I don't even know how to explain this book! The main character is Charles Marlow - as an adult and also as a child. The story moves back and forth between these parts of his life. In present day he is a long-divorced man who teaches English to high school students. His daughter, Emmy, has left the nest to go across the country to college. His parenting is still not done because of his son Cody. Cody is extremely autistic. When he began to lose his language Charles' wife Alison began to feverishly search for a reason. There were no answers of course. Cody is now in a facility but he will soon be 'aging' out of the system and Alison is on the hunt for a new place.
The story of his childhood is mostly focused on the year he was in fourth grade. That was the year that his teacher was determined to make sure they practiced and practiced their Palmer penmanship. I can't really explain to you here why that it is important but it is a recurring theme throughout the book.
This is not a fast, easy read. It is much deeper than that! And the ending was a big surprise. I loved it.
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