"Turtles all the Way Down" by John Green

“Turtles all the Way Down” by John Green is a type of book I rarely read. But, I knew that I would like it because I’ve followed John Green long enough to know that I like him and it’s hard to not like a competently written book from someone you like. I also knew it was the type of book that would cost something. It would force me to look at things I try to not look at often and think about things I’d rather not.

There is a bit in “Turtles all the Way Down” that discuses kissing and how when you kiss someone some of their bacteria gets into you. That that bacteria gets into your stomach and then lives there for the rest of your life. It’s part of the character’s fear of germs and the terror of understanding that you don’t control everything because we have learned that the bacteria in your stomach talk to your brain. They may even affect how you think. I think a book is the same way. Every book is an idea that lives with you and a good book like “Turtles all the Way Down” shares a lot. It lets you live in mind of someone else the way no other medium can.

To explain what “Turtles all the Way Down” is would be a disservice because at its core what it is are the characters. There is a plot, but it’s only there to create a sort of ending. This is a book in which you get to feel a bit of what life is like for other people. It’s the shadows on the cave wall version, but that’s all we ever get. Perhaps some people can see a bit more, but for me the light from this book is enough to make me tired. It makes me miss the people I’ve lost and care of the things I have a bit more. It makes me fear germs just a little, even though that’s never been my particular problem.

“Turtles all the way Down” is a book that costs something to read. I wouldn’t call in fun, though there are parts that are enjoyable. It wasn’t a revelation in the way learning something new can be, but it did what only the best books can do. Instead, it gave me the chance to experience the world differently. I felt the way someone else did for a few hours. That is of value not only because understanding people better is a good thing, but because it makes my view of myself clearer. It reminded me everyone fights to survive and some of those fights are easier and some are harder and the best of us aren’t always the ones who win the fights they’re the ones who keep fighting even when they know they can’t win.