A Book A Week - Week 9: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

This week's book:
    The Perks Of Being A Wallflower     by Stephen Chobsky

Grade:
    A    

I picked this novel because I remembered it had been made into a movie last year and I figured it had to be newer than the stuff I've been reading, novels usually published before I was born.  Turns out The Perks of Being a Wallflower was published in 1999.  So... not all that recent.  I'm trying, man.

I knew nothing about this book and I have not seen the movie.  When I turned to the first page and discovered that this was an epistolary novel I howled long and loud.  I was alone in my house at the time so no one was alarmed but I did kind of hurt my own ears a little.  To understand my howl you have to understand that I detest epistolary novels (a story told in letters, the kind you put in the mailbox).  Hate 'em like I hate broccoli, and I really, really, really hate broccoli.  But I had already committed to this one so I started reading.

I actually like this book.  Quite a bit.  Yeah... surprise, surprise, surprise...

My first measure of how much I like any book is how much it engrosses me.  How much I lose myself in it.  After I got over my initial loathing of stories told by correspondence, I found I liked Charlie, the main character.  Liked him a lot.  Cared about him, worried for him, cheered for him when he had little victories and felt bad for him when he had setbacks.  I became invested in him.  Mr. Chobsky drew me in and closed his web around me.

It is a coming-of-age story, a boy discovering why he is the way he is and that he is not alone in his dysfunction.  Which means the story could be trite and it could be tedious.  It was neither.  The cast of characters is deep and varied, and each of them were distinct and recognizable.  From a metaphorical perspective I could pick out each character's place in Charlie's psyche (yeah, I went that far) and how they influenced his development as the story progressed.  I don't know if this was what the author intended, but the narrative supports that analysis so the author's intent is secondary in this.

Stylistically I found the narrative a little grating at times, but it's supposed to be written by a fifteen-year-old boy, so no harm, no foul there, mission accomplished.  It's probably very difficult to constrain yourself as an author to the vocabulary and perspective of a teenager, but this author does a very good job.  The main character is supposed to be a little weird, different from his peers and prone to more self-introspection, which allows the author to get away with description and insight far beyond a fifteen-year-old's capacity.  Or at least beyond mine when I was fifteen.
   The story moved at a good pace, the plot points and reveals seemingly discovered by accident, which displays a very refined technique.  Nothing felt forced, nothing felt indicated, nothing felt tacked-on.  I really have no complaints there, which is unusual for me.

I definitely recommend this book for anybody.  A fifteen-year-old boy probably isn't going to have the patience for it, but he's probably the one who needs to hear its message the most.  Give it a read.



Next week:
   Pound Foolish     by Helaine Olen
    Non-fiction this week.  'Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry.'  Suze Orman, I have a feeling you're in the crosshairs...