The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a deeply moving novel that tackles the complexities of life, love, and mortality through the experiences of two teenagers, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, both of whom are living with cancer.
It stands out for its raw honesty, capturing the fragility of life while maintaining a delicate balance of humour, hope, and anguish.
Green’s storytelling is layered with profound reflections on existential questions like the fear of oblivion, the meaning of life, and the lasting impact of love. The novel doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of illness, but instead, it presents these challenges through the lens of personal growth and the importance of human connection.
It’s not just a story about cancer, but rather a story about how we live in the face of inevitable loss.
The Fault in Our Stars reverberates because it reminds us that love, however fleeting, is transformative and that life, even when short, can be meaningful when shared with those who truly understand us. It’s a testament to the power of relationships and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of life’s most difficult challenges.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a poignant exploration of life, love, and mortality. Through the lens of two teenagers—Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, both battling cancer—Green delves into the fragility of human existence and the resilience of the human spirit. This review of mine offers a personal perspective on the book’s most valuable takeaways.
Plot Summary
Hazel Grace Lancaster is a 16-year-old girl battling thyroid cancer that has metastasized to her lungs. At her mother’s insistence, she attends a support group for cancer patients. During one of these meetings, she meets Augustus Waters, a charming 17-year-old currently in remission from osteosarcoma, which resulted in the loss of his right leg. Augustus is there to support his friend Isaac, who is coping with eye cancer.
Hazel and Augustus connect instantly, sharing a mutual understanding of their struggles. They agree to exchange their favourite books: Augustus gives Hazel a copy of The Price of Dawn, while Hazel introduces him to An Imperial Affliction, a poignant novel about a girl named Anna who is also facing cancer. The book resonates deeply with Hazel, mirroring her own experiences.
However, Augustus becomes frustrated upon finishing it, as the story ends abruptly, leaving Anna’s fate uncertain. Hazel explains that the book’s reclusive author, Peter van Houten, has distanced himself from the world after its publication and hasn’t been heard from since.
A week later, Augustus surprises Hazel by revealing that he has managed to locate van Houten’s assistant, Lidewij, and initiated an email exchange with the author. They both send their questions about the novel’s ambiguous ending, and van Houten eventually responds, stating that he will only address Hazel’s inquiries in person. To Hazel’s delight, Augustus plans a picnic where he presents her with tickets to Amsterdam to meet van Houten, courtesy of a wish-granting organization reminiscent of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, known as The Genie Foundation.
When they finally meet van Houten, Hazel and Augustus are taken aback by his unkind demeanour and heavy drinking.
Disillusioned, they learn from Lidewij that she arranged the meeting in good faith and decides to resign from her position. In an attempt to lift their spirits, she takes them to the Anne Frank House, where Hazel and Augustus share their first kiss, marking a significant moment in their relationship. Later that evening, they express their love for each other and share an intimate experience in Augustus’s hotel room.
However, the following day brings devastating news: Augustus’s cancer has returned. After their trip, his condition worsens, leading to a hospital stay in the ICU. In a heart-wrenching moment, Augustus invites Hazel and Isaac to his pre-funeral, where they deliver emotional eulogies.
Tragically, Augustus passes away shortly after, leaving Hazel devastated.
To her surprise, van Houten attends Augustus’s funeral to apologize to Hazel for his earlier behaviour. In a poignant twist, Hazel discovers that Augustus had written her an eulogy. It expresses his belief that pain is an inevitable part of life, but we have the power to choose who we allow to hurt us.
He reveals that he was content with his choice and hopes Hazel finds peace in hers as well.
The narrative concludes with Hazel reflecting on Augustus’s words, affirming her gratitude for the love they shared.
Characters
Hazel Grace Lancaster
Hazel is a 16-year-old college student battling lung cancer. She grapples with depression, fully aware of her mortality. For her, being famous or widely loved pales in comparison to being true to herself and experiencing deep, meaningful love, as she understands that oblivion is an unavoidable part of life.
