Joe - The Only Boy in the World
by Michael Blastland (9781861979445)

Joe - The Only Boy in the World (Book)

Published March 2007
No less than a voyage into the deep places of the human spirit and a vision of what lies beneath conventional notions of sanity and aberration.' - Ruth Rendell
In a hardware store, Joe sits on a display toilet amidst the throng of customers and wees, smiling serenely. He thumps crying babies. He is amazed when the car he runs in front of actually hits him. Joe is ten and mentally disabled. He's funny, fascinating and maddening, and this memoir tells his moving story, but also argues that until we know Joe's life, we can't understand our own. Through philosophy, psychology and medical research, the author explains how we are mind-readers, how we make sense of other people and how we understand guilt and innocence, and shows that Joe sets our humanity in sharp relief. But in that case, is Joe part of it? The author who asks that outrageous question is Joe's father.

About the Author : Michael Blastland makes current affair programs for UK radio. He lives in Hertfordshire, often with his daughter Cait, and less often and less quietly with his son Joe.

USD $22.07

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