First published 1987
Kenny organizes Chinese Whispers games for his therapy group at the mental hospital where he works. He lives alone in a mobile home on the hospital grounds, surrounded by his collection of two hundred miniature bottles. The routine continues without interruption until Kenny makes an unexpected decision. He takes his group of patients on a nature ramble beyond the hospital boundaries. This departure from the established pattern sets events in motion that will test the fragile equilibrium Kenny has maintained. The story explores what happens when someone who has built his life around predictable structures suddenly breaks his own rules. Maurice Leitch examines the thin line between caregiver and patient, between safety and risk, in this compact tale of institutional life and human connection.
Genres: fiction, mental-health, mystery, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: caregiver-patient, safety-risk
Setting: China, Mental Hospital
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
80 pages · Hardcover · Arrow (A Division of Random House Group)
Content warnings: mental-illness