Recap: The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

We read this in May 2012, for our very first bookclub meeting.

• Some of us had read it already and had varying levels of John Green obsessiveness. Looking for Alaska, his first book, came up a lot as the title of his next to try, if new to his work.
• We discussed whether we surprised by the ending or if we'd seen it coming? If we saw it coming, did that affect how we read the book? Also talked about it as a tear-jerker but very very funny also.
• We talked about the great love story and also which of the supporting characters we found most interesting - Isaac, Kaitlyn, Hazel's parents.
• There was inevitably talk of cancer and death and mourning. People said some smart things here - about the public grieving on Facebook (for Gus's ex), the way the characters talk about cancer as part of them, the importance of the written word.
• Authorship and stories and truth came up a lot - both in relation to the fictional novel within the novel, An Imperial Affliction, but also the author's note at the beginning of the text.