Review: The Enumerations by Máire Fisher

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It took me nearly three times longer than usual for a book this length to read Máire Fisher's, The Enumerations. This wasn't due to the quality of the writing or lack of interest but because I needed to put the book down frequently to reflect on what I had just read.

Marie's book is a sensitive and compassionate exploration of an adolescent boy, Noah Groome, who has a crippling case of obsessive compulsive disorder. Noah's  OCD is manifested by his certainty that the only thing keeping himself and his family safe are the 5s. He also needs absolute order including a minute-by-minute schedule of his day including details such as allocating to the second low long to brush his teeth. Doing things in 5s and finding patterns of 5s is Noah's shield against the Dark. The Dark becomes another character in the story. The author shows how unimaginably tough this level of OCD is on the person and on the people around them. As I read, two threads kept running through my head: what if it were me; and what if it was someone in my family, how would I respond to them, would I be patient and understanding, or would I be impatient and push them away.

Noah has an encounter with the school bully that turns violent. The parents of the bully see their son as the victim and demand that something be done about the "danger" posed by Noah. Noah is the real victim but is incapable of defending himself. To get Noah out of this hostile environment, he is sent to a residential treatment centre, Greenhills.

Noah's treatment plan at Greenhills is interesting and a combination of group, personal counseling, setting goals, journaling. Juliet, a member of Noah's group therapy session takes a particular interest in Noah, taking him under her tutelage  and coaching how to appear to do what is asked of him. Nonetheless, we do see little changes in Noah's behavior. Juliet is the opposite of Noah, talking continuously while Noah says and reveals little.

We meet other adolescents at the treatment which contribute to our understanding of the the issues that these young people are facing. Juliet is the only one we get to know well but I wanted to know more about other members of Noah's group therapy session who have interesting back stories.

Writing a book like The Enumerations must require a delicate balance. The author isn't just making up a story but is building that story on something very real. The need to write a compelling story has to be balanced against the need for accuracy in the subject matter and respect for people suffering from the condition and their families. The story rings true and Máire is able to show us the working of a treatment centre for troubled adolescents within a story of people you come to like and perhaps related to.

I got an interesting insight into an author's creative process when I corresponded with her and she responded:

I didn’t deliberately set out to write about OCD, but once the subject presented itself, and once I ventured inside Noah’s head to see what it might be like to be him (or get as close to knowing as I could), I knew the onus was on me to research him as deeply as I could. That in itself was a mountain to climb, needing several stops along the way.

One thing the author does not do is treat Noah's condition as something humorous like we saw in the TV show, Monk. Máire, as much as is possible, helped me see the world through Noah's eyes.

The story switches between Noah trying to adapt to his treatment program and his parents and sister trying to cope. The mother is falling apart; the father remote, disengaged, and incapable of even looking his son in the eye; and the little sister who fiercely defends Noah and is actually the strongest member of the family. There is also a plot-line threading through the narratives of Noah and his family that I can't go into without spoiling but it actually pulls everything together in the end.

 I had to think about how Máire ends The Enumerations and several ways to approach the ending went through my mind. First, and this is due to my immediate reaction, is that the author was going for an intense emotional reaction from the reader.  While the ending does evoke an emotional response there is more to it than that. She doesn't wrap the story up into a neat package which would be dishonest to what we've seen. We do see the potential for hope and change but we still know that the characters have a long way to go and serious mental and emotional barriers to get past. There isn't going to be a group hug that sets everything right. I also thought that there is a strong young adult story type of ending. I don't want to say why because it would be a spoiler. Using the term young adult isn't meant to be pejorative, by the way, it's just that I saw some YA elements there. The author confirmed that she "reverted to a fairly classic young adult ending." Actually there is another YA flavored scene that I really enjoyed.

This is one of my favorite reads so far this year and likely will remain high on my list. The Enumerations has fascinating and compelling story with characters you come to care about and episodes that may leave you righteously angry. I don't think it possible not to empathize with the people in the story.  It is set in South Africa but other than a few small references you probably won't notice. Highly recommended.