Jasper Jones (2009) is set in the summer of 1965 in
the small mining town, Corrigan, in Western Australia.
Charlie Bucktin is thirteen years old, an avid reader
and dreamer, who wants to be a writer. He likes Eliza Wishart, but his shyness
and lack of courage prevent him from telling her. The test of courage in the
town is to steal something from the property of Mad Jack Lionel. But when
Jasper Jones knocks on Charlie’s window late at night, an adventure begins. And
it has everything to do with Eliza’s sister, Laura.
Jasper Jones is fourteen. He “has a terrible
reputation in Corrigan. He’s a Thief, a Liar, a Thug, a Truant. He’s lazy and
unreliable. He’s a feral and an orphan, or as good as … he’s the first name to
be blamed for all manner of trouble” primarily because he’s half-caste. Charlie
comes to learn of Jasper Jones – his life, his background, and his true nature.
Charlie’s “best and only friend, who is younger and
smaller and … smarter” is Jeffrey Lu, of Vietnamese parents. Vietnam is at war.
Jeffrey is keen on cricket and extremely good at it – if the club would give him
a go. He’s unflappable. But Charlie never tells him about Jasper Jones. That’s
because Charlie answers Jasper’s pleas for help and goes into the night to a
hidden place by the river, where he is witness to something horrific –
something secret.
The novel has been described as “an Australian To Kill a Mockingbird” or a Tom Sawyer tale. With similar themes to
the two iconic novels it is not quite at their literary level, but nevertheless it is well-told and intriguing. Jasper Jones
is about small-town hypocrisy and injustice, racism and prejudice. It is a
coming-of-age novel. It is also about the test of relationships as a young teenager - with parents, with authority figures, with schoolmates, and with girlfriends.
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