Title:  Glyph
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Author:  Percival Everett
Publisher:  Graywolf Press
Date Published:  November 1999
Format:  Trade Cloth

From The Publisher
Glyph Percival Everett Mute by choice, Ralph, a mere infant, is able to read complex philosophical treatises and compose passable short stories while still in the crib. But baby Ralph does not consider himself a genius-because he is unable to drive. In this outrageous farce, Everett offers a view of adult life-in all its ridiculousness-from an unheard of perspective.
From Library Journal  
"My father was a poststructuralist and my mother hated his guts." That's exactly the sort of snide aside one might expect from an exasperated child prodigy--but not from an enfant. Little Ralph, however, is barely a year old when he makes this observation, and though he refuses to speak, he writes quite observant comments on his sheets and is soon plowing through the classics of Western literature and philosophy, which his mother sneaks him. This gives rise to considerable discussion of the nature of language and being that will be fun for the academically inclined but doesn't quite fly. In any case, the heart of the novel is the conflict between Ralph's loving mother and those who are terrified of the little boy's genius--his arrogant but clueless dad, a mean psychiatrist, and a priest bent on exorcism. The ever-experimental Everett (Frenzy) makes good points about the way children who don't fit the mold are treated in this society. But finally this is a not-so-uncommon story of how an intuitive artist mom ("with a wild hand I envied") wrests control of her son from the forces of evil. Had Ralph been less mean-spirited himself, this could have been a funny and insightful book, but he's crabby and insufferable enough to leave a sour taste. For readers who like fancy intellectual footwork.--Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal" Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.