A 1999 coming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky written in an epistolary format voiced by a 15 year old high-school student. It opens up with the introduction of the main character, Charlie’s friend, Michael, who dies by suicide. With a reaction that is mildly denoted but is reflected in the journey Charlie gets on as the book progresses, as he started as a freshman on a different note without a friend catalyzing most of the events in the story.
The book highlights themes that reflects individualism and what makes up an individual like identity, mental health, and character traits. It also expresses interactions that ingrain in a person’s selfhood like friendship and community.
Charlie develops a tasteful relationship with some of his seniors in school and they end up being major parts of his connection despite his introspective nature. He even has a romantic attraction for one of them, Sam, who out of sweetness doesn’t mock or look down on him, instead guides through romance and is gentle about it. Charlie even ended up dating someone, regardless of how it went, it was a pleasant crop up in the story. There were other relationships that Charlie had like his undying love for music (inanimate) and the way he consumes it reflectively. Must be mentioned is his teacher that kept handing him literature in a bid to improve Charlie’s writing also made this story very wholesome.
The dynamics in his family is also extensively talked about. Charlie is from a family of five with him being the last of the three children. His brother is in college on a sport scholarship and rarely around. His sister was mostly navigating high school love or whatever looks like it and was present only as an irritable, uninterested sibling in Charlie’s life, though, towards the end they interacted in a more bittersweet way. His father is described as mostly a solid pillar for the family and not one likely sensitive or expresses his sensitivity, while his mother is more of a submissive character though overflowing with emotions prefers to be silent. Even the extended family members had their very unique characteristics, some pleasant, some grumpy, but seemed to be bonded by familiar love.
The story is written as letters to someone Charlie trusted, so it allowed him to bare his soul presumably completely and also gave us a chance to see beyond his quietness and get a view of what goes on in his mind. At the same time the layers beyond what was in his letters were astonishing, things he wasn’t even aware of. It gives a good picture of the deeper working of mental health.
The book explores other experiences like homosexuality, teenage pregnancy, romance, relationship, self-worth, mental health, substance abuse, music, sexual abuse and trauma.
The book is the kind of book that lets us know more about a person that would be easily ignored, a wallflower, and I find that delightful. At the same time, the book didn’t make the wallflower hungry to be seen or to become someone else, instead they had their own loving community that just allowed them be their own quiet introspective, reserved self comfortably.
If you are especially at ease with a story that is more reflective than dramatic, this is definitely the book for you.
