Delirium, by Lauren
Oliver
Series: Delirium Trilogy 1
Genre: YA, Sci-fi, Dystopia, Romance
Published: February 2011
Pages: 441
My rating: 
When I read about this book and its
intriguing plot, I knew I HAD to read it! A world where love is considered a
disease you can be cured from (at the age of 18), is definitely original, and
makes sense somehow -in a very scary way. Is it really for the best, to live a
steady life without the dangers of falling in love and having your heart
broken?
Because it’s not just a loveless
marriage that lies ahead. Passions for all kinds of hobbies vanish, friendship
suffers due to lack of feeling and memories, even having children (which in
some cases may lead to detachment) is merely a sense of duty.
Details like the passages and psalms
from the ‘Book of Shhh’ and old children’s rhymes that were adapted to this
society’s view on LOVE, give the story more depth. These aspects were funny in
a gruesome way, realistic in completing the rules many of us live by through
the Bible.
From the start, the author convincingly
conveys the detached, loveless feel that radiates from the society Lena Holoway
lives in. A steady and predictable life where nothing is left to chance, awaits
Lena in just a couple of months. I totally believed the importance of the BIG,
defining test day; no matter how ridiculous the idea of an entire civilization
based on test results playing matchmaker might seem.
Although… the idea isn’t that quaint
at all. Don’t many people nowadays find their match by means of personality
tests on dating sites through the internet? Apparently chemistry doesn’t play a
big part anymore after a certain age, whereas compatible character traits do.
Back to the book though ;)
The narrating in the first person is
very realistic and makes you feel like you are Lena completely. My first fear
of reading yet another book in the first person subsided swiftly though,
because it’s finally used proper here. For example: flashbacks are written in
tense past, which gives the book natural feel. Lauren Oliver has a way of
describing thoughts and feelings impeccably: you experience Lena’s confusion,
the moments her brain turns into a big blur are excruciatingly vivid, the
doubts she has are comprehendible, as well as the shock she experiences when
things happen she never even knew existed (and have been taught to be literally deadly wrong). You become Lena with all her hopes, doubts and fears.
Lena certainly isn’t a flat
character, as is her best friend Hana. The way Lena and Hana change, the way
Lena sees Hana, the way it affects their friendship… Extremely well written,
real, recognizable and relatable. I don’t think I’ve encountered any character
lately I felt so close to as I do to Lena.
Normally I love my books to be as
descriptive as possible, with character depth as well. Where this book lacks
descriptiveness in the ‘exterior’ department (surroundings, houses, people), it
makes up for emotions. I can honestly say I didn’t miss the descriptiveness. The
story reads away easily and totally envelopes you, on the other hand it sure takes
its sweet time to develop... Some passages drag on with minor details,
unimportant to the story. Other details of Lena’s life make the story so much
more alive: the way Lena feels when running for example with the happiness
washing over her and the connection she shares with Hana in those moments, they
all made me feel like I was there. They made me want to go out running myself,
whereas I LOATHE running! (Lauren Oliver would be very good at writing
subliminal messages, LOL…)
Here’s an example of the beautiful, descriptive
staccato writing Lauren Oliver uses sometimes. SO recognizable how one thought
triggers another! (Although I have to admit she lost me
entirely with some sentences, going on and on, comma after comma, until I lost
track...)
‘Snapshots,
moments, mere seconds: as fragile and beautiful and hopeless as a single
butterfly, flapping on against a gathering wind.’
It took over 100 pages for the
romance to even begin -be it VERY modest- at the second (accidental) meeting
Lena has with Alex, which was a far too lengthy and unnecessary time to do the
world building and preparations in my opinion. But Alex was worth the wait. The
author doesn’t fill in many gaps with background info, she makes you find out
things through Lena. Very naturally their romance develops, Lena resisting at
first because it feels wrong to her. I admire her strength for being able to withstand
the temptation, her desire to hold on to what she’s been taught to be the right
thing to do. Perhaps logical because she also fears what’s happening to her,
and what will become of her. But when the truth turns out to be a huge lie, and
the lies turn out to be the truth, it’s like Lena turns around completely. Her
character growth feels natural, as well as understandable. Once she finds out
what really happened to her mother, her last step to becoming one of the ‘sympathizers’ of LOVE, is made.
The city surrounded by heavily
guarded electrified borders to keep ‘infected’ people from ‘The Wilds’ entering
(’Invalids’ they’re called, though their
existence is denied and silenced by the people in charge); ‘The Crypts’ where
sympathizers, infected people and everyone else endangering society are literally
left to rot and die; the raids sweeping over the city once every while: all gruesome
details of the story bringing it to life. People trying to escape by climbing
the borders, while big men with guns and dogs chase after them, helicopters circle
around them, chaos breaking loose: very strong reminders of actual escape-images
regarding the border separating East- from West Germany for many years. Terrifyingly
realistic. Very exciting. Movie-worthy even...
Without wanting to give away too
much about the ending, I still want to share my thoughts with you. The turn the
book took towards the ending, was the way I hoped it would go. It simply had to
be that way, otherwise there wouldn’t be a happy ending for Lena. Unfortunately
the book didn’t end then… Lena got her wish, or did she?
‘Delirium’ has left me desperate to
know what happened and is going to happen. Love is the drug, but it’s also the
cure. But is love enough to survive? Are memories enough, once reality hits?
I will most definitely be reading the
sequel ‘Pandemonium’, because I’m not ready to abandon Lena and Alex. How can
I, when I’ve actually become Lena?
