House Rules

House Rules

Adult Mystery
"I suppose these talents would make me a hit at a cocktail party
if (a) I drank, which I don't, or (b) I had any friends to invite me
to a party, cocktail or not. My mother has explained it to me this
way: imagine what it's like to have someone with an intense stare come
up to you and start talking about medium-velocity-impact blood spatter
patterns caused by objects moving between 1.5 and 7.5 meters per
second and how they differ from high-velocity-impact spatter from
gunshots or explosives. Or even worse, imagine being the person
talking, and not getting the hint when the victim of your conversation
is desperately trying to escape."
Jacob, the speaker above and one of the main characters of Jodi
Picoult's House Rules, is often that person. He's been diagnosed with
autism. He's painfully aware of his frequent ostracism by peers and
his inability to read social cues or understand the emotions of those
around him. At one point he compares these disability symptoms to
being in a country where you don't know the language.
Jacob is also aware that younger brother, Theo, is about to
bypass him in what he's allowed to do. The current issue is learning
to drive with going off to college on the near horizon. Only Jacob's
future is in danger of being further circumscribed. His social skills
tutor goes missing on a day he's supposed to meet with her. When her
body is discovered his expertise in forensics that surpasses that of
many police officers, a fight he had previously with her, and typical
autism symptoms that the general public associates with guilt, such as
failure to make eye contact, get him on trial for her murder.
"...But the universe has a way of punishing you for your
deepest, darkest secrets; and as much as I love my son--as much as
Jacob has been the sun around which I've orbitted--I've had my share
of moments when I silently imagined the person I was supposed to be,
the one who got lost, somehow in the business of raising an autistic
child."
Emma had the heartbreak of seeing her formerly normal toddler
withdraw into a world of his own. Her husband left her, choosing to
go on to create a more perfect family. She did not have the option.
She's tried to help Jacob acquire the skills necessary for an as good
as possible life. She's worked really hard to have him mainstreamed.
Now the only possible way to get him acquitted is emphasizing his
diagnosis and the ways in which it makes him different. And his fate
is in the hands of twelve neurotypicals who may not be able to see
past their prejudices.
"You always read these books about kids who have autistic
siblings and are constantly looking out for them, who love them to
death, who do a better job diffusing their tantrums than their
adults. Well, I'm not one of those people. Sure, when Jacob used to
wander off I'd feel sick in the pit of my stomach, but it wasn't
because I was worried about him. It was because I had to be an awful
brother to be thinking what I was: Maybe he'll never be found, and I
can get on with my life."
Theo is the little brother who has to be the big brother. He's
never known his father who left when he was he was just a baby because
of Jacob's difference. He's the one who can't fight with Jacob even
when his brother steals his possessions. He's the one who is often
ostracized by his peers because of who his sibling is.
And he also has a secret that may have a lot to do with Jacob's
plight.
House Rules is a riveting courtroom drama and a whole lot more.
It delves into the issues surrounding people with neurological
disabilities who get caught in the criminal "justice" system. It also
presents the parent, child with a disability, more neurotypical
sibling triad in a humanizing way that takes all their perspectives.
I'd especially recommend this book for family members of people with
neorological challenges.
This book is so excellent that I'll forgive Picoult for the
defense lawyer's sexual misdeeds. She isn't the only one who adds
this element. If I only knew about lawyers from mysteries I'd wonder
if there were many who could resist hooking up in ways that are
ethically and sometimes legally forbidden? Can we say conflict of
interest?
On a purrrsonal note, House Rules is the book I'd been waiting all my
life for. In all my reading (and you know what a binge reader I am) I
had never met a character before Theo who reflected my experience of
being a teen who was invisible and made to grow up too fast in the
face of a sibling's disability. I'm not the only one who has had
these feelings!!!
On a purrrsonal note, Adam just stopped by on his way home from a
flying lesson. He's taking them again. And you know who he got this
interest from. He and Asia gave me a perfect Mothers Day gift. In
addition to giving me candy they donated $50 to Waterville Humane
Society in honor of me and Tobago. How purrrfect! (Jules)
I'm a graduate of Waterville Humane Society. If you live near there
and need a feline friend I'm sure they have plenty of good girls and
boys. (Tobago)
A great big shout out and thanks to Picoult for so skillfully breaking
this silence.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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