The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: A Review

I am done reading The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and it turned out to be one of my favorite books. First, I would like to commend the author for writing a book that really makes sense and a lot of people can relate to. Actually, I was embarrassed that I happened to stumble to this book just now. I wish I have read it sooner when I first saw it in a young girls’ magazine when I was still in highschool.

Format and Themes

The book is very easy to read (I finished it in two days). Conversational language is used but you will know that the work is not haphazardly or badly written. I found two typos in text, though. Moreover, the words were carefully chosen (maybe) due to the sensitive themes and issues tackled in the book. The book uses first person point of view and Anne-Frank’s-Diary-of-a-Young-Girl’s-style of writing, which allowed the readers to “participate” in the story.

The book discussed issues commonly-faced by U.S. teenagers in highschool like suicide, homosexuality, drugs, sex, teenage pregnancy, going to (not going to) college, etc. However, I think that teenagers anywhere can also relate to the issues as they are of global concern. The author cleverly discussed these issues with sensitivity and expertise. One of the good things about the book is the author’s neutrality towards the issues. Mr. Chbosky did not take sides on these issues or whether one is good or bad. I think that he valued his readers knowing that some readers may be gays or lesbians, teenage moms, feminists, or have a friend who committed suicide. The literature is just as sympathetic as its protagonist.

Comparison to The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace

When I was reading the book, yes, it reminded me of Holden Caulfield. It almost felt like Charlie is a descendant of Holden in this modern day. However, the two characters also have a lot of differences.

After reading the book, I made it a duty to read some book reviews and blogs to know the people’s perception of it. There are a lot of reviews that compared The Perks of Being A Wallflower to J.D. Salinger’s work. The writer did say that The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace were inspirations to the book and paid homage to these works of literature when these books were assigned to Charlie by his advanced English teacher to read.

There is no point in comparing the two texts because the works are both unique. And like the part in the book where the band Nirvana was compared to The Beatles, Patrick and Sam explained that the comparison with others is the problem why these bands lose their identity and distinguishable factor.  I still think that J.D. Salinger’s work is a paramount in the world of literature and is superior to this book because Salinger already (according to the book) “gave it a context.” Thus, by comparing Chbosky’s first novel to other works, the author loses his identity as well as the identity of his book. Moreover, I think those people who compared things (i.e. like this book) have not learned a thing and should reread the book.

A MUST Read

The book itself is a poignant work in modern American literature and I am seeing that many years from now, a lot of teens can still relate to Charlie or to Sam or to Patrick. The book shows reflections of the real issues faced by teenage kids nowadays, which are of vital importance. The characters just bare their souls to the readers and show their true nature (except for Brad) transcending the message that people may have similar experiences. I hope that many kids will read and understand this book. Then maybe, just maybe, it will change them somehow.

There are a lot of things that you will learn from this book. However, I must admit that I still do not know what Charlie meant when he said that “he feels infinite” no matter how many times I have read the passage. I guess I will only know when I happen to drive through the same tunnel with the radio turned on.