Under the eye of the clock

Christopher Nolan’s injuries at birth left him severely disabled and handicapped; he was entirely paralyzed and unable to communicate, but he had so much to say and was burning to express his innermost thoughts and ideas and share them with the world. Nolan’s autobiography told in the third person through a narrator named Joseph Meehan is an astonishingly lyrical and inspired work, filled with powerful description and touching moments of triumph, sadness, anger, and above all disarming wit. Nolan’s story has a touching and breathtaking intensity, whether recounting his battle with local authorities to attend an ordinary school, going on a “normal” vacation, or his ultimate triumph of finally being able to share the insight and whimsy of his inner world. Filled with linguistic puzzles, this bestseller in Britain and the United States and Whitbread Prize winner features a unique voice that comes from a deep place many will never understand, but that is enrapturing nevertheless.