Vinayak S

This review is solely subjective, as the young adult genre is just not my thing. I found the main character, Miles, annoying. The story begins with him being rude/ungrateful to two friends who turn up to bid him farewell before he leaves for boarding school. At boarding school he gets associated with people who are chain smokers, then falls for a popular girl who is no good for anyone, who chain smokes, has little to no regard for authority, cheats on her boyfriend, plays immature pranks, etc. To me, the characters were flat, and their character development was little to non-existent. Every 10-12 pages, they are taking a smoke break or guzzling down pints of vodka, retching, all of that to stretch the plot of a novel which otherwise could have been a short story. Green tried to be relatable to teens but limited cigarettes, booze, sex, raging hormones and being a rebel as the definite attributes of an archetypal teen. Just after going through the first few chapters, the plot becomes super predictable and dreary. A friend of mine recommended LFA to me with great fervor. Had expectations, but it fell short of an okayish read.

My first introduction to James Baldwin. Initially I also thought this novel was going to be my first from the "gay fiction" category, but as the novel progressed I felt it's not really about homosexuality; irrefutably it is a component in the story, but not a central theme. The characters just happen to be gay, and the book focuses on the lives of those men. In contrast to present day fictions about or on the representations of minorities, which sometimes, if not always, kind of feel rushed or pushy, this book actually shows the lives of men deeply affected by their sexuality and their shame and conflict and struggle. The fate of Giovanni was sad; it made me think of the somewhat similar fate of Camus's protagonist from his "The Stranger". The composition of this novel was great. Baldwin, despite having complex themes and symbols, managed to make this book flow effortlessly. Even though it was written in the 50s, it is truly a timeless novel.