Book Review #5: Thirteen Reasons Why

What would you do if you awoke one day to find a shoebox full of tapes at your doorstep? Let's make that more specific. A box of tapes, sent by a person who had committed suicide some time ago.

I would drop the box and scream. But Clay Jensen did not do that. He took the box inside, popped a tape into his old stereo and listened. To a voice that could never be heard again.

That's when he realizes that he is named as one of the reasons Hannah Baker committed suicide.

That's when it gets freaky. But not in the kind of horror-book-way. Freaky, because you hear all the inner thoughts of a person who gradually considers suicide her only option.

The book, aptly titled Thirteen Reasons Why, is about the thirteen reasons - people - Hannah Baker took her own life. Every single action and person plays a small but key role in development of the story. Hannah's voice is interlaced with Clay's thoughts and actions; in some ways, Clay's actions foreshadows the upcoming revelations made by Hannah in her recordings.

Before I read this book, I checked out the reviews to determine if it was worth adding to my little collection. The reviews were mixed, mainly because it was centred on suicide. Suicide is a sensitive (?) topic; no one seems to know the general reason behind it, and those who have contemplated it before can't agree on a general reason.

I'm going to judge this from two angles - literary and personal.

From a literary angle, I respect Jay Asher's ability to work his creative license. Writing in the voice of a teenage girl - and one who is on the verge of suicide - is hard. Like a lot of people, Hannah Baker also has two sides. Having two sides is not a bad thing - as long as your second side is not an evil-doer. It just shows that you can't be who you want to be wherever you are, and this is something many people face in their lives. It was fresh to see this being pointed out through the discrepancy between Hannah's thoughts and actions. What I liked best, though, was the ending. I won't diverge any spoilers here - but suffice to say it has something to do with Clay Jensen. Had that part not been added into the story, I would've been compelled to judge it from a purely personal angle.

Though I agree with some critics that it was well-written, personally, I didn't fall head-over-heels for this book. Despite finding Hannah Baker a believable character and sympathizing with her, I find her motives bordering on attention-seeking. I am in no position to criticize anyone who contemplates suicide (even if it is fictional); however, I feel that some parts may have been slightly dramaticized to keep the story going, and that takes away from the freshness of the main idea.

But I must give credit to Jay Asher where it is due; especially when he brings up the idea - albeit subtly - that we want attention from those who won't give it to us, even if they are the very ones who have made our lives a big miserable mess. Why do we do that? Is it some inborn instinct to seek approval from anyone and everyone? Why is it, then, that those who have already approved us can never give us the satisfaction we seek?

I don't know why, but Thirteen Reasons Why has certainly got me reassessing my priorities in life.