Horse Slideshow aka How My Spare Time Is Spent

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Looking For Alaska by John Green (Warning: Spoilers... well kinda)

I just finished reading Looking For Alaska (yes, a nerdfighter that hasn't read it yet, I'm awful.) But I finished it in three days.
I am thinking: John Green, you are a pervert.
I am thinking: John Green, you are the most genius man alive.
I am thinking: This novel brings a whole new meaning to famous last words.
Green's writing style (it feels so weird calling him Green but that's what you do in an official review,) is deep as well as witty, and I admire the way his writing reflects his personality at some points, yet can also take on a personality of its own.
Francois Rabelais' last words were, "I go to seek a great perhaps." Miles "Pudge" Halter, who has lived in Florida his whole life, decides to go in search of his Great Perhaps by attending Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama that his father had graduated from. During his junior year, Pudge, who is obsessed with famous people's last words, meet his first real friends and does lots of new things, like smoking, drinking, and of course, pranking. Among these friends is Alaska Young, a beautiful, smart, funny girl that is a lot of fun to be around but can be moody and mysterious. Pudge and his friends have many good times and Pudge thinks things can't get any better. All of a sudden, in the middle of the year, a shocking and painful event shakes the entire school. In the remainder of the year, Pudge learns that even after a person is gone, you can still learn and benefit a great deal from their life.
Another thing that I really like about this novel is actually Green's perception of sex. I know this has been discussed in other reviews and in a vlog by Green himself (link at the bottom,) but I'll pretty much sum it all up here. Yes, there is a sex scene in the book, and it is awkward, emotionally empty and rather un-erotic. The point of the scene, as Green states, is to show contrast between that scene and the scene after it, in which there is not a lot of physical closeness but there is a strong emotional bond. The point was to show that emotionally empty sex is pointless, what really matters is that you love somebody, whether you have sex with them or not. This is just one of the wise thoughts Greens shares with us in this novel.
I highly recommend this read, though I would advise reader discretion, for previously mentioned reasons. Looking For Alaska is a novel that stays with the reader for longer than the time it took to read it. Among all of the novels I've read, this one earns its place on my hallowed "favorites" shelf, which at this point only holds the Harry Potter series, the Twilight saga, and Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse. Now I'm off to find a recipe for a bufriedo (Culver Creek's famous deep-fried burrito) and see if I can find more information on last words.

John Green's vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMPtYvZ8tM&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=747F0A378BC181C7

My research on famous last words:
George Harrison, dying from throat cancer, said to his wife and son, "Love one another." I think these are pretty awesome last words. He seemed not just to be saying them to his family, but to the world.

John Lennon's last words aren't as easy to track. He was shot four times outside his apartment in NYC. The deadly blow pierced his aorta, and he was announced dead on arrival at the hospital from blood loss. Once he was shot, he crawled up a few of the front steps of the building and said, "I'm shot." These are his last recorded words. Nobody's sure though. Some say he remained silent on the way to the hospital, but some say he was barely concious, basically asking what happened and where Yoko Ono, his wife, was. I honestly don't think this is a very cool ending, like some of the people Pudge quotes, but I researched it anyway.

Alex the African grey parrot was a very intellegent bird, that could count, sing, describe colors, tell what foods he wanted and even carry on conversation. He was a research bird at a university. His last words were to his handler, Dr. Irene Pepperburg, when she put him in his cage for the night. "You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you." He was found dead the next morning.

Humphrey Bogart's last words were simple: "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."

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