Book Reviews

An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)

Three cheers for John Green, master of YA fiction. Never preachy, always profound, and generally (if inconsistently) funny.

An Abundance of Katherines is Green's second book, this time following Colin, a former child prodigy, as he recovers from the latest let-down in his disastrous love-life. Washed up in Tennessee, Colin starts to work through what it really means to matter.

I read a lot of very negative reviews of this book. Lots of readers felt that Colin's character was whiny and irritating, and thought that most of the characters were plot-funnelling devices. Many complained that the promised road trip was all too short, and that the plot was barely there at all. For the most part, I agree; I just read into these in a different way.

Colin Singleton is not the most inspiring protagonist, that I will give you. He is weak and often needy, sometimes feeling like a bundle of quirks rather than a real person. I think that comes from the third-person narrative removing the reader from Colin. It is made clear that Colin is a brilliant mind, but not socially adept, so stepping inside his head might have made for a smoother read; however, it would also have removed the need for the footnotes, which I found hugely entertaining, even if they did break up the flow a little.

With regards to Hassan, I can see readers' issues. He did feel uncomfortably close to a token to tick the diversity box; clever but never getting his own moment, good without overshadowing the protagonist.

Lindsey however, has been, in my opinion, misunderstood in the same way many of the themes of the book have. Lindsey struggles with her identity. She feels that she has to please everybody, and bends herself to do so, an issue I think most people in my age group have experienced. Her character arc follows her coming to terms with this and finding out where she is truly comfortable. Readers who say she has no clear character are absolutely right. Readers who criticise the book because of this are missing the point.

In the same way, this book is not about a road trip. To me, it is about the changing of minds, it is about struggling with identity, it is about changing what it means to matter. The road trip is not the important part. AAOK is not about a road trip any more than Remains of the Day is.

Not as simple as it seems, AAOK is a subtle read with more layers than it first appears. Quiet, introspective, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, I think it is well worth a read.

Although Colin is annoying. No one is denying that.