Last week I told you I was reading to explore feeling as an element of setting. I didn’t get to the poetry part of my reading but I did finish the novel: The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green.
If I am being completely honest, I stopped reading with purpose very early on, as I was enjoying reading the story so much, but I did pick up on a few elements.
For those who don’t know the story, it is a love story which starts in a cancer support group for kids. Hazel is terminally ill but in limbo thanks to her drug regimen, and Augustus had bone cancer which cost him his leg.
The reason this is important is because feeling in the book was often about the impact of illness: Hazel can feel discomfort in a location based not only on the place but on her physical symptoms at that time.
We are led as readers to think about physical bodies in different ways throughout the book – the Literal Heart of Jesus, which is where the support group meets, the tickling in Hazel’s nose as she breathes in the oxygen from her tank, the crooked smile of Augustus, the elements people have lost due to treatment. Importantly, though the characters have a high degree of charm and intelligence and a verbosity above that of most teenagers they are ‘normal’, if such a thing exists. They are people who happen to have or have had cancer. It is part of them but not them.
I don’t feel this book will help with the elements of setting I want to develop but I do think the thematic device of exploring the physicality of a scene is another way to approach the subject which is new to me.
It is also a great example of how to write characters who come to life for the reader. I have never read a book with so many jokes about illness and its consequences, and the reason it works and doesn’t offend is because the characters are so genuine and you can truly imagine the slightly unnerving banter being accepted in this group. It is very cleverly done because however risky the jokes, the characters maintain their likeability. It’s a good example of how important the consistency of a character is for the effective telling of stories.
I may refer back to this book when I focus on characters.
Happy reading,
EJ
🙂
Becoming a writer 
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