WERMS
27) Looking For Alaska (John Green)
it pained,haha. yeah, seriously, i never thought it would tug at the soul and make me cry reading Looking For Alaska, because at first there’s my thought of the novel being so overrated. surprisingly, there’s still a knot of ache in my chest hovering there in that tiny space, and feeling for the collective hurts everyone must have felt for Alaska and for themselves in this book. i almost hated myself whenever i find myself crying with Chip and Pudge during their many breakdowns here. in the end, the ultimate question lulls: how does one really ever get out of the labyrinth of suffering?
this book made us all entered a place we are all familiar with: a world where friends pull crazy pranks on authorities, drink ambrosias that reeked of vodka or eat those awful bufriedos; a rendezvous where we take long drags on our cigarettes while we talk about our joys and mishaps and our dissing of those stupid Weekday Warriors, or sometimes, teach each other how to do blow jobs properly, among the many dirty stuff. and amidst this crazy world of friendships we build, we discover there are stories that need to be known about everyone. there are different level of faring through life that we have to do, a degree of suffering each of us has to endure. and inexplicably, we have this deep responsibility to each other that ties us together.
there are real life counterparts of Alaska, The Colonel, Pudge, Takumi, and Lara amongst us. that’s why John Green made a triumph of hitting it touchy as he tells the story. we find a hilarious and painful familiarity with these events, that’s why you keep crying about Alaska and rallied on with The Colonel and the gang during their pranks. in short, we met all these characters in our own version of highschool.
the book is bittetsweet. half-part happy and half-part sad. it left me missing the bunch after the last page is turned. it’s a breather. most importantly is the moral of the story. i learned that the way to get out of the labyrinth of suffering is just to be there, be present, and embrace The Great Perhaps. we have to forgive other people and ourselves too. because once you do, you’re through the maze smiling without even realizing it.
this book is a jem. it makes me crave for more of John Green in the future.
