Too Much Love Will Kill You - Queen

Delirium
Delirium, Book 1

Author: Lauren Oliver
Pages: 442
ARC Acquired From: my librarian friend Craig (I don't know where he acquired it from, sorry!)
Publisher: Harper Teen

Brief Summary:
Lena lives in a world where love, amor deliria nervosa, is a disease. She cannot wait for her eighteenth birthday when she will receive the cure that will make her safe from this fatal illness. She especially longs for the cure because once she has it everyone might stop treating her like she does not belong. Her mother underwent the cure three times, but it never stuck. Before they could try a fourth time, she committed suicide, leaving Lena with forbidden words: "I love you." Of course, when Lena meets someone, she starts to question whether the cure is to save the people or not...

Review:
I had very high hopes for Delirium, having read on a number of blogs that it was pretty much the most fantasmagorical book of the year. These kinds of expectations often wreak havoc on my reading experience, because the book just cannot live up to the hype. Delirium largely did.

The concept of this dystopia is endlessly fascinating, unlike any of the dystopias I have read before. Certainly, there are others where love is denied and not welcomed by the society (Brave New World, for example), but I have not read one where love was the main issue. The society's documents, which open every section (as is done in Unwind), were very interesting, especially the slightly altered Bible quotes. Very clever.

Dear reader, you may have already gathered that I really do not like Romeo and Juliet, but here it is again, weaved throughout the story. The initial reference was pretty hilarious though; in this world, they did actually allow the play to be read (unlike Shakespeare's love poems), because it was a perfect example of the dangers of love. Even the young saw it not as romantic, but as a horror story. Ha!

The beginning of this novel actually reminded me, oddly enough, of Footloose. The kids, who have not been treated for the love disease, are not allowed to have any fun. They have early curfews, boys and girls aren't allowed to mingle, and loud music and dancing are forbidden. As expected, many kids will find a way to do forbidden things, nor appreciating their parents stifling them. Of course, the comparison ends somewhere: Regulators armed with guns are not quite the same as John Lithgow armed with a Bible.

The only downside to Delirium was that much of the plot was pretty predictable. Still, I enjoyed the writing, the concept and the characters. I eagerly await book two! Highly recommended!

"Too much love will kill you
Every time
Too much love will kill you
It'll make your life a lie
Yes, too much love will kill you
And you won't understand why
You'd give your life, you'd sell your soul
But here it comes again
Too much love will kill you
In the end..."