Dying Young

I am indifferent about how I feel about this one. I liked the writing, the story, but the delivery of the conclusion.. not so much.

Dying Young is a novel narrated by the torn-between-two-lovers, Hilary. There is Victor, her boyfriend for quite a while, who is dying with leukemia. Then there is Gordon, the new fresh man that makes Hilary second guess her relationship with Victor. It is about two affairs; Gordon being a secret.

How do you break somebody’s heart when they’re already dying? Who does she really love, care for? Who does she want to stay with? That’s the question.

Let’s start with the positive things. I really liked the premise of the book. It seems overdone, but the way the author wrote it, it seemed fresh and more complicated than usual. The author writes perfectly. His style is poetic and lyrical, I really enjoyed reading his words. And in every end of the chapter, he leaves you with this lingering feeling of either surprise, hope, or just plain sadness. I also really liked all three characters. You get to know them more in every single chapter you read, and you find yourself rooting for each of them. It’s not often you find characters you like all at the same time.

Now, the negatives. ::may contain spoilers:: I really thought that Estelle’s character was pointless. I’m sorry. I could have lived without her haha. Also, Victor’s father was a bit pointless as well. I know his purpose in the story and all, but nothing really happened. No resolution whatsoever, at least in my opinion. The ending left me feeling wanting for more, and I guess for some people they see this as a good thing. Sometimes, it can be a good thing, but I just didnt feel like it was in this situation. It was a little bit too ambiguous for me.

Can you believe I’ve never watched the movie though?