Does The Perks of Being a Wallflower hold up?

As of summer 2019, Stephen Chbosky had published a total of one book in his writing career. Luckily for him it was astoundingly well received, becoming what is now considered a ‘modern classic.’

20 years later, he finally came out with something else…in a completely different genre. His mammoth, 720-page horror novel (yes, you read that right) was released in October 2019, and although many in the book community were talking about its release, early reviews have been full of…shall we say….less than Wallflower-level praise.

I was denied my own early copy (not bitter!) and decided to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower instead and see what all the fuss was about… just a couple of decades late.

“Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense.” 

Usually, I wouldn’t review such an old and well-known title but I had some thoughts about this book I wanted to share. 

And thus…

I went into this book without knowing much about it, such as that it’s told entirely in letters to a character we (spoiler) never meet or even know the name of, and rather, is only referred to as ‘friend.’ Through these letters we get the story of Charlie’s sophomore year, the year in which he meets Sam and Patrick and (who would have guessed in a coming-of-age story?) learns a lot about himself. 

This book is set around the time it was written, the 90s. Like any contemporary book set before the popularity of cell phones, Charlie’s story is automatically a bit dated. If he was a teenager today, it’s more than likely he would have found a lot of the answers he was searching for thanks to the miracle of the internet. Not to mention that his story would have looked pretty different if he lived in a world where information on mental health, mental illness, and grief is much more accessible, and where there is quite a bit less homophobia. Speaking of which, there are some moments that relate to these two latter subjects that, today, would definitely raise some eyebrows, but can, of course, be chalked up to their time-period.

“I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other.”

Then again, if Charlie were a teenager today he would not be so much the outcast that he is in the book. In 2020, Charlie would be a total Tumblr boy, fanfiction writer, and overall booknerd. His letters would turn into abstract blog posts, where he would write with no regard to followers, but probably have a lot nonetheless who tell him that he’s “not alone” and that his words are “so true” and “relatable” and “profound.” Rather than quirky to a fault, he’d be aloofly cool and not know it.

“He’s a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.” 

As it was, Charlie was a hard character for me to feel connected to, primarily because his narration feels so naive and young. He’s fifteen, but often the writing reminds me of books where the narrator was a mere child. Yet, as the story progresses, Charlie faces some heavy things and participates in a lot of…not-so-naive…activities relating to sex and drug use. Yet he still often sounds incredibly innocent despite these experiences.  

I can see how reading this book at the time of its publication might have been profound. It addressed topics and wrote in a way that was not popular at the time. But I would not recommend it to today’s teens. Not only do I think they would struggle to connect with Charlie as much as I did, but I think the overall message about mental health is quickly becoming dated. Charlie’s relationship with his therapist is not great, and the conclusion that they come to in the end about the cause for his state of mind feels tacked on, and by today’s standards, in bad taste. Even to me, it felt like it came out of nowhere and seemed stereotypical.

Mostly, I think The Perks of Being a Wallflower holds up…but it’s barely holding on. Soon, I think many of the things in this book will seem just too dated and the audience it was intended for is already outgrowing it. 

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.” 

As someone who was barely a 90s baby, I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Although it contains some beautiful and highly quotable writing with some good messages about friendship underneath some other questionable moments, I just had some issues with believability and connecting to Charlie as a character, even considering the time it was written.