Central to Stephanie Kallos’ Language Arts is the notion of stimming—repetitive, self-stimulating, physical movements and behaviors considered therapeutic for people with developmental disabilities. Cody Marlow, a low-functioning autistic boy, derives calm and balance from ritually crumbling bricks of Ramen noodles.
His father, Charles, nurses a lifelong preoccupation with drawing repeated loops, and an imprecise faith in the transcendent power of stimming binds father and son. A deeply absorbing, magnificently wrought look inside the stories a man tells himself about life, Language Arts overflows with insight and mesmerizing twists. Even with the remarkably high standard set by Kallos’ two previous novels, she shows no sign of faltering. Improbably enough, she keeps getting better. —Steve Nathans-Kelly
His father, Charles, nurses a lifelong preoccupation with drawing repeated loops, and an imprecise faith in the transcendent power of stimming binds father and son. A deeply absorbing, magnificently wrought look inside the stories a man tells himself about life, Language Arts overflows with insight and mesmerizing twists. Even with the remarkably high standard set by Kallos’ two previous novels, she shows no sign of faltering. Improbably enough, she keeps getting better. —Steve Nathans-Kelly
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