FIRST CONSONANTS

A speech disorder shapes a boy’s life in countless, often violent ways in Treat’s novel.

Brian Moriarty, born in the mid-20th century, has a stuttering problem. He doesn’t respond well when people (including a teacher and later a female student) laugh at his disorder, so Brian, who lives in a ranch home in Tummus, Washington, avoids speaking as much as he can. As such, he mostly keeps to himself, even when at home with his parents and his younger brother Bruce, aka “Bam.” He’s also prone to grim contemplation, setting his own life “rules” that generally involve meting out punishment against people he deems guilty. (“It was the sheer act of violence, an end worthy in itself because it restored Brian to a fixed presence in the world, irrefutable and due him.”) He does, at the same time, suffer abuse, from his father, who uses his hands to make a point, and a priest who betrays Brian’s trust. As his tumultuous life continues, Brian gets a job translating French and Russian documents, which allows him to write—and not worry about speaking—these languages. He finds a steady relationship with Mary, a schoolmate who overcame stuttering but whose twin brother did not. The two plan a future and a potential family, though Brian’s violent tendencies don’t simply go away. Perhaps things will change once he makes it to Utopia, Alaska, a place he’s long dreamed about, where he can disappear into its forests and never have to say anything.

Treat effectively portrays Brian’s recurrent issues with stuttering and stammering; for example, Brian steers clear of particular letters he has trouble with, including the B in his own name (Alaska first catches his attention because it’s easily pronounceable). He personifies his stutter as the sharp-nosed Joker from a pack of playing cards, his “secret friend” who sporadically pops into the narrative to taunt Brian about his life. Brian is a complicated protagonist and decidedly hard to empathize with. Readers may suspect an unchecked mental condition informing his actions: “The sole thing competing with the ballpoint’s scratching noises were voices quarreling in his head. One was the Joker’s, and it was the loudest and most insistent.” Brian tries to validate such questionable choices as mercilessly beating more than one individual for minor slights. He abides by his own rules (making violence permissible) and finds common ground with a notable literary figure who, in their own story, kills someone. The rest of the cast is indelible, even from Brian’s third-person perspective. Mary is supportive and genuinely understands what Brian is going through, not unlike the school-assigned speech therapist who suggested the boy maintain a “stuttering diary” to focus on both bothersome words and associated feelings. Surprisingly, Bam is the only character who gets a dedicated chapter, which details the ways in which his older brother’s intermittent punches have affected him as an adult. The unpredictable ending may provide a chance for Brian, if he so chooses, to redeem himself.

This dour coming-of-age tale thoughtfully explores how abuse impacts many people’s lives.