Augustus “Gus” Waters
Gus is a 17-year-old boy who has survived cancer but has lost a leg due to his illness. He carries a pack of cigarettes as a symbol of his emotions, seeing it as a metaphor for his struggles. Gus desires to leave a lasting impact and be remembered after his death. He had a girlfriend named Caroline who died from a brain tumor, and Hazel reminds him of her.
Isaac
Isaac is 17 years old and attends the same support group as Hazel due to his eye cancer, which has left him blind. His character adds depth to their shared experiences in facing illness.
Peter Van Houten
Peter is Hazel’s favourite author, known for writing her cherished book, An Imperial Affliction. However, he reveals himself to be a troubled alcoholic with no intention of continuing the story of his characters. He lost his young daughter to leukaemia, which deeply affects his perspective.
Patrick
Patrick is the unconventional leader of the support group that meets at a church. He has a history of battling prostate cancer and offers a unique, if quirky, perspective on their struggles.
Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster
Hazel’s parents play crucial roles in her life. Mrs. Lancaster is often overprotective and aspires to become a social worker, currently working towards her MSW. Mr. Lancaster is employed in real estate.
Mr. and Mrs. Waters
Gus’s parents provide support and encouragement, often filling their home with inspirational messages. Gus’s father, who shares an understanding with Hazel about their “quirky” children, plays a supportive role in his son’s journey.
Lidewij Vliegenthart
Lidewij is the assistant to Peter Van Houten and is pursuing a PhD in American literature. She plays a vital role in facilitating communication between Augustus and Van Houten. After Gus’s passing, she finds and shares his letters with Hazel, helping to connect them even after his death.
9 Takeaways
1. Life Through the Lens of Illness: The Fragility of Existence
One of the most striking aspects of The Fault in Our Stars is how it presents life through the eyes of young people dealing with terminal illnesses. The book doesn’t romanticize illness; rather, it offers a raw, unfiltered view of what it means to live with cancer.
Hazel and Augustus are not defined by their diseases, but they are profoundly shaped by them.
Hazel’s battle with cancer has made her reflective, and deeply aware of the fragility of life. Early in the novel, she makes the distinction between being a cancer survivor and simply living with cancer. Her observation that “depression is a side effect of dying” encapsulates the existential weight she carries.
Green’s portrayal of Hazel’s internal struggles is authentic, making readers question their relationship with mortality and the fragility of their own lives.
Life is fragile, and illness brings an acute awareness of mortality that often leads to profound reflections on what it means to truly live.
2. Love and Connection Amidst Suffering
The relationship between Hazel and Augustus serves as the emotional core of the novel. Their love is not your typical teenage romance. It is shaped by the knowledge that their time together is finite. This sense of urgency gives their connection a weight that is deeply moving.
Green illustrates how love can bloom even in the darkest moments, with humor and sincerity.
Augustus’s desire to be remembered and Hazel’s reluctance to cause pain by leaving a “scar” on those who love her present a complex and mature exploration of love amidst the shadow of impending death.
Their relationship reflects the idea that love, in its truest form, is not about forever but about finding joy and meaning in the present.
Love is transformative, and its power is not diminished by the awareness of loss or suffering. Rather, it thrives in the moments of connection, no matter how fleeting.
3. The Struggle for Meaning: Facing Oblivion
One of the book’s most recurring themes is the struggle for meaning in the face of oblivion.
Augustus’s fear of being forgotten after death contrasts with Hazel’s acceptance of the inevitability of being forgotten.
Augustus wants to be remembered and make a mark on the world, while Hazel fears leaving an emotional burden on those she loves.
This exploration of legacy, memory, and the desire to leave something behind speaks to a universal human concern: the fear of oblivion. Green’s use of Peter Van Houten’s fictional book An Imperial Affliction—which ends abruptly—mirrors the unpredictability of life itself. The book-within-the-book emphasizes the incomplete and often unresolved nature of life and death.
