Not an entirely successful book.  Still, it is worth my read.  Howie is an interesting character, a mute because of an accident in Vietnam.  He can neither write, read, nor speak.  But the observations in his head are very sharp, using a large vocabulary.  I wonder whether your vocabulary would remain large after 20 years of not speaking.

He has the care of a boy thrust on him by a drug-addicted woman with whom he has been infatuated forever.  In caring for the boy he is forced to change, to grow, but also to grow more fragile.  It is this growth that is interesting.  Perhaps it is a little too contrived, a little too controlled.  However, it only feels that way in retrospect.

 The characters felt real.  The writing was better than average.  I'm glad that I read the book.