![]() ![]() An Imperial Affliction is a sacred book to Hazel she identifies with the heroine, Anna, who dies of leukemia, and is consumed with the desire to know what happens to the book’s other characters after it ends. Augustus, who qualifies for a wish through the loss of his leg, has arranged the trip so Hazel can meet her favorite author, Peter Van Houten Van Houten has agreed by email to discuss his only book, An Imperial Affliction, with them in person. ![]() ![]() Their relationship develops when they take a trip to Amsterdam, funded by the Genie Foundation, a fictional equivalent of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hazel’s cancer is terminal, and she doesn’t want to allow anyone besides her parents to become attached to her, knowing that they will suffer when she dies “I’m a grenade,” she tells her mother one day (99). Augustus pursues Hazel determinedly from the beginning, but she is hesitant to begin a romantic relationship, despite being deeply attracted to him. The two are attracted to each other immediately they share a bright, restless intelligence and a skeptical view of the insipid platitudes that adults use to whitewash the horrible reality of their diseases. Augustus, once a rising basketball star, has lost a leg to bone cancer, and Hazel carries an oxygen tank everywhere she goes because of thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. Hazel Lancaster, age 16, and Augustus Waters, age 17, meet and fall in love at a support group for teens with cancer. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |