I'll be infinite if you will.
I finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower today and really loved it.
The main character Charlie is really a sweet kid and despite my reservations, by the end of those 213 pages, I loved him completely. Chbosky's style is reminiscent of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, which I hated. So I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story, the writing and how deeply I was able to relate with Charlie when Salinger's protagonist, Holden, had been so completely out of my reach.
After finishing the book I went on a hunt for academic articles and reviews, but found few on the actual content beyond page 31 (which details a date rape Charlie witnesses as a young teen) and the censorship battle. What I had really been looking for was a psychological breakdown of Charlie. I pegged him as bipolar pretty early in the book and wanted to know if others agreed. From the reviews I read his mental illness was off-putting and some readers were disappointed that Chbosky didn't let Charlie stand as just a unique individual, but had to add in manic depression.
But since, especially now, I can identify with his depression, if not the corresponding mania, I didn't mind and it just added another level to my emotional investment in Charlie's well being. His experiences as a freshman in high school echoed a strange mixture of my own memories of freshman year of college and stemming all the way back to the seventh grade.
Charlie's nature as a wallflower lends him to introspection and understanding which he voices well in his letters sent to an anonymous "friend". By the end of the novel he's reached new truths about himself and his relationships with others.
"Please believe that things are good with me, and even when they're not, they will be soon enough. And I will believe the same about you." It's a beautiful sentiment and NEWS FLASH -- I AM A CLOSET SAP.
I also went to see Sherlock Holmes today and it was AWESOME and GAY. I went in assuming I would ship Holmes and Watson. RDJ, Jude Law and Guy Ritchie did not let me down.
Don't get excited now. Pft, I'm not excited, I'm just vibrating out of my seat with fangirl joy and a side order of squee.
ETA: I just learned that Jude Law has a Rorschach tattoo on the inside of his arm. WIN.
The main character Charlie is really a sweet kid and despite my reservations, by the end of those 213 pages, I loved him completely. Chbosky's style is reminiscent of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, which I hated. So I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story, the writing and how deeply I was able to relate with Charlie when Salinger's protagonist, Holden, had been so completely out of my reach.
After finishing the book I went on a hunt for academic articles and reviews, but found few on the actual content beyond page 31 (which details a date rape Charlie witnesses as a young teen) and the censorship battle. What I had really been looking for was a psychological breakdown of Charlie. I pegged him as bipolar pretty early in the book and wanted to know if others agreed. From the reviews I read his mental illness was off-putting and some readers were disappointed that Chbosky didn't let Charlie stand as just a unique individual, but had to add in manic depression.
But since, especially now, I can identify with his depression, if not the corresponding mania, I didn't mind and it just added another level to my emotional investment in Charlie's well being. His experiences as a freshman in high school echoed a strange mixture of my own memories of freshman year of college and stemming all the way back to the seventh grade.
Charlie's nature as a wallflower lends him to introspection and understanding which he voices well in his letters sent to an anonymous "friend". By the end of the novel he's reached new truths about himself and his relationships with others.
"Please believe that things are good with me, and even when they're not, they will be soon enough. And I will believe the same about you." It's a beautiful sentiment and NEWS FLASH -- I AM A CLOSET SAP.
I also went to see Sherlock Holmes today and it was AWESOME and GAY. I went in assuming I would ship Holmes and Watson. RDJ, Jude Law and Guy Ritchie did not let me down.
Don't get excited now. Pft, I'm not excited, I'm just vibrating out of my seat with fangirl joy and a side order of squee.
ETA: I just learned that Jude Law has a Rorschach tattoo on the inside of his arm. WIN.