Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

Title: Truth and Beauty
Author: Ann Patchett
Genre: Nonfiction, memoir
Publisher: Harper, 2004
Source: Personal copy
Read for: Alex Awards Challenge, New Adult Challenge

Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met when they were working on their undergraduate degrees, but they became friends in their master's program, as they ended up rooming together in a cheap apartment due to their shared background. However, what started was an epic friendship, close as family, colored by their writing, their love lives, and Lucy's never-ending battle with her face, which was disfigured as a result of childhood cancer and made every day a struggle to eat, as well as coping with the reactions of other people. This is the story of that friendship, told from Ann's point of view.

I was already a fan of Ann Patchett's writing before I started Truth and Beauty, and it did not disappoint. Ann Patchett has a very readable and yet descriptive style. There is nothing straining about the style itself, although the subject matter is at times very heavy. Her writing is also addictive, meaning that I finished this book in less than 24 hours. Several of those hours transpired during a bout of pregnancy-induced insomnia, in which I probably could have gone back to sleep after an hour but stayed up for three reading.

The story itself is also compelling, for several reasons. First of all, for me at least, it is interesting to learn about the lives of successful writers and how they reached that point. As someone who occasionally toys with writing (although for the most part it all just goes onto this blog or into a personal journal), I was very interested in the day-to-day life details of these two successful writers. Second of all, much of the book takes place during Ann and Lucy's twenties. It has been bemoaned by many other book bloggers that there is a paucity of books taking place in college and about characters in their early to mid twenties, and I agree that it is a problem. Because I am in my mid-twenties now, I loved reading about other people and their experiences, despite the fact that they are different than mine. I think there is a common element of struggling to find one's identity and purpose no matter what the circumstances of one's life, and it is usually illuminating to see what others' experiences are. Finally, the relationship between Ann and Lucy itself is very unique and compelling.

I have to preface this by saying I found Lucy a dynamic and compelling character, one who had dealt with considerably more than most people. Diagnosed with cancer at a young age, she had lost most of her jawbone and teeth and was constantly undergoing reconstructive surgeries. She was unable to eat most food and was constantly stared at by others. In addition, her treatments had left her in a state of permanent debt. As someone who has worked with children who have cancer, it was interesting and heartbreaking to see the aftermath of the disease, when the individual is essentially cured by dealing with the side-effects of those cures for the rest of their life.

However, she was also a very difficult character to read about at times. She made very irresponsible decisions, frequently disregarded her friends' advice, continued to sink further and further into debt, and entered empty relationship after empty relationship with men, constantly seeking reassurance that she could be loved despite her facial abnormalities. Despite this, she was well-loved and popular, but no one cared for her the way Ann did. I loved the way Ann painted her clearly, showing her faults and weaknesses, while at the same time writing with unconditional love. She frequently refers to Lucy as her family, and it is clear that their relationship is one of family -- they helped each other through everything, even when it would have been easier to end the friendship and be around someone less needy or demanding. I think that is the true beauty of this book -- the ability to love someone imperfect, the ability to treat someone with patience and forgive them over and over again, the ability to see past someone's weaknesses to their truest, best self. There are so many heartbreaking images, so many acts of love, in Truth and Beauty.

While Truth and Beauty is not a story about romantic love, it is a love story -- a story about how to love in the purest, most unselfish form. Alternately frustrating, moving, and heartbreaking, this unique friendship spelled out in excellent writing is definitely worth reading.

4 stars

Warnings: Language, sensuality, graphic descriptions of surgery

YA Friday: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Genre: YA, contemporary
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 2012
Source: Library
Read for: Fun

Hazel has received a miracle treatment for the tumors in her lungs -- that is, a miracle in that it gives her a few more years. What isn't so miraculous is that eventually she will die from those tumors, and meanwhile she is dependent on a tank of oxygen. Her mother makes her attend a cancer support group, and it is there that she meets Augustus Waters -- one-legged, his cancer essentially beaten, witty and book-loving. As they get to know each other, they embark on an adventure that involves lots of reading, lots of feeling, and world-travel. And love.

I have been dreading writing this review for a few reasons. First of all, everyone and their neighbor has reviewed it already. And almost everyone liked it. There is little I can add other than my personal reactions. Second, I felt a lot while reading this book, but I don't know how to transpose that feeling into sensible prose. Not that any of my reviews are composed of sensible prose anyway. But I do try.

So I am going to be a lazy blogger and simply list what I liked and disliked for you. Starting with the dislikes, of course, so we can end in a happy place:

Dislike(s)
* Really, there is only one that stands out to me. I predicted the end of this book. And while initially it seems obvious what the end of the book will be, it actually does not end in an obvious way -- but I still predicted it. Which is always disappointing.