The quest for meaning and the fear of oblivion are central to the human experience. How we reconcile these fears determines how we approach life and death.
4. Humor as a Coping Mechanism
Despite the heavy themes, The Fault in Our Stars is filled with moments of humour.
Hazel and Augustus share a dark, irreverent sense of humour that often serves as a coping mechanism. Whether it’s Augustus’s metaphor of carrying an unlit cigarette in his mouth to symbolize his defiance of cancer or their mockery of the cancer support group, humour lightens the emotional load of their struggles.
This balance of humour and tragedy is one of the novel’s greatest strengths. Green allows his characters to laugh at their situation without belittling the gravity of their experiences.
The humour feels organic, a natural extension of the character’s personalities and their way of dealing with pain and uncertainty.
Humour can be a powerful tool for resilience, allowing us to face difficult realities without being consumed by them.
5. The Reality of Illness: No Sugar-Coating
Green refuses to sugarcoat the reality of living with cancer.
The novel does not shy away from the physical and emotional toll of the disease. Hazel’s reliance on her oxygen tank, Augustus’s prosthetic leg, and Isaac’s impending blindness are constant reminders of their fragility. There’s no miraculous cure at the end of the novel, no fantasy of overcoming the disease.
In a particularly heartbreaking moment, Hazel reflects on the nature of illness, stating, “Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost everything is, really.” This line is one of the most powerful in the book, encapsulating the inevitability of death and the randomness of illness.
In fact, in chapter one, he writes “Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying. (Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost everything is, really.)”
The reality of illness is harsh and often unrelenting, and while it cannot be ignored, it can be faced with courage and authenticity.
6. The Impact of Relationships: Family and Friends
The relationships in The Fault in Our Stars extend beyond Hazel and Augustus’s romance.
Hazel’s bond with her parents is a central aspect of the story. Her mother’s constant vigilance and her father’s emotional vulnerability are both testaments to the profound impact illness has on families.
One of the more touching moments comes when Hazel realizes that her mother has been secretly studying to become a social worker, preparing for life after Hazel’s death. This subplot underscores the depth of parental love and the sacrifices parents make, even as they grapple with the impending loss of a child.
Isaac, another cancer patient and friend of Hazel and Augustus, also provides a valuable perspective on friendship and loyalty. His story of losing his sight and dealing with heartbreak shows how pain and loss transcend physical illness.
Illness doesn’t just affect the individual but ripples through relationships, impacting family and friends in profound and lasting ways.
7. Mortality and the Ethics of Suffering
One of the most profound philosophical dilemmas explored in the novel is the question of suffering—whether it has meaning, and how one should confront it.
Augustus is obsessed with living a life of significance, believing that a meaningful life requires one to leave a legacy, while Hazel sees the inevitability of pain as a part of life that must be endured.
Peter Van Houten, the reclusive author of Hazel’s favourite book, symbolizes the complexity of suffering. His own experience with loss has left him bitter and cynical, yet his words still resonate deeply with Hazel.
Through him, Green explores the idea that there is no single correct way to deal with pain and that suffering doesn’t necessarily lead to enlightenment or growth.
Suffering is a part of life, but it doesn’t necessarily have to define us. Each person must find their own way to cope with it, whether through seeking meaning or simply enduring.
8. The Illusion of Control
A recurring motif in the novel is the idea that we have very little control over our lives.
Both Hazel and Augustus struggle with this truth. Augustus’s cigarette metaphor—where he puts a killing thing between his teeth but refuses to give it the power to kill him—is a way for him to exert control in a life where so much is out of his hands.
Hazel, on the other hand, has come to terms with the idea that control is an illusion. She understands that her illness is something she cannot control, and this acceptance is what allows her to live her life with a sense of peace, despite the uncertainties of her future.
