Pre-Script: I found this book while I was randomly browsing a books catalog...the few lines in there were eye-catching...this novel promised to be different...how often do you find a novel about a girl who is dead...who in fact, ended her life...but not before leaving her last words, for people to listen....whether they wish, or not!! And trust me, when I found the novel, I thought I have found something uncommon...only to realize, after I finished reading, this novel has been a big hit..has a completely dedicated site to it and soon releasing as a movie (a fan made trailer) too!!
Suicide, has always been a topic which raises few eyebrows....no one really knows why people kill themselves, or at least we never understand...somewhere most of us, have thought about ending our lives...killing ourselves...but then, it's just a passing thought...the same way we think about bunking a class (and the useless ones like me, generally just think about it, never able to do it in reality :( ) or like we think that we should start this business venture...definitely, death isn't a pleasant thought...so in the end, none of us know (other than those who have had a failed suicide attempt) as to what was a reason so big enough that they finally got the strength to end it all..the debate of whether someone who has it in him/her to end their life is a person full of courage or is someone who just isn't brave enough to face life....
This novel, is just an attempt to understand what leads someone to decide they have had enough of life...and no, I'm not praising this novel for justifying a suicide...in fact this novel, in my eyes, is a wake up call...a wake up call that seemingly (un)popular gals, the ones who r hyped, the one who have a completely active social life, are hanging on to life by a very thin thread...a thread which can snap by ever so little incident...It's the story of Hannah Baker, a teenage gal who has recently killed herself....It's the story of Clay, a guy who loved her, but just didn't have the strength to confront her...it's a story about their school, their classmates and their teachers...
A chunk of it is difficult to relate to...simply because Indian environment is a lot different from the western school environment (at least I haven't had that school life :) )....but then, a lot of it is actually identifiable...the confusions, the gossips, issues of heart, dreams, hopes, the thin line between right and wrong, blames and parties....there is so much in this novel...seemingly small incidents, the ones we don't even realize are happening, leaves an ever-lasting impact in few lives...
One thing, this novel stresses is, a suicide isn't the result of one massive upturn of life...it's more often than not a series of lil events...and probably all it takes to avert a person on the verge of killing themselves is a supporting shoulder...someone who can listen, someone who can accept...but worst of all, generally the one who is about to end it all, rejects all the support which comes to them...because in their eyes, they aren't worth it...a suicide isn't about someone who blames the world of their miseries, it is more often about a person who blames themselves for the miseries of the world...
Coming to the novel's narrative...it's a dual narrative, which is handled very well...the italics for the girl's voice in tape...normal font for the listening guy's actions and thoughts....13 people who the girl thinks should know about her story, because they had a part to play in it...a couple of stories weren't the ones who warrant attention...somewhere I missed the parents of the gals...they were in-existent in the story (though the boy's mom turns up...n she in fact leaves a friendly presence...) But then, in the end, I don't think the gal could justify her decision to kill herself (somewhere I wanted to see her alive at the end of the novel...wanted that as a shocking event...but nah, guess it wouldn't have worked well for the novel :| )
And other than a couple of people who the gals take a stab at, I couldn't find a problem with the rest...what they did, is probably what all of us to at some point in life...it's nothing conscious, it's just the human nature...maybe in the end the novel tries to leave you with the question if you can actually help the ones who decide to end it all...it definitely motivates you to...but is in check with reality, that maybe you can't...you can't help the ones who can't handle life...who either take all the blame, or just pass all the blames to the rest before ending it up all...
Give it a read, because it's different...because (for the likes of me) it hasn't been long since you've lived that life yourself...or because the people around you, the ones who matter to you are living this life...read it, because a lot of it is identifiable...read it to understand how seemingly worthless actions of yours can alter someone's life (even if that someone happens to be a gal who can make a mountain out of a mole!!!)
My Score...well 4/5 (you gain it all for the concept and the narrative...but you lose one because, well I just couldn't accept that all that happened in Hannah's life was an excuse good enough to end life!!)
Post Script:- I hope everyone who ever has or will read this novel, 'll end up believing that they are stronger than Hannah...that they are better and more determined than Clay...because in the end, a suicide affects the people around the victim way more than the victim itself...just to ensure you sleep peacefully, make sure; everyone who matters, who is reachable...is happy and sane...
