Delirium (Delirium Trilogy, #1)

by Lauren Oliver

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Delirium is a very smooth read, well-constructed and well-cast. Exactly why love is a disease remains rather vague, despite the excerpts from official government texts and the explanations of the five stages of love that eventually end in death. Oliver’s cleverness shows in that some of the first stages of infatuation or love can be similar to sickness—anxiousness, lack of appetite, inability to concentrate, etc. So when Lena begins to fall in love, it seems to her that the government is right, and she will inevitability die of it. But why society decided forgoing love was a brilliant idea is unclear. Sure, eradicating fear or depression could sound nice, and these emotions are disposed of along with love in this society…but why is love the focus?

If the reader can get past this point (or, more precisely, try to ignore the entire premise of the novel), it is rather good. The writing is wonderful. The characters, unlike in Before I Fall, are likeable. There is romance—and some of the scenes are really very sweet. There is also a mystery, which adds a bit of a political edge to the story that one can only hope will be developed in the following books.

The most beauty comes from the interspersion of completely normal moments. Here Lena is in the middle of a dystopian society, where media is censored, houses are searched, curfews are enforced, the residents are fenced in, and no one is allowed to feel too much—and she is doing things like running, tanning at the beach, or sneaking sodas from her uncle’s shop to share with her friends. This is a rare dystopian that seems so close to our own society.

The ultimate effect is that Delirium is a somewhat pleasant read, which is not necessarily what one would expect from a dystopian novel. There is no huge conflict, no urgency, no sense that everything is horrible and will never, ever be fixed. It reads very much like a romance and an adventure. What will Alex and Lena do next? Will they be able to come together in the end?