I love bildungrosman/ coming-of-age books and a good one is really hard to come by, which is why I was so happy that I read Looking For Alaska by John Green. This book reminds me of The Catcher of the Rye, for some reason. Perhaps both fall under the coming-of-age category with elements of juvenile delinquency and both are so well-written, in a different way, of course. Yet this book is more than that. You can only read it to know better.
Miles Halter, a sixteen-year-old high school boy, leading a life of boredom at his school with practically no friends, the kind of boy you might call geeky as he sure is. He has a thing for famous last words and loves reading biographies to find out lives by these exciting people. Motivated by the poet Francois Rabelais's last words "I go to seek a Great Perhaps", he decides to leave home to start his boarding school life in Alabama, hoping to start seeking a Great Perhaps life ahead of him. What follows is a journey of finding meaning of life, friendship and more self-discovery with a bunch of other amazing characters like Alaska, Colonel, Takumi and Lara. Each character has very strong personality that exudes teen charisma that is hard for you not to like. Alaska is wild, self-destructive, moody, enigmatic yet highly intelligent, very likable and influential and she loves playing pranks. The story revolves mostly around her and how the other characters come to terms with their inner guilt by "unraveling her mystery". She is the kind of girl that you never get her and like she says, "That is the whole point." Colonel is Alaska's best friend, also Miles' roomate and the bromance that they strike up at the later part of the story is one of the best parts of the novel. So what is the great perhaps that Miles is looking for and whether or not he's found it and what would that be is up for the readers to ponder upon after reading it.
It is a beautifully-written story, peppered with so much dry humour that makes you laugh out loud. It is also intense and heart-wrenching at the same time. It has everything a good novel has - a mixture of everything yet so relevant, which makes the story all the more gripping. There are so many quotable quotes that will leave you think about even after a long time reading it. The conversations between the characters are witty, funny and so authentic and they don’t at all sound like ignorant, angst-ridden teenagers and there is always something you can relate to in their experiences.
There is so much goodness in this book that I don’t even know how to start nor where to end. There are a lot of heart-felt moments in this book where you would close your eyes and give it some thoughts before moving on. Also, it explores aspects on how some world religions bring out their respective message to the world and how it can or cant be achieved. Miles' answer to the question posed by his world religions teacher, which was initially asked by Alaska, as to how will one ever get out of the labyrinth of suffering is perhaps the Great Perhaps he's been looking for all this while? Or perhaps not now but somewhere later in his life where the Great Perhaps may come in different shapes, sizes and manifestations. Whatever it might be, it must have something to do with beauty.
It is a great read and definitely deserves a re-read for me to discover more Great Perhaps!
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