Book Review Heading: Confronting the darkness with Challenger Deep
Clockwork. Every gear, every screw works in perfect synchronization, as if they understand each other, as if they know that together they serve the great purpose of showing all the living beings the passage of time, except not one part is related to the other. Not a single screw knows it is serving any more of a purpose than that which is its very fundamental job. Yet together all these small parts produce something so meaningful that we as humans understand its true worth only after all the parts come together and make a ticking sound. Such is Neal Shusterman’s masterpiece, Challenger deep. Like a puzzle that can only be understood after every piece is in its designated place, his work keeps us on the edge of our seat, wondering, trying to make sense of all the different chapters, until finally the grand reveal leaves us agape, dumbfounded, possibly unstable and searching within our own minds, for the very fibers of our existence.
A Parrot, A Pirate, A Poirot, yes, pronounced like Agatha Christie’s detective, (PWAH-ROH) is what runs through the mind of our protagonist, 15-year-old Caden Bosch, or seaman Bosch. He embarks on an incredible voyage to the deepest point in the sea, the Marianas trench. At the same time, he finds himself wandering the streets barefoot at night, running towards whatever the signboards tell him to do. He knows he must obey the captain, or risk walking the plank. He knows he has a little sister he must help at home and parents and friends that wait patiently for him, but he cannot reach them, he cannot reach anybody, in fact, he cannot reach himself. He cannot find himself in his own head, he is in the walls, in the electric cables around his house, he sees things no one else can see. Caden Bosch is a Schizophrenic, Bipolar teenager.
The author very carefully spins a harrowing yet empathetic web for the readers, alternating between the reality we perceive to be normal, and the reality that Caden Bosch experiences day after day, in his head. Painting the novel throughout with strong metaphors and vivid imagery, the author transports us beyond every word to a world we desperately wish to mend but can only watch helplessly as Caden makes the journey through his head, alone and at the same time surrounded, by his deepest, darkest fears. The book is nonfiction, based on the author’s son Brendan Shusterman, who faced mental illness and found his piece of sky, a metaphor that can be understood on reading the book.
The main characters include the lead psychiatrist at the facility Caden is admitted into, or the captain of the ship. Caden’s roommate, (Hal) who in his head is the navigator, Carlyle, the swabby on the ship, Callie, the one girl that Caden truly connects with, in his head she is the masthead of the ship, constantly giving him the correct direction, she is the one link that keeps the ship afloat. And a character whose influence stays branded in the readers’ minds, long after finishing the book is the Parrot who is the metaphorical representation of the beast, which we as readers, realize quite later in the book, is the illness that Caden has. Though Caden’s parents, sister, and friends appear in the story, their influence is secondary to the internal battles Caden faces.
The book has no formal structure and is written in short excerpts, it mirrors the chaos in Caden’s mind, and the formlessness of the writing is what makes the readers really feel every dip and high that Caden experiences. It is sprinkled throughout with insightful humor, so to say it makes light out of the unsettling experiences as contrasted to making light of these experiences.
Beginning with Caden’s rising anxiety levels, feeling that a kid at school wants to kill him, followed by manic episodes where he thinks if he isn’t walking or pacing something terrible will happen to everyone around the world, this progresses into him seeing the signboards moving, hearing snakes which are actually the neighbor’s sprinklers and seeing the dolphins he painted as a child eye him up and down through his sister’s room, he cannot contain his thoughts anymore and they spill out, to his parents, who noticing his strange behavioral patterns, admit him into an institute.
This is followed by the masterstroke of the author, who has seen the realities of mental illness through his son, presents to us his world of sluggish reality due to the meds, the other patients at the facility and most importantly, Caden’s only escape, his art. The book has a few illustrations taken directly out of the authors’ son’s sketchbook filled during his episodes, that add further into the readers’ minds the unsettling need to pull themselves out of this reality. We experience every wave with Caden, his mind split between the Captain and the Parrot, his turmoil as he loses his closest few aboard the ship and of course, the Marianas trench, the final destination that he must face alone. The conclusion of this journey and the fates of the characters, I will leave unsaid.
This book, albeit, readable for all, its true essence can only be gauged out by those who keep a third eye open of sorts. An audience that is willing to try and understand beyond the mundane style of writing and normalcy will find this book a diamond in the rough.
According to the author’s note, Challenger Deep aims to find people that face the abyss and give them, even if it is just a little, strength to weather through the journey. As for people not facing any such demons, it gives us the strength to look at the challenges we face in our lives with courage, to find our footing in a storm we cannot control.
“And when the abyss looks into you -and it will- may you look back unflinching”
-Neal Shusterman (Authors note, Challenger Deep)