Burned at the Stake

1972. A brother and sister walk out of their house together...into their backyard...They're a strange pair. Donald is twenty-seven...with a shaved head...and a biblically scruffy beard....Mary is seven, half his height, with white-blond hair....

I have no idea where "Hidden Valley Road" is headed; I know it will be great, because of its critical reception, and because Robert Kolker seems like a genius. I just want to say how floored I am by the opening scene.

We're launched on a journey. Something seems ominous. Why has Donald shaved his head bald? Why does he have a biblical beard? Why are the two siblings walking out "together" .....why isn't the adult leading the child?

You can't imagine where this scene is headed. It's revealed that Donald has schizophrenia. He can be exhausting; he claims to have a direct connection to a deceased saint, he dresses in a bizarre way, he once slaughtered a cat. Imagine being seven years old and lacking the tools to understand all of this, if such tools really exist. Mary is fed up with her brother. She is leading him to the yard so she can tie him to a tree. She has recently seen something about Joan of Arc. She is going to burn her brother at the stake.

This is all true! I can't imagine a more gripping start for a work of non-fiction. Hats off to Mr. Kolker.

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