Looking for Alaska
John Green (2005)
“A boy obsessed with famous last words falls in love with a girl who is looking for the way out of the labyrinth — and doesn't survive to find it.”
EraContemporary
Pages221
Difficulty★☆☆☆☆ Accessible
AP Appearances2
Character Analysis
Named 'Pudge' ironically by the Colonel — he's thin. His real name is Miles, but 'Pudge' sticks because it's given with affection. His obsession with last words is his way of organizing the chaos of mortality into something collectible. He comes to Culver Creek seeking a Great Perhaps and finds it immediately in Alaska — and then loses it just as immediately. The novel is his account of learning that the Great Perhaps was never a person or a place but a willingness to remain inside uncertainty without requiring a resolution.