Review: Jasper Jones
April 29th, 2010 § 9 Comments
by Craig Silvey
Published by Windmill Book
April 29, 2010 (that’s today!)
368 pages
finished: 04.18.10
my rating: 9/10
i think it’s only fitting to post a review of a wonderful book on the day of its release, although unfortunately, it is not being released in the U.S. at this time. *sniffle* but, seriously, if you are somewhere that is lucky enough to be able to purchase this book (like the UK), do it and do it now!
the opening chapter will lead you to believe that this book is dark and almost depressing, when the young Jasper Jones turns to Charlie Bucktin in an act of desperation after discovering the body of a young girl in “his spot” in the woods. but, honestly, it’s misleading. it is true that some very serious issues are discussed – prejudice, divorce, violence – but, it is done in such an unassuming way that you can almost forget the dead girl. it’s nearly secondary to the exploration of the joyousness of adolescence, but because everyone thinks the girl is missing and everyone is talking about her, it does eventually come back to her.
Charlie is a lanky, bookish 13 year old boy and he lives a fairly charmed life in a small mining town in Australia. although his parents are a little imbalanced, they are a realistic and almost endearing family. when he isn’t home, Charlie is with Jeffrey, who “despite being roughly the size of a garden gnome, [he] can manage to be intimidating.” let me just state that Jeffrey is all kinds of awesome, and the two boys together were the highlight of the book. from their intense debate about which superhero was the best, to their love of cricket (which i definitely couldn’t follow, but still found amusing), their dialogue was some of the most entertaining that i have read in a very long time. the characters were all so well developed with a wry sense of humor that i couldn’t help but fall in love with all of them.
but, the book really boils down to Jasper and his story, as the title suggests. he is of Aboriginal descent and is labelled as trouble by all of the parents in town. however, he is seriously underestimated and misunderstood and the unfolding of his story, along with the obvious dead girl thing, introduced the more serious undertones to the book. Jasper was the type of kid that was strong on the outside for the purpose of survival, but was still just a kid that needed to know he was a good person. and i think that’s something that a lot of people can relate to in some way or another.
“I don’t need to trick meself into thinkin anyone else is listenin, or even cares. Because it doesn’t matter. I matter. And I know I’ll be alright. Because I got a good heart, and fuck this town for makin me try to believe otherwise. It’s what you come with and it’s what you leave with. And that’s all I got.”
the characters really made this book for me. though the narrative and dialogue tended to ramble a bit, it was the carefree sort of rambling that was so entertaining that i didn’t really mind. however, if you are the type of person who needs really dense, realistic plots, you may find Silvey’s style to be a little distracting. arguably, the boys were unreasonably wise beyond their years at times, but the writing was so engaging that it didn’t matter to me. this is a book that has the appeal of a lighthearted Young Adult book and the literary appeal of a heartier piece of fiction, with a dabbling of romance and suspense. it was a joy to read and has definitely been one of my favorite reads this year!
Oo this sounds really good! This was a fantastic review – it really covered everything I needed to know to decide whether this book was something I would enjoy reading. Thanks!
thank you so much for saying so! it’s always nice to know that the reviews are helpful.
i’ll be interested to see what you think of it if you are able to get your hands on a copy.
Hey! Great review
I read this book last year and loved it! In fact, it was one of my favourite reads last year!
oh, i’m glad you liked it! and lucky you that you were able to get your hands on a copy! i can’t believe i lucked out myself.
i wish it was on sale here. it’s one of those books i’d love to buy for a few people. it was just so much fun to read!
Lovely review, thank you! I pre-ordered this from Amazon and managed to get my hands on it today – I had to drive 20 miles to the courier depot to colllect it as they kept missing me! It’s one of my next to be read books. Thank you for confirming my journey was worth it!
oh, i do hope you enjoy it! i’m tempted to read it again and i very rarely re-read books.
[...] Jasper Jones by Craig [...]
[...] ‘A joy to read and has definitely been one of my favorite reads this year!’ – The Little Reader [...]
Can you explain how this novel teaches us that perceptions can be misleading, by using 2 examples from the novel to support your response?