‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is a young adult realistic fiction novel that shows the life of a young girl thrown into a world of depression, cancer, and love. After its publication, the story became an international sensation because it reflected the life of a sixteen-year-old girl called Esther Earl. John’s experience with terminally ill children like Esther made the story intricately relatable to the readers.

Historical Context

Death is a concept that makes many people believe that their lives have meaning in the bigger picture of the universe. However, there are some people whose lives are unchangeable, and they realize that their life would only be another sad story in the book of history. 

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is a story formed from the experiences of a person who had to watch his friend die from something they had no control over. John Green wrote the story after his dear friend, Esther Earl, lost her life to cancer. Because of experiencing parts of her life, Hazel’s story became one that resonated with people who have experienced the pain of losing a loved one from an incurable ailment.

The story’s attention to the issues of life made it realistic. However, John included a fundamental element in the story, love. His novel showed that love is a feeling that sparks even in the darkest situations. With love, life became a bit bearable for the story’s characters; this reflected an ideology that love does not have to be the opposite of pain and suffering, which was also one of the main themes in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’.

One thing ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ pays attention to is the relevance of family. The story expressed the concept of blood being thicker than water as it dived into the sacrifices the family makes for each other. The novel showed that unity is necessary when people get thrown into difficult situations.

As a novel that showed the expression of love in suffering, there was an undiluted portrayal of the bleak nature of pain. Pain was an element in the story that created a sadistic aura around the novel. It seeped into the lives of its characters and gradually ate them up. The story’s portrayal of pain made it a natural epistle of the lives of its characters and real-world victims of pain.

Cultural Context

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ has heavily impacted pop culture. It set a precedent for a new era of realistic fiction. Before it, no story dived into the mental and emotional trauma experienced by teenagers thrown into the world of a terminal disease. However, after its publication, the love genre got introduced to a new type of storytelling that involved diving into the life of young adults faced with the bleak reality that their lives would never be the same as that of their peers.

The story also introduced the concept of teen fantasies. Before it, there was little focus on the romantic fantasies of teenagers. However, the story paved the way for novels that started to place teen characters at the center of action and romance.

The novel received excellent recognition from teenagers and adults. Before it, many adults paid little attention to stories that portray the transition from teenagehood to adulthood and the obstacles young adults face in their lives. However, with the novel’s publication, the young adult genre started receiving an audience from adults.

Adaptation and Awards

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ became an instant hit on its publication. The story’s attentiveness to its characters and emotions made it receive positive feedback. Its excellent portrayal of the lives of teenagers and young adults with terminal ailments made it relatable to teenagers and adults.

After its publication in 2012, Fox 2000 pictures got the rights to create a film adaptation. On acquiring the rights to adapt, film production began. With Josh Boone serving as the director, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort got starred as the characters of Hazel and Augustus. In June 2014, the film got released in the United States. On release, the film received incredibly positive reviews and became a hit, with it grossing over 305 million dollars worldwide.

In 2014, Fox Star Studios stated it would adapt the novel into a Hindi version. With Kizie Aur Manny as the film’s name, production began in 2018. The film’s title changed to Dil Bechara after experiencing many delays. With A. R. Rahman as a composer, the production team set May 8, 2020, as the release date after pushing it from November 2019. Delays from the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the release date forward, and on July 24, 2020, it got released.

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