Interview Time with Lauren Oliver

One of my top 10 favorite books last year was Before I Fall, Lauren's debut about a girl who dies but is able to go back to that day & relive it, each time seeing the impact she had. It was so beautiful, complex and a book that sticks with you. Lauren newest book, Delirium, is a dystopian novel with the view that love is a disease that needs to be cured. Her writing invokes a variety of emotions which is something I love, making it more like active rather than passive reading! The characters feel so real that you can't help struggle with them...and at times you also want to vent some frustration. I recently had a chance to ask Lauren a few questions about Delirium, so without further ado, please welcome Lauren to the blog!!

Where did the idea for Delirium come from?
The idea for Delirium came from an essay I read by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in which he wrote that all great books were about love or death. The next day I was thinking about that quote--particularly about how and in what form a modern love story could be told--while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I was simultaneously watching a news story about a flu outbreak that had everyone freaking out about the possibility of a pandemic, and I was kind of marvelling that people so easily go into panics about reports of these diseases, and at some point the two trains of thought--love, and disease--just sort of combined in my head.

Lean's best friend Hana appeared to be more on the rebellious side. Were you a rebel growing up?
In some ways. I was always a good student and a dedicated friend. But I definitely liked to do things my way. I’m pretty stubborn. And I wore leather pants a lot! Does that make me a rebel?

Hopefully life in the future won't treat love this way. If you could live in any time period, what would you chose and why?
I mean, I would probably choose now. There are a lot of things about modern life that frighten me, it’s true, but I think people have a tendency to romanticize the past needlessly. It’s like, sure, Victorian life was good…if you were in the top 99.99 percent of the population that could afford to make it good! Most people, like, washed linens all their lives for ten dollars a year.

Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect in book #2, Pandemonium?
Okay, a teensy one…Lena will have to learn to survive in the Wilds. And some crazy stuff happens! That’s all I’m going to say.

(ok guys, I tried. If you've read Delirium the ending will leave you with a whole lot of questions, especially a big one about one character in particular!!!)

Have you read Delirium yet?

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Hardcover, 441 pages

Released: February 1st 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780061726828

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

My Thoughts:

According to new findings, love is a disease. Therefore at age 18, everyone is cured of Amor Deliria Nervosa. People are led to believe that life is better without desire, that it only causes physical and emotional pain...even death. Your job and marriage partner are determined (well you do have a few names to pick from) via testing, and post-surgery your older memories are lost so there is no regret or feelings of loss. The government knows what's best for you and society. Lauren begins each chapter begins with a quote, many from The Book of Shhh (Saftely, Health and Happiness Handbook) brilliantly showing just how easy it is to manipulate people to make them see things a certain way. My favorite was the listing of the symptoms in chapter ten because phase one and two do exist!

The main character, Lena, is nearing her 18th birthday & looking forward to the surgery - especially since her mother succumbed to the effects of the disease when she was younger. She witnessed the suffering her mom felt, her longing for the husband she had lost. But during Lena's big testing, something happens that changes everything. A distraction takes place that stops the testing & she sees a boy. Soon after, Lena becomes aware that her best friend, Hana, is listening to underground music and attending night parties past curfew. Then Lena meets the boy again....and her eyes are opened to the beauty feelings and emotions! The juxtaposition between the controlled city and the lush land beyond the boundary are evidence to the reader (and Lena) that control depletes so much from the world.

Delirium was a slower start that ramped up quickly. I read in spurts on the way into work, at night, whenever I have some time to myself. As such, I try to finish off at the end of a chapter. When reading Delirium, I would get to the end of the chapter & jump right into the next, it was that addicting! As Lena and the boy fall for each other & her surgery days away, the reader can't help but feel empathy. You are drawn right into her world, feeling her emotional rollercoaster. These feelings are wrong, could kill her...or are they? The ending, my goodness, is an ending that will blow you away. This is book one of a trilogy so I expected a cliffhanger but wow. It was satisfying and pulls at your emotional strings, my heart was racing. I can't wait to sink my teeth into book two!

How far would you go if you fell in love when you aren't allowed to?

Come back to the blog tomorrow for an interview with Lauren Oliver!