Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780141340113
Published by: Penguin Books
Pages: 320
Price: 350 INR
“Will have readers simultaneously laughing, crying and singing at the top of their lungs.” – Kirkus Review
Both New York Times bestsellers, David Levithan and John Green come together in this musically-charming novel that is ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’. Incidentally, this was the first novel I’d read that was co-authored. Before this, I’d read almost all the works of Green and the brilliant ‘Everyday’ by Levithan. Both the authors are intriguing enough to catch the reader’s attention from the first sentence and their characters are more than believable.
If one has to sum the novel in a few words, these are the ones: Will Grayson meets Will Grayson, gay who meets straight Will’s gay friend Tiny Cooper and sparks are seen. In between all this, there is a musical that is about to happen. It has been Tiny’s dream since a long time to get the idea on stage and implement it successfully.
The cover of the book has been designed in a minimalistic way by Rodrigo Corral Design and Devin Washburn. It has that trademark feel which all John Green books are famous for. Two thumbprints infused into each other is the only pictorial representation on the cover.
When you read a work of Green, it is lively to say the least. You don’t see a lot of things happening, but feel so. And as always, he has you hooked on from the first sentence itself. Levithan, on the other hand, has this sharp edge over his words. One distinct feature of his writing here is that he always uses short case writing in the book- which makes his Will Grayson a very different one to begin with.
Living their lives in two very different circles, the two Wills find their lives going in new and unexpected directions when they meet each other by mistake. The musical at the end is a testimony of how even the least interaction with a certain person can affect one’s life in a severe manner. It sets out to warm the cockles out of your heart, but ends up only bringing an abrupt stop to the story.
As an afterword to the story, there is a conversation between the two authors. Frankly speaking, this was way more interesting than most of the story. They talk about why Levithan’s part of the novel as Will is in lowercase style of writing and how he writes oh-so-beautifully from the view of a depressed person. John Green described Levithan’s half of the novel as funny as well as roaringly angry. All in all, ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ has a rather colourless ending whose satisfaction is subject to the reader.
Overall Rating: 6/ 10
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