HEY, DUMMY

by Kin Platt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1971

The theme is involvement: Neil's protective interest in and eventually, total identification (by means of an ""altered personality due to an existing anxiety state from unknown psychogenic. . . causes"") with a brain-damaged boy. But the inept interior monologues (meant to convey the ""Dummy's"" state of mind), long-winded lectures on the facts of mental retardation, and heavy-handed reliance on the scapegoat motif impede any reader empathy. Just as we begin to plumb Neil's disintegrating psyche, the plot goes haywire -- with a dead girl, a lynch mob and an improbable escape -- and this well-intentioned, potentially enlightening, foray into abnormal psychology loses its own grip on reality. The result is stylistic confusion and, in the end, the exploitation of Neil's sensitively defined mental anguish for its shock value.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Chilton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1971

Categories: FICTION