The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – review

‘Although the book is, at times, very upsetting, it is ultimately uplifting and life-affirming’

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is narrated by Charlie, the titular ‘wallflower’, in a series of letters that he writes to a stranger, beginning the night before he starts his freshman year of high school in 1991. These letters catalogue Charlie’s attempts to “participate”, as he wanders wide eyed through a series of house parties and Rocky Horror Picture Show productions with his new, older friends. Along the way, Chbosky intelligently explores stock YA themes such as mental health, substance abuse and sexuality, whilst simultaneously reminding the reader about how exciting it is to be young and idealistic.

What makes Chbosky’s stream of consciousness style more beautiful than that used in Suicidal Tendencies’ hardcore punk song “Institutionalised”, for example, is the lyrical, philosophical nature of the prose. At one point, Charlie starts going to the mall simply to try and figure out why people go there. He see “Old men sitting alone. Young girls with blue eye shadow and awkward jaws. Little kids who look tired.” “It all felt very unsettling” to him. The writing here is so rhythmic that it’s almost hypnotic. I love the control that Chbosky exercises: he demonstrates Charlie’s deteriorating mental health to the reader simply by having him see sadness wherever he goes. Beyond the writing style, there is still a lot to like about the novel. The cast of characters is diverse. The female characters are numerous and as well developed as their male counterparts. Chbosky’s approach is always unflinching, even when the content is upsetting. Underpinning everything is a desire to acknowledge the complexities in other people, an understanding that nobody does bad stuff because they are innately bad. In this way, although the book is, at times, very upsetting, it is ultimately uplifting and life-affirming.

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