Full of unforgettable characters, a page-turning pace and outrageously good dialogue, this is a glorious novel - thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and wise - about outsiders and secrets, and what it really means to be a hero.
Late on a hot summer night in the tail-end of 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan. Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress.
Jasper takes him through town and to his secret glade in the bush, and it's here that Charlie bears witness to Jasper's horrible discovery. With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion as he locks horns with his tempestuous mother, falls nervously in love and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend, Jeffrey Lu.
And in vainly attempting to restore the parts that have been shaken loose, Charlie learns to discern the truth from the myth, and why white lies creep like a curse. In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, and even harder to hold in his heart.
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“Jasper Jones has come to my window.” From the opening line the author has you hooked on this modern classic, which often explores in a brutally honest way, what it was like growing up in rural Australia in the 1960's.
Charlie is a young teen who spends most his time with his head in a book or hanging out with his Vietnamese friend Jeffrey, he isn't one of the cool kids. So when the half caste rebel Jasper comes to his window one steamy night, Charlie jumps at the chance to make an impression. What he doesn’t realise is that one fateful choice to follow Jasper out the window will change not only his life, but those around him forever.
This novel artfully manages to convey racial prejudice at a time when the Vietnam war was at its peak and how the beginning of immigration was not accepted by many. This contrasts with the treatment of Jasper the half caste, whom always gains the blame of every misfortune that befalls the town.
The use of Aussie slang in this book is a welcome addition for the reader as it makes for an easy enjoyable read, without any of the many American cliches one often sees in books today.
Jasper Jones is the perfect read for those wanting a thrilling Aussie drama that keeps you guessing right up until the very end. - Amorette (QBD)
Guest, 23/03/2017
