Best Boy: A Novel [Paperback]

Sent to a therapeutic community for autism at the age of eleven, Todd Aaron, now in his fifties, is the Old Fox of Payton LivingCenter. A joyous man who rereads the encyclopedia compulsively, he is unnerved by the sudden arrivals of a menacing new staffer and a disruptive, brain-injured roommate. His equilibrium is further worsened by Martine, a one-eyed new resident who has romantic intentions and convinces him to go off his meds to feel normal again. Undone by these pressures, Todd attempts an escape to return home to his younger brother and to a childhood that now inhabits only his dreams. Written astonishingly in the first-person voice of an autistic, adult man,Affecting. . . . Todds is an engaging and nuanced consciousness, so vital that the reader feels profound tendernessand distinct fearas this sweet man ventures out into the world. . . . As ill-advised as his flight might be, we stand on the ground below . . . enchanted by the simplicity of his soaring.Arresting. . . . The books empathy is bracing.Powerful and engaging. . . .? A deeply moving portrait of a kind and gentle soul. Recommended for all readers.Amid the flood of books about autism in childhood comes this gripping novel about the fresher territory of autism in midlife. It is written with elan, wit, and great empathy, and it limns in fiction the crisis our nation faces in real life as we try to construct viable supports for this burgeoning population.A remarkable achievementan intimate and convincing portrayal of what the world looks like from inside the mind of a mentally handicapped but unusually sensitive, observant, and decent man.In the clear-as-a-tinkling-bell voice of Todd Aaron, Gottlieb reveals how certain events and experiences cause this fiftysomething man with autism to suddenly go into a post-post-post-adolescent rebellion&. But in the way of all things happening for a reason, Gottliebs marvelous novel has happened so that readers may be in awe of all the univlC$