Felt like marking it DNF around page 100, but felt that there MUST be some revelation before the end. Nope. ( )

Your enjoyment of a book often depends on how much you like the protagonist. In this case, I very much enjoyed Jack, the owner of a mulch store, whose wife has left him and moved in with his -- now former -- best friend. Jack is left alone to contend with their seven-year-old autistic son, Hendrick. Jack's struggles to be a good father, and his efforts to win his wife back -- while trying to figure out why she left -- make for very compelling reading. The Publishers Weekly review listed here says it's never fully clear why Jack's wife, Beth, left him. That shocked me. The books makes abundantly clear why the wife walked out -- she's frustrated with Jack because he starts things, like tearing up their kitchen and buying an identical house across the street, without finishing these projects or understanding why he's taken them on. She's also burnt out from the challenges of raising their son. There are wonderful secondary characters here -- the crew who work at the mulch store, including Jack's right hand man, who gets things done but whose macho, jingoistic worldview doesn't allow for much senstitivity towards women and minorities, and the Mexican man who's managing to teach Hendrick Spanish. Best of all is the best friend's ex-girlfriend, Rena, who hooks up with Jack and gives him a small and brief taste of being with an iconoclastic woman who doesn't become enraged by his crazy schemes. You'll feel a lot of compassion for Jack, while admiring the way he nobly stumbles through the challenges life is throwing at him.
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This is a story involving some quirky characters, including Hen, an autistic six-year-old. What I loved about this book was the relationships everyone had with Hen. I especially liked when Jack, his dad, would watch in amazement when he caught his son momentarily doing ordinary things that any normal six-year-old might do. It was heartening to see how the characters in the story took Hen's behaviors in stride and honestly loved him. ( )

TO READ