Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now here’s another book that I shouldn’t have doubted.

Maybe I didn’t doubt it, but I certainly delayed reading it for some inexplicable reason. The Perks of Being a Wallflower came highly recommended and that’s probably why I kept finding reasons to read it later.

I realised I hadn’t bought a new book in a long time and decided that I would go on a book-shopping spree once and only once I was done reading all the unread books on my shelf. This one happened to be the last.

And I realised what a fool I’ve been because I loved it. The writing, the use of letters as a device for storytelling, and most of all, the letter writer, Charlie.

I could so easily relate to that constant stream of thoughts in Charlie’s head. Every awkward feeling, every bit of the overthinking. I recall writing in my journal and finding it as therapeutic as talking (or in Charlie’s case, writing) to someone. I often tried to guess who the recepient of the letters was. Or maybe it was a coping habit encouraged by his doctor. Surely, Charlie didn’t expect a reply. But what would he have done had he received a reply out of the blue?

I enjoyed how the author used pop culture references to drive the message home. When something like that translates on to the screen, you just know the scene is going to be magical. As a reader and a writer, I can tell you how good it feels when an author weaves your favourite book or song into his story and it means something to his characters. For me, that was Charlie reading To Kill A Mockingbird.

To have picked the quotes that I did as my favourites may sound cliché but they are so simple and brilliant and true that they just hit you and you’re never the same again.

Though I finished the book a day before writing this, I decided to watch the movie before writing a review. And that’s when I realised that Patrick was my second favourite character. I guess I already liked him when I read the book but Ezra Miller’s fantastic portrayal just brought it into perspective.

If you ask me, you should read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. You should read it because its story is universal in so many ways. You should read it because it quite simply captures the need to feel belonged, however unconventional you may be. Or how a song can make you feel like you are a part of something big. And mostly because…

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Have you read it? I would love to know your thoughts!

If you haven’t, you shouldn’t miss this one!

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