Thursday, April 18, 2013

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - Book Review

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever.

And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed.

Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.




Delirium is the final push I needed to face the fact that post-Hunger Games dystopia just isn’t for me.  Set in a world where love is a disease, this book was written more as a romance with a dystopian backdrop.  There are a lot of inconsistencies on top of an initial premise that is hard to swallow, and I found myself rolling my eyes at least twice in every chapter.

Lena is eagerly awaiting the “cure” that will remove her ability to love – a procedure that, conveniently, can’t be performed on anyone under 18 without risking severe, often fatal complications.  I say conveniently because that gives our protagonist just enough time to fall in love anyway and decide she wants to be all rebellious and forego the mandatory cure in favor of a life of hiding and hand-holding.  Right there is the bulk of my problem with Delirium; it feels like an excuse to tell a forbidden love-story, with the dystopian backdrop as nothing more than a cop-out setting.

I’m of the belief that dystopian stories should be chilling with their social and political commentary.  The most effective of these takes ideals that are already in place, distorts and bastardizes them, and shows us a future ripe with terrifying possibility.  Hunger Games did this perfectly, which is why I still count it as one of my all-time favorites.  Unwind by Neal Shusterman gave us a slightly less plausible future, but put so much coldly twisted logic behind it that it became believable, and Lois Lowry’s The Giver had a little bit of fun twisting what’s actually possible to show us an oppressed world with a strong underlying moral.

Delirium, on the other hand, is almost completely implausible, full of holes, and loses the little bit of relevant commentary it contains behind a rushed story of forbidden love.  Ignoring the ridiculous premise of love being viewed as a disease, Delirium tries to say children can be born and raised healthily to parents incapable of love or attachment.  Um, no.  First of all, without a biological attachment to our children, humanity would die out within a few generations.  Without parents to care what happens to them, there would be dead babies everywhere, and Delirium’s short explanation on why that doesn’t happen does nothing to make it more credible.  The absence of love in a psyche still capable of hatred and anger would breed sociopaths, not a stable government claiming they’ve found the secret to true happiness.  I could list other examples, but this review is getting too rant-y as it is so I’ll leave it at that.

In an effort to soften the negativity, I'll add that Lauren’s writing is superb; it flows without overwhelming, painting a vivid picture with just her words.  The book has that undeniable compulsive readability, and there are a few genuinely fun chapters.  Despite all of the problems I had with it and a lack of desire to read the sequel, it did keep me entertained.

I don’t regret picking this one up, but I think Delirium is an example of a book published to cater to two current popular trends; dystopia and romance.  It’ll probably be the last book that has both as dominant themes that I’ll be reading for a while, because I just can’t get into this new book craze and I’m sick of being the odd-man-out, dumping on the book all of my friends loved.

I personally can’t recommend this book, but if you’re a fan of the current crop of dystopia, you’ll probably enjoy Delirium.

Delirium - 2.5 out of 5 stars

14 comments:

  1. I'm with you here, I found Delirium just seriously average. I agree that dystopian fiction is supposed to be filled with political commentary and a chilling plausible future. But the newer crop frequently fails on this count. Delirium was frustrating, as far as that goes. *sigh*

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    1. I'm so glad you agree with me. Most of my friends loved this book, so I felt awful when I had to tell them I didn't. I'll watch the show when it's out, but I won't continue the books.

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  2. Awesome dystopian fiction? Read The Testing. Terrifying possibility for a post apocalyptic world? Check. Haven't read Delirium yet but I've been pleased with the "post" Hunger Games stuff I've found. I actually think I liked The Testing better. I'll get to this one one of these days since it's sitting here on my desk, literally.

    Sheri @ Perks of Being a Bookworm

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    1. The Testing? I may check that out before I give up on YA dystopia as a whole haha.

      Nothing wrong with liking the new crop. I just have ridiculously high standards for dystopia in general. I have to over-analyze everything so I can't just sit back and enjoy the ride haha. You'll probably like Delirium, though.

