It's Kind of a Funny Story

by Sarah

 

Craig Gilner, the main character and narrator of the book It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, is a teenager living in New York City who has the obsessive desire to learn and get accepted into a school for young brainiacs. He studies for hours at a time, using anything he can to help him get accepted. Two of his friends, Nia (the girl he fancies) and Aaron (longtime friend and Nia’s boyfriend), also end up attending this school, yet they hardly put in any effort, unlike Craig, who spent a majority of his time in his room, slaving over his textbooks.

 

 

Upon starting the school year, he finds that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do as well as he did before. His 93 average just isn’t cutting it for him anymore. He becomes depressed- more so than he was in the past. He also has a problem with keeping his food down; he hears voices that sound like military soldiers in his head, asking if he can do it, can he keep it down this time, or will he throw it all up again? More often than not, he loses the battle and spills his meal into the porcelain throne. Think odd habits or problems couldn’t go any further than this? Wrong. He also finds great relief from stress and life by...peeing. To each his own, yet it’s difficult to imagine this working on depression relief. His reasoning is that it’s simple, and he likes simple.

 

He sees a therapist (Dr. Minerva), who talks to him about his fears and feelings. Craig feels that if he can’t get a 98.6 average (which is also the normal body temperature) he won’t get into a good college, which would mean that he couldn’t get a good job, which will lead to not living a good lifestyle, and will finally end with becoming homeless. He has things he calls “anchors” and “tentacles.” His anchors are things that make him feel better, like biking, while his tentacles are “evil tasks that invade his life,” such as school. What he calls “The shift” is the change in his life that he’s been waiting for. The shift has yet to happen, so his depression doesn’t seem to be any better.

 

One night is particularly bad for Craig, and he contemplates suicide. Part of him is thinking about biking out to a bridge and then jumping off. It’d all be done with. The other, more logical part, of him finds a number for a suicide hotline and takes the advice of the lady on the other line. He then checks himself into the hospital within walking distance of where he lives. (This isn’t a spoiler, really. It’s toward the beginning and in Craig’s POV; therefore, it’s almost guaranteed that he won’t die this quickly into the story.) The nurses and doctors talk to him about what brought him there, and eventually, his Mom came in to see him as well. Craig agrees to be admitted to the mental hospital, thinking he’ll be there for a short time- short enough that he won’t miss any school. Not the case.

 

He finds that he’s now amongst some disturbed, yet quite interesting, people. There’s the transexual sex addict that tries to make a move on Craig, the Egyptian man who won’t leave his room, the girl who cut her face with scissors, & many other people that Craig more than likely wouldn’t have experienced their company otherwise. His life takes a new turn while admitted here, one that could be for the better or worse.

 

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is truly a funny story. While it does talk about serious topics like depression, self harming, suicide, and other mental illnesses, it does it in a way that doesn’t take your emotions down a black hole. You may find yourself laughing during parts of the book where they’re talking about such things that normally wouldn’t be quite as amusing. Craig’s dry humor and outlook on life makes it such an interesting, yet conflicting, read. You want to be sad for the characters (they’re in a mental hospital), but at the same time, you want to sit across the table from them, laughing and playing cards.

 

The author, Ned Vizzini, spent a short time in a mental hospital in 2004 for depression. He said this book took some inspiration from this experience in his life. The book has since received great reviews and a good following since it was published on April 1, 2006. Four years later, a movie based off the story was released. The movie starred Keir Gilchrist as Craig, Emma Roberts as Noelle (she comes along further in the story...scissor girl), and Zach Galifianakis as Bobby, just to name a few names.

 

On a personal scale, I would recommend this read to anyone with intelligence, empathy, and a nice sense of humor. However, make sure you have enough time to read large chunks at a time, due to its being fairly lengthy, yet incredibly interesting, to read. Your mind will more than likely want to absorb it all at once. Wouldn’t that be a funny story?