Maybe tomorrow

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Maybe better tomorrow (also This is my life , original title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower ) is a letter novel by the American author Stephen Chbosky , which was published in 1999 .

content

On the occasion of the beginning of his first year of high school in 1991, the protagonist Charlie describes various situations in his life in letters to a person he does not know. At the beginning of the novel, Charlie is an introverted and mentally unstable teenager whose only and best friend committed suicide. His aunt Helen, who was very close to him, has also died.

In the course of the novel, Charlie meets the somewhat older step-siblings Sam and Patrick. Charlie falls in love with the "extraordinarily beautiful" Sam. He also befriends the homosexual Patrick. Through the two of them, Charlie wins a new circle of friends, makes first love and drug experiences and finds fun in his life. Towards the end of the novel, Charlie remembers a repressed childhood trauma , which is why he has to spend some time in a clinic . After his release, Charlie looks confidently into a fear-free future.

background

The novel mentions various books that Charlie received from his unconventional teacher Bill. For example, the literary work The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger , which Chbosky described as the inspiration for his novel. Many music tracks are also mentioned, for example Asleep from The Smiths .

By addressing very controversial issues such as drug use, sexual abuse, and suicide, the novel has been widely discussed in the United States.

The setting is Pittsburgh .

filming

In 2011 , the epistle novel was filmed under the same title under the direction of the author and was released a year later. It starred Logan Lerman , Emma Watson and Ezra Miller .

New release

The German first publication, which appeared in 1999 by Vgs-Verlag , was reissued in 2011 . The book with a new translation by Oliver Plaschka was published by Heyne Verlag under the title “This is my life”.

Individual evidence

  1. Ann Beisch: Interview with Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower . In: LA Youth , November-December 2001. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  2. ^ Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009. American Library Association, archived from the original on January 6, 2012 ; accessed on August 31, 2016 .
  3. So this is my life. Random House Bertelsmann publishing group, accessed on August 31, 2016 .