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This is one of those works which should come with the warning "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now." If ever there was a book guaranteed to shake the emotional equilibrium of any parent and make him or her think "There but for the grace of God…" this is certainly it. Emma Hunt is the mother of two boys. The elder of the two is Jacob, a high functioning autistic boy who, at the time of the action of the novel is eighteen. Theo, the younger son, is fifteen. When Theo was very young – about the time Jacob was diagnosed—the boys' father, Henry, decamped. Now he lives on the other side of the country with his newish wife and two perfect little daughters. Henry has no contact with his sons although he does pay their maintenance. Because the amount paid to her is so small, Emma has a part time job as an agony aunt on a local publication. Jacob, due to the Asperger's Syndrome, has no concept of empathy. He takes language literally, unable to understand metaphors. He needs structure in his life and must have rules (hence the title of the novel) in order to function. His quirks are such that the family is condemned to having single coloured food according to the days of the week. Because Emma must, of necessity, devote so much time to Jacob's needs, Theo is, for a lot of the time, left to his own devices, since none of his peers wish to associate with the boy who has such a weird sibling. Thus, he takes up a hobby, which most would see as anti-social. He becomes a Peeping Tom and one day, in pursuit of his hobby, spies on Jacob's social skills counsellor, Jess Ogilvy, a student in her early twenties. Shortly after this encounter (Jess sees Theo) Jess' lifeless body is discovered and Jacob is arrested for her murder. There is not much mystery about the nature of Jess's death; Jacob's fascination with crime scenes and forensic science pretty much ensures that he would be seen as a murderer, although the reader realises it couldn't be so. This is an enthralling read. For those readers who are unfamiliar with Asperger's Syndrome it will open up unexpected vistas. The emphasis of the book is on the nature of Asperger's and the problems it creates within a family. The characterisation is very well done and the reader cannot help but have the utmost sympathy for both Emma and Theo – although Jacob, who is, by very definition, incapable of empathy, deserves a huge chunk of the reader's sympathy. Picoult has, as almost always, done a wonderful job with this work and no doubt readers throughout the world are anxiously anticipating her next book. § Denise Pickles has been reviewing for RTE for many years. She lives in Australia.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, February 2011
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