(Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
“Thou shalt not be a victim, and thou shalt not be a perpetrator. But above all else—thou shalt not be a bystander.”
That’s one lesson Richard Bettis learned from Matt.
One referred to Matt Mueller as an “enlightened outcast”, as he lived with compassion, love, a sense of serenity, and down-syndrome. He touched so many lives, especially that of Richard, who was considered to be mentally disabled.
Our involvement starts as the “short bus” dropped off children who were mentally and physically impaired. A gang of privileged youth would regularly mock and torment them. These bullies felt entitled, and their behavior was ignored by their parents, teachers, the church, and the community at large.
If that wasn’t enough, an “incident” occurred where the ringleader was humiliated during one of those bouts of intimidation. In a fit of rage, the displaced leader, Kyle Rattigan, threw a rock which hit Richard in the head.
While these sociopaths continued to live their lives, Richard was sent to the Parker Rehabilitation Home where he lived in a comatose state for decades. The only person who didn’t give up on him was Matt. While in the coma, Richard thought he could fly, moving between time and space by using his mind. Initially he just flew to Neverland, but then his flying represented so much more. Matt would read to him, often from his own writings, and Richard soaked up every word.
We follow the adult lives of three of the bullies, a few of the disabled who were on that bus, and Matt’s influence on them. One is an alcoholic reporter, who was one of the perpetrators of “the incident”. To bridge the chapters which center on different characters, Richard relates his thoughts to us while flying.
You may think this sounds like a fantastical and overly sentimental story. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are sordid events that will make the reader uncomfortable, and personal redemption proves not to be automatic and not for everyone.
In fact, there are so many layers to this story, such as good versus evil, crime, philosophy, fantasy, religion, corruption, family dysfunction and abuse, as well as empathy. Normally I would say that there were too many elements, but author Del Staecker manages to make it all work well.
Tard is a unique novel and one of those literary gems that is hard to come by. A must-read!