The desire for control is natural, but ultimately, life is unpredictable, and peace can only be found in accepting this uncertainty.
9. Literature and Storytelling: Finding Comfort in Fiction
Books and stories play an essential role in Hazel’s life. An Imperial Affliction is her personal Bible, a story that reflects her own experiences in a way no other book can. The novel within the novel serves as a metaphor for the idea that stories can offer us solace, even if they don’t provide all the answers.
She talks to Augustus, “There will come a time, when all of us are dead. All of us.
There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after.
And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that’s what everyone else does.”
The unresolved ending of An Imperial Affliction frustrates Hazel, much like the uncertainty of her own life, but it also reflects the imperfect nature of existence. Green uses literature as a way to explore how stories, even incomplete ones, can shape our understanding of life and provide comfort in moments of confusion or despair.
Stories can offer us understanding, comfort, and connection, even when they don’t provide clear resolutions.
Best 20 quotations from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green:
1. “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”
2. Maybe ‘okay’ will be our ‘always’.”
3. “The world is not a wish-granting factory.”
4. “You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”
5. “My thoughts are stars I can’t fathom into constellations.”
6. “That’s the thing about pain, it demands to be felt.”
7. “I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”
8. “Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.”
9. “It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”
10. “Some people don’t understand the promises they’re making when they make them.”
11. “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend.”
12. “I am in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.”
13. “You realize that trying to keep your distance from me will not lessen my affection for you.”
14. “You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you.”
15. “That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”
16. “The marks humans leave are too often scars.”
17. “Funerals, I had decided, are for the living.”
18. “The real heroes aren’t the people doing things; the real heroes are the people noticing things, paying attention.”
19. “I’m a grenade and at some point, I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?”
20. “You say you’re not special because the world doesn’t know about you, but that’s an insult to me. I know about you.”
Film Adaptation
The film adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was released in 2014, directed by Josh Boone. The movie closely follows the novel’s plot, focusing on the love story between Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old cancer patient, and Augustus Waters, a charming boy she meets at a support group.
Both characters grapple with love, life, and death, with humour and honesty, while facing the challenges of terminal illness.
Key details:
⦿ Cast: Shailene Woodley stars as Hazel, while Ansel Elgort plays Augustus. Both were praised for their performances, capturing the emotional depth of the characters.
⦿ Critical Reception: The movie received positive reviews for its faithful adaptation of the novel, strong performances, and emotional impact. It was praised for balancing humour and sadness, much like the book.
⦿ Box Office: It was a commercial success, grossing over $300 million worldwide on a modest budget of around $12 million.
⦿ Soundtrack: The film features a popular soundtrack, including songs by artists like Ed Sheeran, Charli XCX, and Birdy, which helped enhance the emotional moments of the story.
The movie brought John Green’s beloved novel to a broader audience, retaining its poignant themes of love, loss, and the search for meaning in life.
Dil Bechara 202
Dil Bechara (2020) is an Indian romantic drama directed by Mukesh Chhabra and features Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi in lead roles. Loosely inspired by John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars, the film tells the poignant story of Kizie Basu, a young woman battling cancer, and her journey of love and loss alongside Manny, a carefree and charming boy who also grapples with his own health challenges.
Set against the backdrop of picturesque locations in India, the film captures the essence of youthful exuberance intertwined with the harsh realities of illness, making it a heartfelt tribute to life and love.
The film beautifully explores themes of hope, friendship, and the fragility of life, resonating deeply with audiences.
Conclusion: The Fault in Our Stars – A Reflection on Life’s Inescapable Realities
John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is a powerful meditation on love, loss, and the human condition. Through the eyes of two teenagers facing terminal illnesses, Green explores some of life’s most profound questions.
The novel is a reminder that life is fleeting and fragile, but within that fragility lies the potential for deep connection, love, and meaning.
It’s a story that lingers with readers, urging them to reflect on their own lives and the legacies they hope to leave behind.
