The perks of being a wallflower

Author – Stephen Chbosky

Publisher – MTV books

First published – 1999

Rating – Wow

I’m convinced I’ve read a modern classic. A book riveting in all it’s pages and a bombshell at the end.  These lines will stay with me forever “we were infinite”, “We accept the love we think we deserve”. This is a story of triumph of the human spirit and the exercise of free choice in navigating the labyrinth of life.

Charlie is an introvert all seeing teenager with few friends until he takes up with a bunch of seniors.  Written as letters from Charlie to an anonymous friend telling him/ her about his day, can’t help but be taken in by the raw honesty. But why is this honesty only in his letters? Why not with his family or his friends?

In the beginning, I found it strange that his family had hardly any time for him when he wanted to talk or be with them.  Sister with boyfriend, mother with cooking, father with game on TV, brother with game on field! And therein I thought lies the problem – that there is no one in the family the child can talk to! However this scenario is stated pretty matter of fact in the book, like it is one of those things of growing up.

 Anyway to the story, Charlie finally feels part of a gang and has a social life. He has friends he sits at lunch with, goes to a local hangout place with, exchanges gifts with, is invited over to parties and has his first girlfriend. Which complicates matters because Charlie is in love with Sam who is older and is going out with another guy. Mary Elizabeth, Charlie’s girlfriend is opinionated and is of the opinion that only her opinion counts. That is what Charlie thinks until they break up and she starts going out with another equally opinionated guy and they constantly differ and argue on their opinions. Sam opens

his eyes to the fact that he needs to participate in life around him instead of just watching and being there for people as they would like him to be. To be true to oneself and one’s friends. So when Patrick, Charlie’s gay friend and Sam’s stepbrother kisses Charlie when he is heartbroken because of his relationship breakup and Charlie lets him even though he does not like it, Sam tells him he was not being a good friend to Patrick because he was not true to himself.

Towards the end of the academic year as Sam is about to leave for college, Charlie and Sam get together after a bitter breakup for Sam with her boyfriend. However as they initiate physical intimacy, Charlie breaks out in sweat. He does not know the reason since he has been in love with Sam since he saw her and while he passes out he dreams of his aunt Helen touching him the same way as Sam had.

This is the turning point in the story and the reader now has a concrete reason for Charlie’s introvertism, passivism, violence at times, depression etc. Aunt Helen was Charlie’s mother’s sister. She was molested as a child and had quite a few unhappy relationships. His mother gave her a place to stay in her home and she used to watch over the children whenever the parents went out. She especially loved Charlie and always bought an extra present for Charlie on his birthday. The day she died in a car accident, she had gone out to buy Charlie’s extra present.

The breach of trust inside the family with a defenceless, innocent young one is tragic. As a parent of two small little girls, it is frightening for me. I don’t know how to and from whom to protect my little ones. The thing I vouch to do is give time and listen to my young ones.

However, for Charlie, he does not want to let the incident with aunt Helen dictate his life. He decides to choose the course of his own life and not be tied down to what happened in his past. He signs off his last letter “please believe that things are good with me, and even if they are not, they will be soon enough.”

I cannot get stats on and intellectualise this topic. It touches a chord too close to home.