I finished it in couple of days, I re-savored all the feelings, oh first love, first kiss and first everything… Sometimes I wish those feelings are not exclusively reserved for the young and reckless kind. This time around, I also understand more and more the social injustice issues in this book: poverty, domestic abuse, peer pressure, racial issues, and so on. And in the end, the second re-reading validated me that Eleanor and Park still deserves the five stars in my heart.
Additionally, what stroke me the most was how I understand my self more by meeting Park in this book. Of course I fell in love with this boy who always wore band t-shirt and created mix-tape (!!) with all his heart. Because in my teenage year, that was me! Not that I think Eleanor didn’t deserve Park - they were teenagers in love, so let them live that world.
But this is about me, and I feel seen with Park character.
It started when I was thirteen, I guess. I was an adolescent girl with limited social activities and all the time at my hands. Fashion, make-up, and most of features in Seventeen or Young & Modern were not interesting to me. I mostly spent all my time in the world with listening solely to Oz Radio, devouring all pages of Hai magazine and watching too much MTV (also [V] channel). I had a thud in my heart when I discovered Oasis. Jon Bon Jovi was my biggest crush, and not so long after that, Eddie Vedder took the place. I spent my after school hours imagining band life, musicians daily pursuits and other rock n roll scenes. Would it be nice to be in a room with Damon Albarn and listen to his thoughts? LA must be awesome, I would be frequenting all Guns n Roses gigs.
All this time, I had no one to converse with about all these stars. My closest circle consisted of girls, and despite that I really enjoyed spending time with them, sharing secrets about our crushes during sleepover and whatnot, no one seems to understand my obsession with music and musicians down to the finest details. No one seems to get that discovering Crush with Eyeliner video was a brain-f*cked.
No wonder, when I finally met a classmate who recited Yellowledbetter and can talked forever about what a brilliant song Married with Children was, I had this strange feeling in my heart. Unlike Park, he was a popular boy in school and had exes in tow! Argh, I was secretly in love an in denial, but would spend hours conversing about what we have seen on MTV last night. He was the one who gets it when I discreetly showed him my brand new Hard Rock Cafe Michael Stipe edition when I was passing by. We both, of course, had a long argument about who loves Michael Stipe more.
Now readers, this is a story about Park and me, not about how I had my heart badly broken. I moved school - not because I was broken hearted, mind you, it was just about time to choose a new high school - it took another lonely two years until I found someone who speaks about Ten album with sparkling eyes. This time it was an awesome girl, and we’ve been best friends ever since. We had falling out and making up, but safely to say, no hearts were destroyed, and our relationship has grown so much beyond punk and hardcore scenes.
And still after all those years, meeting Park in Eleanor and Park, was a revelation of what it feels like to meet someone who speaks your language. And for that, I will always hug this book whenever I see it in a book store.
And readers, I wish you meet that kind or person, many many times in your life, and never stay out of touch.
And readers, I wish you meet that kind or person, many many times in your life, and never stay out of touch.
