What and where are the black holes in My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga?
- Joanna D.
- Feb 28, 2018
- 3 min read
If you liked Thirteen Reasons Why, then Jasmine Warga’s debut novel, “My Heart and Other Black Holes,” is a must read.
The book starts off with Aysel Seran, a 16-year-old who’s absolutely determined to commit suicide. Despite this, she isn’t brave enough to do the act by herself so she finds herself a suicide partner who’s just as suicidal: Roman Franklin. The story revolves in their plan to kill themselves together on an agreed date. But in the process of making their double suicide plan concrete, Aysel’s perspective in life changes. Roman’s, however, does not. So now, she must decide whether to go through with their plan of dying, or try melting Roman’s heart that has been frozen with depression.
Although plots as such are now slowly tuning cliché, one cannot deny that My Heart and Other Black Holes presents endearing characters, and is yet another novel that can change one’s perspective in life.
The book’s sociological context helped me in best understanding the novel. It depicts a society wherein people are indifferent, and judgmental, where depression is mostly overlooked and people suffering from it are misunderstood.
The novel’s theme most definitely is depression; how it is like, and how one can possibly get through it. It can be related to real life as there are a lot of people who are suffering from depression and are struggling to overcome it. I, personally have never been depressed but reading it, makes me feel like I have been on the shoes of someone who has.
It is evident that the novel is written in the 21st century because Roman and Aysel meet through a website. This is because websites like such, were only invented and popularized in the 21st Century.
For me, the most significant part of the story is when Aysel, starts to realize that all she needed to overcome her depression was a change in perspective. It reminds me, and possibly anyone who read the book that no matter how hard the challenges we face may seem, whether we survive or not, depends on ourselves; that life is a matter of seeing the difference between a glass half full and half empty.
There are no hard obstacles in reading this book. I find it written in a very understandable language. Because of this, the storyline wasn’t so hard to follow either. The events transition smoothly.
I have been deeply sad, but I have not been depressed. Everything that I know about depression is only limited to what I have read in novels, seen in films and TV, and from what I have been told by other people. As a student, reading this novel, yet again gave me a deeper insight to what depression actually feels like. Also, it reminded me of how important it is to open up about my problems and to let people open up about theirs.
Reading this novel did not change my perception of reading novels. I still think that although it may be time-consuming, every minute spent reading is worth it. Reading gives life lessons that you wouldn’t otherwise have encountered with, it can transport you into an entirely different dimension, and could potentially change one’s life.
My Heart and Other Black Holes for me, is a 10 out of 10 stars. I honestly think that it couldn’t have been any better. The way it is written is understandable, it has great characterization, and the events that happen in the story are in no way forced.
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