Published by: Hodder & Stoughton (UK)
Harper Collins Children's Books (US)
Date Published: February 1st 2011
ISBN: 978 0 340 98092 7
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Delirium is a dystopian book about a world without love. At the age of 18, people are cured of the disease amor deliria nervosa, "the deadliest of all deadly things" and matched with a partner that they will marry and have children with. There is no longer any wars, very little crime and people are free from pain and hurt to live a predictable life where they will never love anyone or show any real emotion. "The cured, incapable of strong desire, are thus rid of both remembered and future pain".
Lena has only 95 days to go to her procedure and she cannot wait. Until she meets Alex, and falls in love.
I really liked this book, so why only 3 stars? Well, I found that at times, the author seemed to ramble on about things that didn't really influence the story and I found myself skimming at times to get back on track with the story. I found that some descriptions were long winded and just unnecessary.
It took me a while to really connect with the protag Lena and she seemed to be a bit too naive and afraid of getting into trouble. Once she met Alex, I felt she came out of her shell and was a more likeable character. I really liked her friend Hana, she was energetic and fun loving. Her aunt, uncle and sister, Rachel, I felt, were well written as unemotional characters but sometimes I felt like her aunt Carol was slipping a bit and at times seemed caring towards Lena. This could probably be explained by the fact that they dreamed, which meant that they hadn't been completely wiped of all feeling.
Lena's parents are both dead. Her dad died of cancer when she was young and her mum, she believes comitted suicide when she was six. After 3 attempts at the cure, her mother is immune and kills herself before they can make a 4th attempt. There was a bit of a twist here but it was something that I expected would probably happen and would convince of the final decision she needed to make.
Overall, this was a really good original story which I enjoyed a lot. My favourite character had to be Alex. He was HOT and his arrival made the book all the more interesting for me and I found it hard to put down. The ending is a bit of a cliff hanger, leaving me (im)patiently waiting for Pandemonium.
From inside cover "They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until Now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie."
I see Delirium as a wonderful tale of what love can do and how it can change everything. I simply can't see it as a story about bringing down the web of lies the government made or how messed up the world might be in the future. Just thinking about the story it makes my heart skip a beat. It's beautiful, it's magical, it's everything love is supposed to be. It takes us from the tiny first steps of crushing on someone, to the full blown emotion of attachment. Of not being able to breathe with that certain someone. It might just be because I'm a hopeless romantic.
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