m-s-s

4.2/5 I really enjoyed rereading Looking for Alaska, for two reasons. One, there are so many connections to be made between this novel and John's newest book, The Fault in Our Stars, which just happens to be one of my favorite books and so those were fun to make. A few that stood out most to me were the Colonel accusing Alaska of "living for pretentious metaphors". (view spoiler) Another was Miles saying (view spoiler) Sound familiar? I do like that sentimentality, and apparently John does, too. The book ends with a paper that summarizes a relationship and what was learned from it, much like TFIOS ends in a similar letter. I know there are more but besides the obvious- (view spoiler)- I'm currently drawing a blank. The other reason is when I first read this book- five?! How is that possible?!- years ago, I tried to romanticize the relationship between Alaska and Pudge/Miles. This time around, I could see it for what it was. Takumi expertly sums up how I feel about Alaska and Miles when he says, (view spoiler) The first time I read this I was like, "Wow Takumi, harsh! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEIR LOVE." Now, while I think that part of his rant could have been sparked by some jealousy in Takumi, I also see that it's far from false. Miles does not really understand Alaska and doesn't want to. If Alaska is upset, or moody, or doesn't feel like explaining all her problems in depth to Miles, he gets frustrated and standoff-ish. He doesn't put much effort into trying to understand where she is coming from and what motivates her actions. She is a beautiful, elusive enigma he enjoys chasing. She is exciting and "different" from the other girls he has met, and therefore he must pursue her. Alaska tells him, "You never get me." Bingo. But that is part of why she is totally Miles' dream girl. If she was single, head over heels for him, and he completely understood her thoughts, feelings, motives, dreams, fears, etc., I can't bring myself to believe Miles would still be interested. And he seems scared of the fact she is not always complacent and happy and care-free. At one point he comments that Alaska is crying but she was making a joke like, several hours earlier, and how can that be?! Girls confuse. No sense. Feel two things?!?!??? Alaska also tells him, "Don't you know who you love Pudge? You love the girl who makes you laugh and shows you porn and drinks wine with you. You don't love the crazy, sullen bitch." To which Miles actually admits this is true! And yet I let myself be blinded the first time I read by the desire for romance. It reminds me of the quote about not deserving someone at their best if you can't handle them at their worst. Miles thinks about sexual things a lot. Like how many layers are between his body and Alaska's. He counts layers about seven thousand times throughout the story. And it turns out he would be one of the guys posting #NotAllMen tweets, with this particularly eye-roll-worthy dialogue: "This is what can happen to women, Pudge. That woman is someone's daughter. This is what you make us do for money." "Well not me," I said defensively. We get it, Pudge, you are not part of the problem and so instead of addressing the fact that there is an issue, you instead defend yourself. Okay so maybe I'm a little harsh on Miles but mostly I think he is aloof and selfish, yet I don't totally hate him. He reminds me of a lot of the guys I knew in high school, and I think it's important to write realistic characters, even if they aren't necessarily worth liking. (Not to say he's 100% realistic... most of the guys he reminds me of weren't reading biographies and memorizing last words for fun.) Above all, he isn't especially malicious, and therefore I think he will grow up to see things differently. This kind of main character would probably make me feel animosity towards the author if I didn't know so much about John Green. I believe Miles might be similar to John when he was a teenager in some ways (at least in their kissing abilities; John made a video about his excessive use of tongue while kissing when he was younger, and Alaska comments that Miles should use more lips and less tongue. Just an observation). By now, I would say John definitely shares Alaska's views on women and the patriarchal system, not Miles'. And he's said before he does not try to perpetuate the idea of chasing the manic pixie dream girl, but rather presents that idea and then crushes it. I personally believe he does this. Others do not. I guess that's a matter of how you read the books. A few other little things. Now that I watch vlogbrothers on a regular basis, reading this novel made me awkward at times. It was kind of like listening to your favorite uncle telling a story, and occasionally bringing up blow jobs and porn. I never felt that way reading TFIOS, but in LFA, I just kept picturing John writing/saying these things and I physically blushed because of it at least once. It was very strange. I found I loved the Eagle, Lara and Alaska a lot more this time around, while coming to pretty strongly dislike Miles, feel some fond annoyance for the Colonel, and I just wish there was more Takumi 'cause I love the guy. In short, I enjoy this story a lot and I'm glad I reread it! It always pulls me in and alternately makes me laugh and cry, think deeply and just enjoy the ride. This is barely a review, more just a summary of my thoughts and feelings after reading this book a second time, but here they are nonetheless.

2022-10-21 05:51