An Abundance of Katherines - John Green

To review a John Green book is an exciting endeavour and that's why I have posted Looking for Alaska and this review (and the two more to come) so long after I read them. I like to re-live Mr. Green's words by flicking[1] through and remembering a feeling I had at the time of reading and writing about it. It's like seeing an old friend and having a good ol' natter.

 

Colin Singleton is a child prodigy and is also very specific about what kind of girl he likes: Katherines. With his streak of nineteen Katherines as girlfriends, comes his streak of being dumped by nineteen Katherines. When the nineteenth Katherine does so, Colin and his best friend Hassan decide to go on an adventure and alongside this eye-opening journey is Colin and his theorem of predicting the outcome of any relationship.

The idea of this book (and the idea being progressed on throughout then novel, of course) is awesome. The whole idea hooked me from the start and the novel is John Green "doing a John Green": being a ridiculously awesome writer.

When I read An Abundance of Katherines, I found Colin to be incredibly sweet. There is something about him that is so... lovely. To the characters in the book he's perceived as occasionally (okay, even he seems to accept that it's a bit more than "occasionally") quite annoying but, I felt like I was experiencing his thoughts and emotions which made his little "not interesting" ways and thoughts and quirky ways so endearing.

There were two friendships that made me learn a lot in this novel. They were the friendships of Colin and Hassan, and Colin and Lindsey. Hassan is an incredibly funny character, always finding the light side of things and it compliments Colin's humour hilariously. The two of them clearly love each other as best friends should and going along through their journey is all the more exciting because of their friendship. In turn, the friendship that develops quickly between Colin and Lindsey is lovely, with the two of them understanding each other more than they may have expected.

John Green always teaches me something with his writing. In An Abundance of Katherines a valuable lesson of the outcomes of situations is learnt alongside Hassan's discovery that I wouldn't want to ruin for anyone.

I also loved John Green's use of footnotes and graphs through the novel making it that kind of unique that John Green does so well.

An Abundance of Katherines is a really charming read.

Theorems & Friendship,

The Girl in the Moonlight.

P.S. I have reviewed two other John Green books:

1) I first reviewed The Fault in Our Stars but PLEASE don't click on THIS link if you have not read it. It's more of a discussion with myself than a review.

2) I reviewed Looking for Alaska HERE.

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[1] I flick carefully through the Wonderful Works of Mr. Green because, as much as I love the look of a loved book, the thought of damaging these creations makes me upset. In turn, this brings me onto another issue: I do love the look of a loved book. Yet, with all books I try not to make them look "loved." A world full of paradoxes is a world full of confusion.