3/5 stars
Rubbernecker, by Belinda Bauer (2013)
Patrick Fort has Asperger's syndrome (I know it isn't referred to that way anymore, but that's how it is discussed in the book). He has trouble understanding situations and reading people's emotions. He's close with his father, but not his mother, who seems forever exasperated by his constant questions and confusion. And, though she never says it in so many words, she's also a little afraid of him - her odd son who, after the sudden death of his father in a hit-and-run accident when he's quite young (which he witnesses), becomes obsessed with death. Patrick's mother, an alcoholic, blames him for the death, but tries to do her best to raise him on her own.
Fast forward to Patrick's 20's. He has been accepted into med school, where his sole purpose is "finding out what happens when people die." (Like, where do they GO?) He is enrolled in an anatomy class where, for 22 weeks, he and his fellow students try to determine cause of death while dissecting a cadaver. Patrick is obsessive and annoying, but focused and determined - making him unpopular with most students, but a quick study in class. While exploring the cadaver, he makes a discovery that he finds suspicious - an indication of how this person died by foul play, but the official cause of death doesn't correspond with this (heart attack).
Meanwhile, somewhere else on a hospital coma ward, Samuel Galen lies in bed - unable to move, but aware of everything around him (if you're horrified by the idea of locked-in syndrome, this book is NOT for you). As he slowly begins to emerge from his coma, he witnesses something terrible that he simply must find a way to communicate to someone. But his musculature won't cooperate. All he can do is make general vowel sounds that just come out like moans.
I liked these two main characters. As off-putting as Patrick can be, he's sympathetic as well. I think Bauer does a good job of depicting someone who is both intelligent and functional, and kind of creepy and difficult to be around. Both Patrick and Samuel are unreliable as narrators - Patrick because his view of the world is skewed by his autism, and Samuel because, well, he's in a coma and on a lot of medications. But both are seeking the truth, and trying to communicate it to others in their flawed, fragmented ways.
What dropped this down to a 3-star, instead of 4, is that there was another storyline that never really linked up with the others. Another person in a coma, Mrs. Deal, who is at the same hospital. Her husband is having an affair with one of the nurses. There are some twists and intrigue to this storyline that I enjoyed, I just thought it should be a separate story, as it didn't really matter to the overall plot.
I really enjoyed this book, though, and am looking forward to reading more by Bauer. Thanks go to Kathy Salerno for the recommendation!
UP NEXT: Falling Back in Love with Being Human, by Kai Cheng Thom
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