril throughout the book.
themefund 1 month ago
@themefund I did mostly because I wanted to know if John did what I thought he might. Which he did and I was right, but I didn't know that until later. I just know, that plot-wise, I would have done the same thing. I had those suspicions even before I read it, so I was extremely tempted to find out if my theories were correct or not. Wow this is vague when I'm trying to be non-spoilery.
akalaynee 1 month ago
@akalaynee I didn't give in to my desire to check the back of the book, and I'm glad I didn't. I was honestly surprised when what happened happened. I SHOULD have seen it coming, but it was also like 3 in the morning and I was in an airplane flying home after a long long weekend, so my brain wasn't at 100%
themefund 1 month ago
I loved TFiOS. It really is a moving story. I only heard John read the first two chapters but while reading the book I couldn't get John's voice out of my head... It was extremely awkward towards the end when they were in Amsterdam.
LadyJessika1 1 month ago
I see you put the book in the background for us folks with wandering eyes
jpoloh 1 month ago
I heard the first two chapters in John's voice, just because I had heard him read them so many times. The rest of it was all Hazel.
zrzk 1 month ago
@zrzk yeah, that was the most I heard his voice in it for sure. Thankfully I didn't listen to my audio book version first, because it is so good and dynamic it would have been impossible to hear anything BUT John after listening.
themefund 1 month ago
i read it via john green audiobook so i quite literally read it in john green's voice
sn4kp4k 1 month ago
@sn4kp4k well, yeah, that's a bit unavoidable. It's actually one reason I went impulsive and bought the book in the airport rather than simply waiting for it to get here from DFTBA.
When it's read on the page (without having listened to it previously) it really has a voice of its own. It's like watching the movie prior to reading the book, you'll ALWAYS see the characters as they are in the movie when reading, unless you read it first... dot com.
themefund 1 month ago
@themefund HA i get jokes. but yeah i still dont have a hard copy. my friend has 2 and i have to basically buy one off of her and i didnt want to wait. I DID wait until a day after i got it to listen to it but it was too tempting
sn4kp4k 1 month ago
I still heard it in partly John's voice. That's just me though.
stude444 1 month ago
@stude444 as I said, there were parts where I heard his voice in it, but most of the book had its own voice. Certainly MUCH more than his previous work where ALL I could hear was John. Not that I disliked those books, or that they were written in John's voice, just that this one stood apart from those in a way that was refreshing.
themefund 1 month ago
@themefund Hazel I mean, I heard certain parts in Johns voice, usually quotes and lines I had heard John say in video's, or just things that sounded like something he would say. Which makes sense since he wrote it, so yeah. Good book, rock on.
stude444 1 month ago
a story that is...?
maankindj 1 month ago
@maankindj You must have seen the video before I added the annotation. Meant to say "A Story that is REAL"
themefund 1 month ago
@themefund
I was a bit impatient i guess sorry ;)
maankindj 1 month ago