Taliq can barely speak. He's a furnace burning. How did he get to be that way?
Taliq is based on a real person. I fear that person may be dead or in jail now, but maybe not. The inarticulate intensity he radiated back when I knew him may have receded some. Maybe he learned how to fit himself into something less than his potential but more than his opportunities.
You don't know this from the book, but the fictional Taliq's mother is a road-construction worker. Like Taliq, she isn't expressive. Rage seizes her from time to time and she beats Taliq. He lets her. No one else can touch him, but he lets her because he needs to have some indication that she cares about him. The real "Taliq"'s mother had a different, but somewhat similar job. I don't know much about their real relationship.
Taliq, in a way a minor character in Across the Bridge, is one of my favorites. I used to dream about him. I would have loved to know how to throw him a life-line.
No comments:
Post a Comment