Tuesday, January 17, 2012

So long, farewell, Auf Weidersehen, goodbye...

Well, this is it folks... The final post. 


The time has come for me to move back into my flat, fully unpack the pack and go back to work. As much as I've loved the adventures of the past year, I'm actually quite looking forward to life back in the slow lane here in Sydney.


I meant to finish this blog in 2011, right after I returned to Australia from India, but life got in the way. Since then I've enjoyed a great Christmas in Brisbane (hello Unsworths!) and spent two weeks around New Years in the South Island of New Zealand.


Time spent in Christchurch for my cousin's wedding was filled with lovely family catch ups, plenty of laughter and an excellent night of dancing! Despite the occasional "shake" in Christchurch, not to mention the attack of a nesting falcon in Hanmer Springs (how's the head Marlene?), my time in New Zealand was the perfect end to what has been a year of incredible learning experiences for me.


"We can travel wide, but that of itself will not fundamentally change us. 
For our lives to change we must travel deep." 
Marianne Williamson 'The Gift of Change'


To those many, many wonderful individuals I spent time with in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, USA , India or New Zealand during the last year -  I will never forget you. Thank you for helping me to 'travel deep'.


To those of you who joined me in spirit via your computer screens - I hope you enjoyed the journey. Traveling alone, though incredibly self indulgent, can be a little lonely from time to time. Knowing I had a few loyal readers waiting for the next post really inspired me to put down my kindle and write. Thank you for your readership and virtual company, I really did appreciate it.


To the Ronkson clan - thanks for all the love, support and accommodation you have provided me with during the last year. It has been an honor and a privilege to observe the secret, laughter-filled workings of your gorgeous family from up close.


To Mum and Dad - thanks for trusting my judgement and supporting my wanderings even when I visited (or remained in) places you would have rather I'd avoided. Thanks for stopping after the third email asking me to leave Syria. Thanks for not having a stroke when the Department of Foreign Affairs called you in the middle of the night. Thanks for everything.


To the Department of Foreign Affairs - thanks for nothing.

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Fault in Our Stars

This post is a first for me. A post totally dedicated to the review of a single novel.

It may seem strange for an obsessive book lover like myself not to have written more about books on this blog, but I have firm beliefs in this area. In many ways I see my devotion to certain books as analogous to others' devotion to religion and when it comes to discussing religion, I have certain rules:

1. It is not OK for you to try to convert me.

You are of course free to express your love for a particular deity, or explain the myriad of ways in which a particular belief system has exponentially improved your life, in my presence - just as I am free to walk away, or change the topic, after 5 minutes.

2. I have to be tolerant of your beliefs, provided they are not translated into actions that harm anyone, just as you have to be tolerant of my beliefs (or lack there of).

3. Any detailed outline (ie: lasting more than 5 min), of your particular belief system should only ever be provided upon request.

I genuinely believe that the world would be a significantly better place if we all followed these three rules. I try very hard to follow these rules myself in relation to my own religion (great books) and that is why I have not previously written at length about any novels on this blog.

So why break the precedent now?

Well, just as I would expect to hear about the second coming of Christ despite not being a practising Catholic, I feel the need to share the arrival of John Green's latest novel, 'The Fault in Our Stars' (TFiOS) with everyone, whether they be devoted followers of the religion of great books, or not.

Full disclosure (in keeping with rule number three), I am now going to write in detail about what has recently become my new favourite book in the world. I will not, of course, be spoiling any major plot points in this post but, as you have not requested this information, I must allow any readers who are not interested to walk away now with no hard feelings.

So, now that that's done, on with the show.

Though he is instantly recognisable to all inhabitants of Nerdfighteria, it occurs to me that many of you may have no earthly idea of who John Green is. To rectify that here is a brief biography courtesy of the book jacket for TFiOS :

John Green is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author whose many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz Honor and the Edgar Award. He has twice been a finalist for the La Times Book Prize and previous novels include 'Looking for Alaska', 'An Abundance of Katherines', 'Paper Towns' as well as 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' with David Levithan.


With his brother, Hank, John is one half of the Vlogbrothers (youtube.com/vlogbrothers), one of the most popular online video projects in the world. You can join John's 1.1 million followers on Twitter (@realjohngreen) or visit him online at johngreenbooks.com


John lives with his wife and son in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I can highly recommend all of John Greens novels, my favourite up until a few days ago was 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' which he wrote with David Levithan.

One of the reasons you may not have heard of this exceptional author is that he writes Young Adult Fiction. That is to say that the central characters of his novels are young adults. This does not, of course, mean that you have to currently be a young adult to enjoy his novels.

I have always found the writing of John Green to be a beautiful tapestry of elegant phrases, sophisticated themes and gut busting humour. His characters are so flawed and intelligent that their verbal exchanges remind you of the best conversations you yourself have had with great friends over the years. He writes banter better than any other writer I have ever come across.

And, in case you don't want to rely on my judgement alone, here is a quote from E. Lockhart, National Book Award Finalist and Printz Honor-winning author, whom I couldn't agree with more:

"John Green writes incredible, honest truths about the secret, weird hearts of human beings. He makes me laugh and gasp at the beauty of a sentence or the twist of a tale. He is one of the best writers alive and I am seething with envy of his talent."

Yet for all the love I have for John Green's previous novels, comparing them to 'The Fault in Our Stars' is unfair. It is like comparing a three dollar bottle of Passion Pop to a three hundred dollar magnum of french champagne.

So what is TFiOS about? The story is told from the point of view of sixteen year old Hazel. Here is the blurb from the book jacket:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.    

It takes a particular kind of genius, in my opinion, to write a novel where the central character has a terminal illness and yet the story is not depressing. Quite simply, I ADORE this book.

I read this novel, within a few hours of purchasing it, at a food hall, on a train before finally finishing it on the couch at my sister's home. John Green made me laugh out loud and cry several times in public during that afternoon.

The writing in TFiOs is like exceptionally high quality chocolate. It is so delicious and addictive that you want to savour it and inhale it at the same time. To paraphrase from the novel, "I want this story to become a person so I can take it to Las Vagas and marry it".

In keeping with rule number one, I am not going to try to convert you to reading 'The Fault in Our Stars'.  I'll just say that I have read more than 70 books in the last 12 months (thank you year off work!) and none has come close to moving me as much as this glorious novel.