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    2. Wait what are you saying? I don't have taste? Haha just kidding I swear. I know what you mean I get that way but not genre specifically (? That sentence makes sense in my head I swear), it goes book by book. If I'm unsure I'll like them I tend to nitpick and over analyze every little thing that I find "wrong".

      But as for The Testing YES! Yes yes yes yes! I got an email a couple weeks back for a 2 day pre-approval from NetGalley and I just downloaded it without really looking since it was dystopian and I'm a nut for them. I could hardly put it down, it had me in full on anxiety mode. Once you got past the fake smiles and the we want you all to succeed false sense of security you get in the beginning before the claws of the government come out. All with a very realistic possibility to it. IMO anyway.

      I finished it a few days ago and I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it to write a review. I'll be singing this books praises for a long time. And now that I've fangirled on about it like a crazy person...you're probably going to hate it haha :D

      Another good one...I know it may sound weird but I love the author she sent me the book a few months back and it blew me away. Even though it's more of a fantasy type of dystopia but beautifully written Zoo by Tara Elizabeth.

      I'd hate to see someone give up on the genre, even though I understand the reasons completely. Anyway. Now that I've written a blog post within a comment... :D

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    3. I'll look into it then! And you're a fellow WoT fangirl, you can never have bad taste. ;) That sentence made total sense, by the way.

      I'll also check out Zoo! I'm on an indie kick. They're not all good, but getting to the sometimes rare fantastic one is just so much fun, and makes it completely worth it. You get to support a struggling writer and turn others onto your new hidden gem.

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  3. Whew. I thought I was the only one that wasn't over the moon about this book. I mean, it was good -- like you said, the writing is superb -- but the story/characters didn't hold me enough to read the other books in the series...

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    1. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who wasn't completely in love with this novel! Misery loves its company, I guess. Thanks, Katie! ^.^

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  4. I have to say, I completely disagree with you on the role dystopian fiction has to take. Saying dystopians have to be a social commentary, or any other specification, is like saying fantasy has to be about magic, or dragons. I'm a big advocate of separating setting and plot, so we can open ourselves up to an array of new stories. I would love to read a Ellen Hopkins-esque dsystopian plot. Ignore the idea of rebellion against the system, or at least in the form of overthrowing, and just have a teen dealing with far smaller issues. Just my thoughts on that matter.

    Otherwise, good review, even if I don't completely agree with it. Guess I can't have unanimous agreement until I turn the world into a dystopia... Now, how to do that?

    Also! You left out the most important detail! How was the Otep?

    Cain Freeman @ No BS Books

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    1. I can see your point, but for me, I'll always gravitate toward dystopias that are solidly based on real current issues. I'm the first to admit that I'm crazy picky about this genre, but if there are holes in the plot and the government doesn't feel real or relevant to me, I won't like the book. That's what happened with Delirium.

      Haha, I actually wasn't thinking too much of Otep. But I did go on a listening binge! I love that angry woman.

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  5. I've seen this book crop up everywhere, so was interested in reading your review. I think you bring up some valid points. I'm not quite sure how much it would bother me though, because I generally don't get bothered by world building. I don't mind if the world isn't quite plausible or realistic. I think the one thing that might bother me is the fact that the dystopia world is more of a background with the romance as a focus. Boo romance! :P

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    1. It's actually being made into a television show. I'm kind of curious to see how they do that, actually.

      Yeah, Delirium is equal parts dystopia and romance, and I wasn't too impressed with either aspect. I wouldn't tell you not to read it because the vast majority of people really liked it, but take it with a grain of salt if you do pick it up.

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  6. Awww, dang. You know, I really enjoyed Delirium when I first read it, but after just reading Requiem and being disappointed, it really makes me wonder about the whole series. I wonder if I reread Delirium, if I would still like it as much as the firs time.

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    1. I have gotten yelled at by soooo many friends for not liking this one! I almost feel guilty about it. :p

      I have a friend who couldn't read for a week after finishing Requiem, she said it bothered her that much. Almost makes me glad I don't want to continue the series haha.

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