Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (Jesse Andrews)

Amusingly depressing, genuinely emphatic for someone who has her own set of esteem issues and lacks appreciation towards oneself.

Below are my own thoughts regarding the book. This time, I’m going to attempt to be as brief as possible, for everyone’s sake.

The not-so-subtle tone behind the protagonist going in full angst mode on what being in high school is like was so on point. This could also be applied on other scenarios as well wherein one is expected to become someone socially acceptable enough according to the norm’s standards. I’m loving how it can be easily deciphered as you read along, quickening the process of you moving onward for the next chapter.

Probably the only downside behind this are the plays included which serves as its intermission of some sort. Too bad it didn’t bring the impact I was hoping to receive because of the humor the protagonist has a knack for.

Greg Gainer is your introverted individual who prefers an invisible void all to himself to avoid the unnecessary trouble he might get into once everyone notices he exists. I do get where this guy is coming from though. To be precise, I’m awfully awkward around those who are unfortunate enough to cross paths with me. Which is why, I end up having only a couple of people to tolerate my so-called quiet side and befriend me for it.

It becomes indeed frustrating when you want to present a friendly demeanor to buddies and potential significant others along the way. You make amends through being an attentive listener in hopes to create a continuous conversation out of their topics. This sounds foolproof at first glance, but the more you try to be careful on not saying or doing a wrong gesture that might put them off, you end up with a dry response to fill-up the empty silence once they’re done talking. Story of my life.

One of the major characters of the story, she also happens to be another quiet fellow from Greg’s small circle of friends. Unlike him, she’s the invisibly awkward version of his persona if such term even makes sense. I like how she doesn’t try too hard on scenarios where one is normally flustered at the idea of not being able to come up with enough remarks on a conversation. Instead, she stays to her true self and would pay attention to what the other says and still can utter a response at the end of it all. It doesn’t matter how short the reply is, as she’s able to pull-off one that remains relevant to their flow of conversation all throughout.

The way this novel is written is a different experience compared to the previous books I’ve read from my past life. The very word to describe its style is spontaneity as the sentences aligned together are all a rush. Despite how unusual it may be for some readers, you’d let your intrigued mind continue and before you know it, the story’s finished.

No matter how pleased you are with the outcome of your craft, there’d always be a moment where your reluctance will put you to a stop to share your creations. It’s the same case with the protagonist and I as even to this day, I still struggle at gaining a confident composure towards my work as something worth it.

Judging his personality upon his character getting introduced, I’m suddenly reminded of a someone I’ve known briefly. He and Earl have this snarky side that speaks about the dude himself, I’m fascinated thinking how similar they are to one another. Not to mention their appearance, what with Earl being a wee bit small for his age and has a physique that contradicts it.

Isn’t it weird to think that as much as we’d like to think we got our life all sorted out, sooner or later, reality will come to remind us that we could never be prepared enough for what’s about to come as soon as we encounter an obstacle? Young, old or middle-aged, this hits us when everything seems to be too good to be true.

The biggest surprise from all those questioning we’ve been keeping ourselves busy with would eventually make sense in the end. For all we know, it may be something that we never expect we’d become good at, right?

luimaula