Book Review by Kevin Wolf “There is a village in Germany called Neuerkerode that is largely populated and run by people with developmental disabilities …” so begins the inside book leaf of The Thud (original German: Der Umfal) by Mikaël Ross and translated by Nika Knight. Empathy is the strongest theme in this narrative, where the reader sees and feels Noel’s (protagonist) story from his perspective. At the book’s end is an unlabeled—like Noel’s mind, since he can’t read and is very visual—map of Neuerkode, where the author spent two years visiting and learning from its citizenry. Unlike other reviews,… Read More