Boy in the Blue Hammock
Boy in the Blue Hammock
The pair slowly descends the stairs. Although Tao senses the danger and the difficulty of the world between here and his former training site he is, at this moment, happy. His skin is a millpond. His fractured leg, a distant storm. And Boy is at his heel. Submissive. Following.
The tether used with the absconder male – he wishes he had one for Boy, as prompt rather than prevention. He has seen Boy slow to move in urgent circumstances. One occasion, on a walk to the village, there was a construction site where a number of pylons had been knocked down. One by one Boy replaced them, each carefully positioned to restore a perfect perimeter. By the fourth cone, traffic was bearing down. Boy didn’t care. Or cared too much. With horns blaring and rage being hurled from open windows, Man scooped Boy around the hips, lifted him off his feet, and carried him to the sidewalk.
Tao knows there won’t be a tether on this voyage. And trickery such as stealing a book will wear thin, like the hair on his compromised skin. Ultimately, achieving safety will require the trust of Boy.
*
At the bottom of the stairs, the silence in the house is shattered by the wail of a siren. Pulses of yellow light flood the blinds. Clomping boots litter the pavement. Diesel and cordite choke the air. The damaged front door creaks open an inch then settles back to its original post.
Tao cowers, tail tucked between his legs. The Gingerbread Man falls from his mouth.
He looks behind.
*
Kasper stands on tiptoes, hands pressed against his headphones. When the siren cuts out, he runs a finger along the handrail. Then he lays down on the steps and shifts onto his side, face six inches from the wall. He whispers.
“Help…
“He iss getting away…
“They began to chase…
“Run, run…
“Fass as you can.”
Author Darren Groth takes his readers to a dystopian world where things are badly out of control. A regressive regime rules, and people are left to look out for themselves, often at the expense of their friends and neighbours. Necessities are scarce, mistrust and hatred rule the world, and any sort of humanity seems to have disintegrated. In this setting, readers meet Tao and Boy, a dog and an intellectually disabled, autistic teenager, who are left on their own to get away from the house where the rest of the family was killed and somehow navigate to a safe place for both of them.
The entire novel is written from the point of view of Tao, the service dog who recognizes that it is his duty to protect Boy from the hounds - militaristic groups intent on establishing a new society based entirely on their regressive and misguided ideas of what the world should be like. Tao and Boy must avoid not only these militants but also others who are not what they seem, enemies disguised as do-gooders wishing to help. Tao and Boy develop a strong bond of trust with one another while also learning whom to trust in the wider world.
Boy is based on the intellectually disabled and neurodiverse son of the author, and readers will cheer for him throughout the novel. He copes with life as best he can but must rely on others once outside the safe cocoon of the blue hammock in his bedroom. Kasper is generally oblivious to the dangers and worries which swirl around him and so his friendship with Tao is especially important if he is to survive.
Themes of friendship and trust are key in this novel which portrays a thoughtful and emotional bond between Boy and Tao, made even more striking against the grey and gloomy background of the world in which they must survive. There is tension and adventure in the book as readers struggle alongside the duo, narrowly escaping what, at times, seems like an inevitable unhappy ending.
Older teens and adults will recognize that the novel poses very important and difficult philosophical questions, asking readers just what kind of society we want to have in the future and how we might best be able to ensure it. And, as we are contemplating this potential new world, we must strive to make it inclusive and welcoming for those who deviate from ‘normal’. Rather than being judgmental, we must be accommodating and accepting.
In Boy in the Blue Hammock, Darren Groth paints a dismal picture of society but also highlights a bright and hopeful duo who help us understand that, with mutual help and trust, even the most daunting obstacles can be overcome.
Ann Ketcheson, a retired teacher-librarian and high school teacher of English and French, lives in Ottawa. Ontario.