The Spectacular Now Analysis

I read The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp published in 2008 last summer. The Spectacular Now is a romantic young adult novel told from the perspective of high school senior, Sutter Keely. He parties nightly and drinks from sunrise to sunset. Consequently, Sutter’s life spins out of control, taking his girlfriend, Aimee, along the way. However, consequences are the least of Sutter’s worries, for his mantra is to live life in the now. Tharp’s realism led to a turn in the story I was not expecting. Most of the time, the novels in this genre I read are idealistic. Therefore, I can predict the endings to the novel early on. However, Tharp did not follow the path most romantic young adult authors take. In contrast to the predictable and idealistic developments of these novels, The Spectacular Now is realistic. I find this novel compelling, because Tharp’s character development of Sutter is unfortunately realistic to his alcoholic lifestyle.

In my reading, The Spectacular Now, is different from many novels I have read. Generally, I read novels that are idealistic. However, idealism is far from what Tharp

This emotion I felt reading, is the same emotion that was elicited when my family dealt with the realization of a close relative’s addiction. I had a heart full of hope regarding his recovery, but similar to Sutter, it seemed as if he was not aware of his actions. Tharp’s realism regarding Sutter’s addiction, helped me to personally see that not everyone recovers. It was this novel that aided me with a realist mindset opposed to the thin string of hope my family and I held onto for years.

In conclusion, Tharp’s character development of Sutter captured the realistic effects of alcoholism and the impact it can have on others. Ideally, everyone facing addiction will recover and never relapse. Realistically, recovery for an addict is not always the case no matter how desperately I wish it