Book Log #6 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Review: 5/5 stars

“I want you to know that I am happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be,” says Charlie, in the first letter of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The novel is a touching exploration in self-discovery, struggle and youth. Charlie’s narrative is most striking; a young boy suffering in silence, he keenly observes those around him and is consistently fascinated by the way others react to and cope with struggle. Subconsciously, he is attempting to make sense of his own trauma.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been officially banned in many schools. This was due to its sexual content as well as the presence of alcohol use and drugs. However, I believe the author used these vices to lead us to discern Charlie’s naiveté – we are encouraged to sympathise with him, not look up to him. It’s not about the ‘sexual content’ or ‘glorification’ of alcohol and drugs, but what they implicitly represented for Charlie and his growth. In terms of self-expression and issues of mental health, I could think of various ways this novel would be a useful basis for discussion.

Written in epistolary form, all of Charlie’s opinions come through candid, honest, and most refreshing. His voice is incredibly endearing, as he ‘watches the world around him from the sidelines’. The identity of the “friend” to whom he addresses all his letters remains widely up for interpretation – some say it is you, the reader, others say it is Charlie himself in the future, while most believe the beauty of the novel is that you never find out.

Charlie’s teacher, Bill, constantly tells him to “participate” in life, and he makes this a motto for himself throughout his freshman year of high school. His self-consciousness and insecurity are apparent in his letters, which is probably why I found myself increasingly attached to and protective over Charlie across my reading. It was incredibly sad to see that those around him never realised he was struggling; after all, issues of mental health are very often an invisible battle. Chbosky makes Charlie’s isolation deeply felt, and a desire to be liked informs many of his choices. These, of course, seem misguided and were often unfortunately at his expense.

Charlie’s new friends, Sam and Patrick, are notably older – but I loved that they were written to be open about their struggles, and inherently good, even if they were flawed. Moreover, they always accepted Charlie as he was, and he does realise that by the end of the book. Chbosky’s prose succeeds in making you feel close enough to Charlie that you actually let out a sigh of relief when he finally learns this.

Heartbreaking at times, the characters surrounding Charlie deal with their own fair share of struggles and hardship. The Guardian’s 2015 review reads, “I love the control Chbosky exercises: he demonstrates Charlie’s deteriorating mental health to the reader simply by having him see sadness wherever he goes.” Similar to this, Charlie often points out the way in which his friends, parents or siblings identify with their struggles – and how they cope with it. It’s a reflection of himself, distinguishing a desire to know how to do the same.

To me, this novel is about mental health, but it’s also about friendship. The solace he finds in Sam and Patrick was a love that was returned, albeit in their own way. The care he showed to his family also serves as a reminder to check up on the people we love from time to time! The version of the novel I read ended with a letter dated 20 years later, written by a now adult Charlie. Heartwarming to say the least, it closes Charlie’s chapter and lets us know that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Date read: 17/04/2022

Some quotes I like (some were profound, but lots of these made me laugh too):

"You know ... a lot of kids at school hate their parents. Some of them got hit. And some of them got caught in the middle of wrong lives. Some of them were trophies for their parents to show the neighbours like ribbons or gold stars. And some of them just wanted to drink in peace."

' "Do you always think this much, Charlie?"

"Is that bad?" I just wanted someone to tell me the truth.

"Not necessarily. It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life."

"Is that bad?"

"Yes," '

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

' "Are you high?"

And again my mom asked my brother not to use such language in front of me, which was strange again because I think I'm the only person in my family who's ever been high. Maybe also my brother. I'm not sure. Definitely not my sister. Then again, maybe my whole family has been high, and we just don't tell each other these things.'

"As I was walking up the stairs to my dad's old room, and I was looking at the old photographs, I started thinking that there was a time when these weren't memories. That someone actually took that photograph, and the people in the photograph had just eaten lunch or something."

"And all the books you've read have been read by other people. And all the songs you've loved have been heard by other people. And that girl that's pretty to you is pretty to other people. And you know that if you looked at these facts when you were happy, you would feel great because you are describing "unity".'