MATT

A young therapy assistant makes a life-changing breakthrough with a disabled man in Hirschi’s novel.

Twenty-three-year-old Matthew Walker, who has cerebral palsy, can’t speak or otherwise express himself. He’s at the mercy of assistants, who care for him while his mother, Martha Walker, spends the day at work as a cashier. She’s in the dark about what Matt feels or thinks; she assumes that he’s unable to form complex thoughts after a doctor cruelly refers to Matt’s brain as equivalent to “a head of lettuce”: “Society and the medical profession had long ago given up on him. His other personal assistants mostly treated him as a living body bag, a useless sack of flesh, bones, blood, and skin.” Things start to change, however, when Timmy, a young, new assistant, starts treating Matt with more compassion. Timmy sees a spark in Matt, and, after much effort, Matt manages to give him a signal that he understands him; it turns out that Matt has fallen in love with the assistant, although he doesn’t reveal this. When Timmy shares news of the communication breakthrough with Martha, however, she responds with anger, frustration, and disbelief.In a fit of rage, Martha has Timmy fired, and his replacement, Colin, abuses Matt, plunging him into a world of horror. Over the course of this work, Hirschi deftly depicts a harrowing experience of violence. The pacing of events starts to drags somewhat as the book goes on. Overall, though, Hirschi weaves a poignant story of compassion, love, and the complexities of living disabled. Each chapter is told from a different viewpoint, including Matt’s, exposing the horror and shame caused by abuse. When Martha realizes that Matt is going through such torment, she begs for Timmy to return, and when the assistant comes back into Matt’s life, the author effectively shows how a new world opens up for both of them.

A tender novel about living with a disability.