Likes:
* The cover. This designer clearly needs to get his/her fingers in more projects, because this was nicely done.
* The title. I'm sad that it is taken, really, because it conveys so much in such beautiful language that I would like to steal it for myself.
* John Green's writing. This was my first John Green book, so I had not yet experienced the snarky, quirky wit that is his trademark. I absolutely ate it up. It was delicious.
* The fact that it is a cancer book. I feel like I say this every time I talk about cancer books -- I don't like cancer, and I wish it was obliterated. But I like reading the stories of the people who have experienced it, whether they are true stories or imaginary stories. I guess it is just a morbid nurse thing.
* Hazel and Augustus did so much based on a book. I don't want to reveal exactly what they did, because discovering that piece of the story was one of the most enjoyable aspects of reading the book. However, I can say that I loved the fact that they shared this book and then made understanding it a huge priority -- one that they would literally travel thousands of miles to accomplish.
* Imperfection. Quite a few love stories, and young adult stories in particular, tend to over-romanticize falling in love. Sometimes I think all those books and movies are to blame for so many failed marriages and relationships -- expectations are raised so high that there is no room for imperfection. Other than the cancer that clearly had a dramatic effect on Hazel and Augustus's lives, there are other issues. Okay, actually, most of them stem from cancer. But there is the fact of past relationships, of not feeling well enough to spend time together, of not wanting to invest in a relationship when you feel like there is no point with a clock that is running out. All of those things were heavy and depressing parts of Hazel and Augustus's love story, but they didn't drown out the love. It was still powerful and encompassing -- I think it had more power due to its imperfections.

So overall, this was a well-written, enjoyable, and heart-rending story. Hipsters especially will devour it with vigor.

4.5 stars

Warnings: Language, intense sadness, a not-too-detailed bedroom scene

YA Friday: The Probability of Miracles

Title: The Probability of Miracles
Author: Wendy Wunder
Genre: YA, contemporary
Publisher: Razorbill, 2011
Source: Library
Read for: fun

So, that isn't the cover I read, but I liked it much more. Hence, there it is.

The Probability of Miracles is the story of Campbell, a Polynesian dancer at Disney World who is slowly dying of neuroblastoma. At the beginning of her illness, she made the Flamingo List -- a list of stupid, teenager mistakes that she feels she will never have the chance to make. After passing out in a parking lot and realizing that she has even less time than she previously thought, she goes at the list with full force. However, her mother and sister, Peri, have other plans. They drag Cam to a small town in Maine called Promise -- a town reputed to have mystical healing powers. And while Cam doesn't find her disease disappearing, she does find herself living life beyond what she thought possible -- and completing her Flamingo List.

So, I have this thing for cancer books. I think it is because I want to work with kids who have cancer. So far I've only worked with really young kids, and most books tend to be about either adolescents or adults with cancer, so I couldn't tell you if the books I read hold true or are useful in helping me relate to people with cancer -- I guess I just read them because I hope that they'll help eventually. Anyway, The Probability of Miracles was very different from your typical Lurlene McDaniels tearjerker. While Cam's disease is initially the primary plot-driver in the novel (if she didn't have it, she wouldn't be going to Promise, which is where all the action takes place), it soon takes backstage to the life she begins living in Promise. This, to me, was a very cool concept. Despite the fact that she had this all-encompassing disease, there was more to her life. Even before Cam and her family take off to Maine, there are all these bizarre, vibrant fragments of her life -- her life at Disney World, her complicated feelings about her weight (chubby before cancer, now with a perfect (aka cachectic) figure), her (similarly afflicted) best friend Lily. Once she gets to Promise, her life becomes even quirkier -- a house falls into her lap, she starts working at an animal shelter, she has an awkward encounter with a French foreign exchange student, she meets a lot of hippies, she sees flamingoes. It is all framed by the cancer, because it brings her to where she is, but it goes beyond it, which I loved.

I also (mostly) loved Cam. She is full of painfully sharp witty/cynical observations. There were two I particularly enjoyed, because they could have been mocking me:

Only 7 percent of people on the planet sleep on their stomachs, and stomach sleepers are vain, gregarious, and overly sensitive. Also small-breasted, apparently, because that position couldn't be comfortable with big boobs.

Never thought of it that way, but it's true.

Cam secretly loathed the nerdy couples who honeymooned at Disney World. It was like they were too immature to realizae that they were actually 'grown-up married' and not just 'pretend married,' going on a pretened honeymoon to the pretend countries of Epcot. Cam always wondered what happened to them when they got home and had to face the marriage realities of joint bank accounts and layoffs and health insurance and taxes and the fact that she always left the kitchen cupboards open and he would never in his life think about cleaning a toilet.

My husband and I did in fact go on our honeymoon to Disney Land. And Cam, facing the realities works out okay, but it is true that I always leave the kitchen cupboards open. However, yesterday we reached an epic victory, because after almost two years of marriage my husband cleaned our toilet for the first time. It was awesome.

Anyway, you see what I mean. She is hilarious and cutting. I also had some moments of being extremely bothered by her, however. There are several "stupid teenager" moments, and while I realize that is the point of the Flamingo List, I think it is possible to have a good, fully lived life without doing stupid things. I also was frustrated with the love interest aspect. There are definitely amazing moments in the relationship, but it was also muddied up with some serious stupidity. I'm not asking for a fairy-tale story -- this book is obviously not going to fall into that stereotype with its heavy subject matter. However, at times my irritation with the characters surpassed the normal, "Isn't love frustrating?" experience of watching characters figuring out how to be together and morphed into, "This is like watching a train wreck."

However, the end of the book was basically perfect, which allows me to forgive many moments of frustration. It was also unique, snarky, and engrossing. I had too many moments of annoyance to give it a solid 4 stars, but it came pretty close.

3.75 stars

Warnings: Language, some sensuality, some drug use