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Hello, fellow bibliophiles who are finding their way out of the labyrinth of suffering.
"Cessation of desires means cessation of suffering."
As I said before, this excruciating feeling arises for no particular reason, hence to avoid a dilemma you may name it anything that is convincing and a plausible explanation.
As for me, I shall call it lack of independence, not that I don't have the ability to take up decisions myself, but the fact, I'm subservient to the-needless-to-be-named-people I owe and even the aforementioned human struggle."
P.S- I just created a tumblr blog, if interested follow.
Okay so I'm not good at book reviews and this shall get messy, it will.
Deal with that, you.
The first book of John Green that I read was, The fault in our stars, yeah the book that made many of you shed tears, however on the other side, I didn't find an appropriate reason to do so, considering the abhorrence that I'm filled with when I hear or read about love and romance. A romantic, rather cloying lovestory << those are the exact words that I used when people asked about the novel. Wait, before you start wondering, after such an experience how did this lady decided to read another Young Adult novel by the same author, I'd explicitly tell you one thing, I liked John Green's writing style, superlative might be the right word to define it. I'm that sort of a bibliophile, who will read a book that belongs to a genre she isn't fond of just because I like how the author is able to render a threadbare topic beautifully and interestingly with their astoundingly phenomenal writing skills.Basically it is all there in John Green's writing style, he possesses those prerequisite skills that are needed to render any romantic, mawkish or cloying story interestingly and that is what won me over.
I bought the book and while I was busy reading the Hunger Games' series, my cousin borrowed the book and once she was done, I asked her to review it and guess what, that woman didn't like it and that made me think the book might be another romantic-rather-cloying-lovestory by the author who is miraculous with words but now I'm wondering how come she didn't like it? 😳 With that being said, I was skeptic before reading it but as mentioned before, I was perpetuated to read it because of John's writing skills.
I bought the book and while I was busy reading the Hunger Games' series, my cousin borrowed the book and once she was done, I asked her to review it and guess what, that woman didn't like it and that made me think the book might be another romantic-rather-cloying-lovestory by the author who is miraculous with words but now I'm wondering how come she didn't like it? 😳 With that being said, I was skeptic before reading it but as mentioned before, I was perpetuated to read it because of John's writing skills.
So, one a Friday morning, I started off with the book and was done by the night. This line tells you how clasping the book is, once you start you can't put it down and this time it was not just the writing skills but the story, to be precise, it was Alaska Young. I read the book at such a perfect time when my feelings where synchronizing with hers', when she was finding a way out of the labyrinth of suffering. The book gave voice to my feelings, I could relate to it. Whatever I had been feeling in the past few days, it was all there.
"Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present."
The first thing that I can relate to.
I'm a person who is deeply sad, at many times without a reason and one thing that has kept me alive is future. Throughout my miserable life, I've always been planning and imagining the future, what job shall I do, where in the unfathomable world I would find peace and how I will leave behind everything and rejuvenate my life, far away from here. Now, after reading this book, I realize how, with all of this planning, I've unknowingly but deliberately build a labyrinth which I must escape, everyone has a labyrinth of suffering, what differs is how they plan to escape it, an eternal human struggle.
"I thought for a long time that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it did not exist, to build a small, self-sufficient world in a back corner of, the endless maze and to pretend that I was not lost, but home."
Here my insights are rather confusing and irrelevant,maybe, I at times think there is no way out of the labyrinth apart from the one Alaska thought, straight and fast, I've at many times had this incompetent and pessimistic thinking, suicide is the cessation to all of the sufferings but with age, as I grew to become a much powerful person who has a pragmatic approach to life, rather than the person who had idealistic and unrealistic thinking I realized, straight and fast might be a way out but, surely it is not a good or one.
After introspecting those perplexing thoughts, I've had an epiphany, there is surely no way out especially not the one Pudge thought, to forgive. You can't forget, not yourself and not even others for their misdemeanors even if that forgiving is for your benefit and freedom, it is not easy to let go. I alone can't do that, things create an impact in your life, forever and that is what makes forgiving a hard task, something that requires perseverance.
