I didnt enjoy this book as much as i had wanted to, and i found the writing style and structure to be somewhat tiring. Boasting a hero both likeable and credible and a comingofage tale rich in wit and pathos, chbosky has created a fantastically relatable story for the ages. The show like the perks of being a wallflower centers around connections made in a high school setting. The critically acclaimed debut novel from stephen chbosky, perks follows observant wallflower charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. What is the authors purpose in the perks of being a. It is should be read by older ages because of its explicit content. In the novel, charlies teacher, bill, assigns him various books to read. A tender novel about charlie, a mixed up teen who writes letters to anonymous person chronicling his first year of high school. The perks of being a wallflower is a deeply affecting comingofage story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant rollercoaster days known as growing up. Simon, schuster, and chbosky you can access fun links and book club tips for perks on the publishers website. A beloved debut that has become something of a cult classic, the perks of being a wallflower is an acute and affecting take on american high school life with all its attendant insecurities, hormonal dramas and romantic awkwardness. The perks of being a wallflower the suicide poem showing 128. Now a major motion picture starring emma watson and logan lerman.
The poem is not an original work of perks of being a wallflower. The perks of being a wallflower is a young adult comingofage epistolary novel by american writer stephen chbosky, which was first published on february 1, 1999, by pocket books. More sophisticated readers might object to the ripoff of salinger, though chbosky pays homage by having his protagonist read catcher in the rye. Charlies lists the perks of being a wallflower wiki. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate, and that you are the owner. Earl reum for writing a beautiful poem and patrick comeaux for remembering it wrong when he. The movie version of perks, which stephen also wrote, is being released nationwide in the us today, october 12th. The perks of being a wallflower the film based on stephen chboskys epistolary guidebook to adolescence opens today in wide release.
I read it at the right time in my life and it really resonated with me and was able to help me. The perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky books. Stephen chbosky does a marvelous job at genuinely capturing a perspective of high school life that is sometimes forgotten or overlooked, being a wallflower. Charlies life was never really dreadfully boring or fascinating, he was just an average person who didnt do much. Interview with stephen chbosky, author of the perks of. The perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky.
While weve made a list before of titles similar to perks, it seemed about time to revisit the topic and offer up some more titles, beyond the bestsellers style. Michael dobson the perks of being a wallflower wiki fandom. The perks of being a wallflower is a young adult comingofage epistolary novel by american writer stephen chbosky, which was first published on february 1. The perks of being a wallflower might as well come with a question mark at the end. At first, charlie is unable to understand the poem clearly, and he is unwilling to. The perks of being a wallflower is a 1999 book by stephen chbosky. The book could be considered to chbosky because it is taken place in pittsburgh. One of the more pleasant surprises on book riot readers top 50 favorite novels, at least for me, was the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky. I think this poem cant be analysed inside the context of the book, as in real life, there is no.
A generation appears to have adopted the perks of being a wallflower, and by extension its narrator charlie, stephen chboskys epistolary novel has something of a cult following, and the quotes that litter the internet seem almost anthemic, given the passion with which they are reblogged, quoted, slapped across artfully lightleaked. The perks of being a wallflower is a frequently banned title. Lets talk a little bit first about why the book is so. One of the most popular requests we see pop up here on book riot is for what books to read if you enjoyed stephen chboskys classic the perks of being a wallflower. I found some books that relate to the perks of being a wallflower. Patrick describes charlies wallflower nature at the end of part 1. Itd be hard for an author to forget something from his first book. Secondly, i greatly enjoyed this book and then the movie too thirdly, answering your question. Its like looking at all the students and wondering whos had their heart broken that day.
How to interpret the suicide poem from the novel the. In all honesty, i had no concrete clue of what the novel was about. Similar to most movie adaptations, not everything in the movie was parallel to that of the book. The perks of being a wallflower gave me a main character that i could relate to. Stephen chbosky published the book the perks of being a wallflower, which is also his first novel, at a very young age of 29. Stephen chboskys new film wonder, starring owen wilson and julia roberts is out now. What books are similar to the perks of being a wallflower. The perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky was published in 1999 by mtv books. He is very shy, but that all comes down to a mental issue that occurred because of something that happened when he was younger, which you will get the gist of later on in the book. Charlie says that around christmas eve, being his birthday, and christmas he always goes into a funk, because this was the time of year aunt helen died.
The perks of being a wallflower resources websites. The perks of being a wallflower ya edition by stephen. Buy the perks of being a wallflower book online at low. Well all this is true too for the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky, but just wait and you will find so much more. Tumblr this is a short book, but it is packed with some difficult and heavy subjects including suicide, domestic abuse, drug use, rape and abortion. Cummings, the mayor of castro street by randy shilts, a book by anne rice, and an autobiography of a woman who was a character in reds, most likely emma goldman. How to interpret the suicide poem from the novel the perks of being a wallflower.
