The Fundamentals of Caring by Jonathan Evison

 

Author: Jonathan Evison

Title: The Fundamentals Of Caring 

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Published: 2013

Pages: 304

Genre: Contemporary Fiction 

     The first rule of caring is Don't Get Emotionally Involved. So clueless carer Ben probably shouldn't have agreed to drive stroppy, wheelchair-bound teenager Trevor 400 miles across America to reunite with his deadbeat dad. Especially when Trevor's mother has absolutely forbidden it. Especially when a road trip like this could go so disastrously, gloriously wrong...

     Any of you that have read my reviews for a while know I'm also a huge movie fan. I've spent many a happy day stuck in front of the big and for that matter small screen watching films. And this unsparingly is how I came to The Fundamentals of Caring. A late-night search on netlfix for something to make me feel good. Now I have long since given up on good adaptations of books to films.  But for me this film hit the mark I laughed and got invested in the characters and that's what matters right. Now cut forward a few months to Christmas and someone got me the book for Christmas. And I was curious to see how this one would stack up against the film. 

     Whilst books of this nature are readily available they are usually not from the male perspective. I'm assuming this is because in the society we live in the caring and naturing side is mostly seen as a women's area. If you ask someone to describe a carer for someone who is disabled how often would they describe a man. So yes this does give us a different look into this world. Now you might ask you self does this work can you get behind them, to some extent yes and no. It is not always best to know what is going on inside our heads. And more precisely how our two leads talk about the women they come across. In the film, this is kept too much more of a minimum. And for me, I think it makes it more enjoyable for a wider audience. No one really wants to read about themselves being objectified.

      So this is the juxtapose of the book because it really does have heart. You care about these people that Evison introduces you to. Their ups and downs make you feel for them and it's not like any of them have it easy. Here we get to see people who have been repeatedly dealt a bad hand but still get up in the morning and try their best. They will also make you laugh at the true absurdity of life. It's one of those books that tries its best to make you feel good about your own life. That no matter how bad your life gets some smart-arsed kid in a wheelchair is is going to make you feel dumb for complaining about the little things. 

      I will admit this is one of the few times when I enjoyed the film more than the book. Whilst the book is still a great outing and will be enjoyed by most who pick it up from me the film had a bit more heart. So I will leave it up to you as to which you choose time sure you will enjoy either or in fact both.