At first, I felt caught up in the gimmick: a Vietnam Veteran with a head injury who can't talk (that syndrome of "Rain Man", where the impaired status is the main thing). But I got past that, as the story caught me up. The book made me think of the best of Richard Russo (who blurbed it): ordinary folks trying to make the best of a hard life. In the end, the main character pulls out a bit of redemption, which felt right.