I chose to add it to the list because i saw the movie in theaters when it came out and it looked like something i would. The book made the new york times bestselling comingofage nove l in about a year of publishing. The format in which chbosky tackles through this piece of work kept me guessing throughout the book. At exactly whom charlie is addressing his letters to. I was writing a very different type of book then, and in it, the narrator says, i guess thats just one of the perks of being a wallflower. On august 27, 2012 staffers were able to sit down with chbosky and discuss the characters of charlie, sam, and patrick. Thirteen years later it earned a movie adaptation and became an even bigger success, with stars emma watson, ezra miller, and logan lerman. The said poem 1, titled absolutely nothing, was a gift from micheal to charlie. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows charlie, an introverted observing teenager, through his freshman year of high school in a pittsburgh suburb. Suicide, molestation, domestic abuse, homosexuality, drug use, mental illness and abortion are parts of real life, and perks has done all. The perks of being a wallflower book by stephen chbosky.
Image result for the perks of being a wallflower source. In my own group of friends, people liked the movie or thought that it did an adequate job with the book. The perks of being a wallflower does not fall into this category because author stephen chbosky created this story, making a fictional account of events. According to the book, what are the perks of being a. It follows charlie during his freshman year of high school as he makes and loses friends, experiments with drugs.
Charlies lists the perks of being a wallflower wiki fandom. Com mash is a weekly newspaper and website that serves the chicagoarea teenager and written by teens. I read the perks of being a wallflower for the first time the summer before my sophomore year of high school and it quickly became my favorite book. Theres nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Wider issues raised by the book when sam and charlie kiss and become intimate a flood of repressed memories washes over charlie as he realises that his beloved aunt, the one member of his family who he felt closest to and understood him, molested him when he was young, and he has a mental breakdown. Published march 16, 20 updated march 16, 20 2 pages 457 reads. It isnt your average set out of a book charlie writes letters to an anonymous reader known as friend. There werent any huge glaring errors, but its not one of those mustsee movies of the year and there is a general agreement that the movie did not do the book justice. Michael just gave it to charlie and said he didnt know the author. The perks of being a wallflower is a novel written in the form of letters. I am currently reading the perks of being a wallflower. Chbosky is not just a great storyteller, hes a master of his craft. Deleted scene from the perks of being a wallflower. The perks of being a wallflower is a truly moving story about charlie, a freshman in high school, who is by no means popular.
About the author steven chbosky is a film director and the author of perks of being a wallflower. Perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky is the emotional story of charlies first year of high school. Charlie isnt unhappy, these letters are not pityseeking. The perks of being a wallflower introduction shmoop. Our main character, called charlie but he has changed the names of all the characters, is in high school and tells the tale of his penultimate year of school and how he makes friends with people in. It was left to the reader to interpret whether micheal wrote it himself or not which was later disproved that it was an old poem from the 60s. The novel details charlies unconventional style of thinking as he. Books to read if you love the perks of being a wallflower. What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from stephen chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a. I always wanted to make the movie, says stephen chbosky, 42, author of the beloved novel the perks of being a wallflower, but over the years, with the fan response to the book, that.
Aspiring filmmakerfirstnovelist chbosky adds an upbeat ending to a tale of teenaged angstthe right combination of realism and uplift to allow it on high school reading lists, though some might object to the sexuality, drinking, and dopesmoking. The result is a narrative which is both personal and unashamedly honest. The show addresses concerns such as who can one consider a friend or what makes someone a friend which is an issue that can also be found in the perks of being a wallflower through charlies relationships with the other students. How to interpret the suicide poem from the novel the perks of being.
The perks of being a wallflower quotes by stephen chbosky. And i realized that somewhere in that titlethe perks of being a wallflower was the kid i was really trying to find. First published in 1999, the perks of being a wallflower is a modern classic that captures the aching, confusing, and glorious experience of being a teenagerall through the eyes, ears, and letters of the books narrator, charlie. He committed suicide a year prior to the events of the novel. This is a poem from the book perks of being a wallflower which is also on the disc in deleted scenes from the movie. In 1999, author and director stephen chbosky published his award winning book, the perks of being a wallflower. Now a major motion picture starring logan lerman and emma watson, the perks of being a wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic. Growth and development in stephen chboskys the perks of being. From new friends, drugs, suicide, and abuse this story is a revealing look into a teenage boys struggle to just fit in during his first year of high school. The author, stephen chbosky, has plotted this story very well. He then proceeded to write a screenplay for the film in 2005.
1602 1652 1307 640 1524 503 489 1564 432 1119 215 1401 211 961 278 1423 1501 1359 549 1183 1214 1262 1266 507 1400 1591 916 671 847 1184 391 1574 1340 1419 1366 624 1500 777 1500 698 56 865 825 1052 321 1025 139