Okay, so what I'm saying is, yes I acknowledge the fact that the a way out is to forgive, yourself for messing things up and everybody else as well but since it is not so easy, I choose the labyrinth with this aspiration that one day I'll find an easier way out.
Why am I so knowingly self destructive? It's like I'm trying to ensure I can't escape from the labyrinth.
I confused this all thing up, folks just like my thoughts. 😳
Lets get back to the so called book review.
The story revolves around an emaciated but cute boy, Miles Halter who decides to join Culver Creek to seek a Great perhaps. The boy has got a fascination for the last words and is smart enough to memorize them. His roommate is Chip Martin, soon after their meeting, Chip who is himself known as the Colonel provides Miles his nickname, throughout the story the boys answer their respective sobriquets. Colonel introduces Takumi, a Japanese descent and Alaska Young, who in her own words is a deeply unhappy person, to Miles and this fraternity creates a strong camaraderie among the students. The story progresses, mostly centered on Pudge's life in Culver Creek and his growing admiration and attachment to the beautiful, emotional and mysterious, Alaska Young.
This group of teenagers play pranks, leaded by Alaska and Colonel who apparently master the field and are cunning enough to execute all of the plans remarkably and with bets, parties, studies and much more, John Green beautifully writes about the essential part of teenage life.
That is it.
Lets get back to the labyrinth part, which I've confused so much, God!
To make things explicit, I'll share something I wrote and then get back to the point.
"There is this one quirky feeling that arises and eventually surrounds you with an air of melancholy. Enunciating this fellow sentiment is quite hard, but I'll try to the best of my ability and verbalize it.
It is, the feeling of pensive sadness and desolation, now you may start wondering what's so unusual with this that it requires perseverance for somebody to put it into words?
I shall answer that.
Preposterously, this feeling arises with no obvious reasons or cause, other than the eternal human struggle, contentment. You know you're rather in a foul and depressive mood, but the reason as to why remains an enigma. You're uncertain how to proceed with this untamed feeling that provokes you.
When you start trying to solve this enigma, you start understanding life, you get to perceive this fact, in life you'll always struggle to achieve more and it is a basic truth of human condition, caprices in life makes it difficult to survive as you're always wanting more in a whim.
It is, the feeling of pensive sadness and desolation, now you may start wondering what's so unusual with this that it requires perseverance for somebody to put it into words?
I shall answer that.
Preposterously, this feeling arises with no obvious reasons or cause, other than the eternal human struggle, contentment. You know you're rather in a foul and depressive mood, but the reason as to why remains an enigma. You're uncertain how to proceed with this untamed feeling that provokes you.
When you start trying to solve this enigma, you start understanding life, you get to perceive this fact, in life you'll always struggle to achieve more and it is a basic truth of human condition, caprices in life makes it difficult to survive as you're always wanting more in a whim.
"Cessation of desires means cessation of suffering."
Stop desiring and appreciate everything, including yourself which may be a way out of the labyrinth.
As I said before, this excruciating feeling arises for no particular reason, hence to avoid a dilemma you may name it anything that is convincing and a plausible explanation.
As for me, I shall call it lack of independence, not that I don't have the ability to take up decisions myself, but the fact, I'm subservient to the-needless-to-be-named-people I owe and even the aforementioned human struggle."
That in a bewildering manner, to some extent, defines my labyrinth of suffering.
Okay, so I believe our labyrinth is made by us, maybe unknowingly, but we'll have to perceive this fact, self-deprecation, dysphoria and disappointments within ourselves is what build the labyrinth so maybe self-enlightenment is the way out.
Go seek your Great perhaps and if possible, forgive yourself for messing things up and others for messing the already messed up things, to get out of it, if you want to.
I've messed and confused this enough, let me end it so I do not further mess this, resulting in a predicament. 🐷
I'm not sure, if I'll ever get the chance to reading something like, Looking for Alaska.
Goodbye, bibliophiles.
P.S- I just created a tumblr blog, if interested follow.
Bold- Something and the only thing you can actually call a book review.🤡
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