Checkers (novel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | John Marsden |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Released | 1996 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 122 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0395857546 |
Checkers is a young adult novel by Australian author John Marsden. It was first published by Houghton Mifflin on 1996, and was republished in 1998 and again by Laurel Leaf in 2000. It is Marsden's twelfth book.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
[edit] Flash back plot
The main plot of Checkers is told in flash back, first-person narration which takes the form of a diary. The author of this diary is a nameless teenage girl, who is a voluntary patient in a Psychiatric Ward. Before she admitted herself into hospital, she lived with a grimly dysfunctional and uncommunicative family of four, whose father was a co-owner of a company named Rider Group which received a multi-million dollar business contract. As part of celebration, the girl's father bought her a pet dog, which she named Checkers, for its odd fur pattern. Soon, however, her father's company began being attacked by the press, who accused him and his business partner of gross corruption, allegedly involving the Premier of the State. The Premier continually denied having ever met the girl's father, but these accusations and negative media attention escalated over a period of months; the pressure induced drove the family further apart and stongly bonded the girl with her pet dog. After continued familial isolation, the girl engaged in a conversation after school one day with a friendly reporter about her dog, Checkers, which she felt was an innocent enough topic. The next day, newspapers were leading with a story that almost conclusively proved the Premier had in fact known and met the girl's father before the contract was given to Rider Group. The Premier owned a dog that was nearly identical to Checkers, which was because they were in fact members of the same litter, most of which the Premier had given away to friends and associates, including the girl's father. That day, her father killed Checkers with a carving knife out of rage and the girl become mentally unbalanced. She soon admitted herself into the Psychiatric Ward of a hospital.
[edit] Present Day Subplots
The novel also has many sub-plots which takes place in the psychiatric ward in real time. These sub-plots are mostly descriptions and backstories of the other teenagers in the ward, who all suffer from various types of mental defection. These characters include Daniel, who is an obsessive-compulsive homosexual, Cindy, a emotionally damaged self mutilator, Esther, a heavily medicated but honest and friendly "query psychotic" who believes there is an animal living inside her head, Ben, a boy with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oliver, an anorectic and Emine, a Turkish-Australian girl who was driven to mental breakdown by the pressure of strict, Turkish parents. Each character is given considerable text and attention, up until the final chapter when the last of them leave the ward and return to normal life, leaving only the unnamed narrator, who suggests she means never to leave.
[edit] Writing Structure and Style
The method of writing a novel as a journal of a fictional teenage character is one that Marsden adopts frequently; his most successful novels (So Much To Tell You, The Tomorrow series) have all been in this style, which is ideal for slow reveal in a story, and for presenting certain mindsets accurately. For instance, much of the book is a fond reminiscence of Checkers and a resentful recollection of the financial scam that drove the main character to break down, which are the only two things that consume her thoughts. It also allows twist endings to work well, as the pivotal moment of the story has already happened and hence can simply be placed at the end of the journal without any real continuity problems.
The novel is very similar in premise and approach to many of Marsden's other notable works, which suggests a semi-formulaic writing style. This similarity, or consistency, is even noted by Marsden himself; the final chapter of the book contains a subtle self reference (see Miscellanea).
[edit] Miscellanea
- In the final chapter of the novel, the main character provides a short description of the new teenage arrivals to her psychiatric ward. One of the patients she describes is a boy named Tony, who is "in a wheelchair" and is "really violent". This description perfectly matches the main character of Dear Miffy, another John Marsden novel about a troubled teenager writing their thoughts while in a psychiatric ward.
- In describing the situation with the father's business and the ensuing scandal, Marsden writes that it "stank worse than the Cheshunt Abbatoirs". This seems to be a reference to fellow Australian novelist Isobelle Carmody's young-adult book The Gathering, in which Marsden is credited as an inspiration.
