The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second (30 page)

Yep, it needs work.

What do I think my chances are? My fingers aren't crossed and I'm not holding my breath. But I'm actually kinda happy for once.

Christ, what am I supposed to do now?

A READING GROUP GUIDE

 

THE SCREWED-UP LIFE OF CHARLIE THE SECOND

 

DREW FERGUSON

 

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

 

The suggested questions are included to enhance your group's reading of Drew Ferguson's
The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second.

• 1) As a novel,
  The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second
  is told entirely through Charlie's journal. Does the journal form allow Charlie to reveal more than first-person narrators in other books? What are some examples of the things that Charlie reveals or discusses that main characters in other books avoid? Are there any moments in the book in which Charlie censors himself? Are there moments when he exaggerates?
  
• 2) Throughout the book, Charlie writes explicitly about his sexual fantasies and experiences. Do you think he's ever too explicit? Why or why not? What do Charlie's graphic descriptions of his sexual fantasies and activities reveal about him? When Charlie writes about losing his virginity, he details the wide range of emotions that he experiences. What are they and do they seem authentic?
  
• 3) At the beginning of the book, Charlie writes that his father, whom he's still calling First at the time, often refers to Charlie as “smartass.” Is Charlie truly a smartass all the time? Are there moments when his sarcasm might be a defense mechanism? At what moments in the novel does Charlie stop being sarcastic and reveal his true feelings?
  
• 4) Since the novel is in the form of Charlie's journal, we only get to see the people in Charlie's life through his eyes. Are his opinions of his friends and family fair or unfair? Are his opinions about the people in his life 100 percent reliable?
  
• 5) Charlie and First have a difficult relationship for much of the book. When, if ever, is Charlie too hard on First? How does their relationship change over the course of the novel? How is Charlie's relationship with First different from and similar to Charlie's relationship with his mother?
  
• 6) It's been said that there are only two types of stories—“a man goes on a quest” and “a stranger comes to town.” In the first chapter, Charlie meets Rob Hunt, whose family has just moved to Charlie's hometown of Crystal Lake; and Rob, in many respects, changes the direction of Charlie's life. At the same time, Charlie is on his own quest for self-discovery. In what ways is
  The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second
  a “stranger comes to town” story? A “man goes on a quest” story? Can it be both?
  
• 7) In many of his journal entries, Charlie compares and contrasts the romantic relationships of the people in his life. What do you think he learns about the various types of love from them? Does he apply these lessons to his relationship with Rob or ignore them? Charlie says in his journal that he's in love with Rob, but also writes that he loves his best friend Bink, and he is frequently jealous of Bink's girlfriend Dana? Does he love Rob and Bink differently? What type of partner do you think would be better for Charlie—one like Rob or Bink? Why?
  
• 8) At one point in the book, Charlie expresses the desire to be “human wallpaper.” Is he being truthful? Does Charlie really want to blend in or does he want to stand out while being accepted for who he is?
  
• 9) Charlie mocks just about everyone he comes in contact with—stoners at school, sensitive goth girl poets, rural rednecks, lesbians until graduation and closet-case varsity jocks, his parents, the old, the mentally handicapped, give-peace-a-chance flower children “gone to seed,” ROTC Nazi gun nuts, and even himself. How many of his views are affected by his age? His personality? His own experience with being mocked?
  
• 10) By the end of the book, most of the characters have made their own decisions as to whether Mr. Hunt, Rob's dad, played a role in his wife's death, but there's no definitive evidence introduced in the book to show whether her death was an accidental overdose or an assisted suicide. How do each of the characters come to his or her own conclusion about Paul Hunt's innocence or guilt? Do you believe Paul Hunt intentionally killed Rob's mother? Why or why not?
  
• 11) The book begins and ends with the personal essay Charlie is writing for his college applications. What do the two versions of the essay show about Charlie? What about his life is or isn't screwed up at the end of the book?