[Book Review] The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Judul: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Pengarang: Stephen Chbosky

Penerbit: Pocket Books

Tahun Terbit: 2009

Tebal: 232 halaman

“So, this is my life. And I want you to kow that I am both happy and sad an I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

“I feel infinite.”

Satu kata ketika akhirnya buku ini berada di tangan saya; YEAY!!! Sejak menonton film adaptasinya—yeah, dengan sangat menyesal saya sudah duluan menonton versi filmnya sebelum membaca bukunya—saya sudah sangat ingin sekali membaca karya Stephen Chbosky ini. Bagaimana tidak, di mata saya versi filmnya sangat memukau saya baik dari segi cerita maupun para pemerannya *Emma Watson gitu lho ;))*.

Dan dugaan saya kalau bukunya juga pasti tidak kalah menakjubkan pun benar-benar terbukti ketika akhirnya saya menyelesaikan buku ini. Buku ini masuk menjadi salah satu buku yang ketika saya menutup bukunya setelah membaca sampai ke bagian akhir membuat saya hanya bisa berkomentar, Wow!

Saya suka formatnya yang berbentuk surat. Dan walaupun formatnya begitu, surat-surat Charlie enak dibaca dan sama sekali tidak membuat bosan. Sama halnya seperti ketika saya membaca Surat Panjang tentang Jarak Kita yang Jutaan Tahun Cahaya. Bedanya, jika dalam SPTtJKyJTC surat tersebut ditujukan untuk laki-laki(yang juga sahabat “aku”) yang dicintainya sejak lama, dalam The Perks of Being a Wallflower surat tersebut seolah-olah ditujukan untuk pembacanya sendiri. Hal itu membuat saya pribadi merasa spesial ketika membacanya, karena Charlie mau berbagi semua rahasia-rahasianya.

Yang menambah nilai plus buku ini adalah Charlie juga menyinggung-nyinggung buku-buku keren(*walaupun beberapa baru saya dengar ke”rame”-annya, belum pernah saya baca xD* seperti: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, On The Road, dll), lagu-lagu, dan tak ketinggalan yang paling membuat penasaran untuk ditonton: The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Sayangnya menurut saya “apa yang dilakukan” aunt Helen kurang dieksplor di buku ini. Padahal itu merupakan poin yang cukup penting. Bahkan seandainya saya belum menonton versi adaptasinya saya sama sekali tidak akan ngeh apa yang sebenarnya terjadi pada Charlie dan kenapa hal itu bisa terjadi.

Saya merasa harus berterima kasih kepada Charlie karena mau berbagi sepenggal ceritanya sekaligus rahasianya yang kadang lucu, kadang seru, kadang juga mengharukan. Seperti roller-coaster.

Terakhir, saya suka pake banget dengan puisi yang Charlie bacakan. Penasaran dengan puisinya? Baiklah, akan saya kutipkan di bawah ini:

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Chops"

because that was the name of his dog

And that's what it was all about

And his teacher gave him an A

and a gold star

And his mother hung it on the kitchen door

and read it to his aunts

That was the year Father Tracy

took all the kids to the zoo

And he let them sing on the bus

And his little sister was born

with tiny toenails and no hair

And his mother and father kissed a lot

And the girl around the corner sent him a

Valentine signed with a row of X's

and he had to ask his father what the X's meant

And his father always tucked him in bed at night

And was always there to do it

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Autumn"

because that was the name of the season

And that's what it was all about

And his teacher gave him an A

and asked him to write more clearly

And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

because of its new paint

And the kids told him

that Father Tracy smoked cigars

And left butts on the pews

And sometimes they would burn holes

That was the year his sister got glasses

with thick lenses and black frames

And the girl around the corner laughed

when he asked her to go see Santa Claus

And the kids told him why

his mother and father kissed a lot

And his father never tucked him in bed at night

And his father got mad

when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Innocence: A Question"

because that was the question about his girl

And that's what it was all about

And his professor gave him an A

and a strange steady look

And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

because he never showed her

That was the year that Father Tracy died

And he forgot how the end

of the Apostle's Creed went

And he caught his sister

making out on the back porch

And his mother and father never kissed

or even talked

And the girl around the corner

wore too much makeup

That made him cough when he kissed her

but he kissed her anyway

because that was the thing to do

And at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed

his father snoring soundly

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag

    he tried another poem

And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"

Because that's what it was really all about

And he gave himself an A

and a slash on each damned wrist

And he hung it on the bathroom door

because this time he didn't think

he could reach the kitchen.”

Dan terakhir(lagi), *dari tadi terakhir muluk* *iye janji ini beneran yang terakhir xD* buku ini direkomendasikan untuk remaja maupun yang beranjak dewasa. Atau… siapapun yang ingin kembali bernostalgia masa-masa remaja : ))

MEMORABLE QUOTES

• “Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.” – Hal. 27

• “I wasn’t raised very religiously because my parents went to Catholic school, but I do believe in God very much. I just never gave God a name. If you know what I mean. I hope I haven’t let Him down regardless.” – Hal. 29-30

• “This one time when it’s peaceful outside, and you’re seeing things move, and you don’t want to, and everyone is asleep. 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’.” – Hal. 102

• “I like girls. I really do. Because they can think you look good in bathing suit even when you don’t.” – Hal. 119

• “Girls are weird, and I don’t mean that offensively. I just can’t put it any other way.” – Hal. 131

• “Be skeptical about this one. It’s a great book. But try to be a filter, not a sponge.” – Hal. 177

• “I love my mom so much. I don’t care if that’s corny to say.” – Hal. 203

• “It’s great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when someone doesn’t need a shoulder. What if they need the arms or something like that? You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can’t. you have to do things.” – Hal. 214

• “At those times, you weren’t being his friend at all. Because you weren’t honest with him.” – Hal. 215

• “It’s just that I don’t want to be somebody’s crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am.” – Hal. 216

• “Maybe it’s good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there.” – Hal. 229

RATING 5/5