The Crystal Child — Theodore Roszak

Julia Stein, a brilliant gerontologist, is entrusted with an exceptional case. Aaron Lacey is a child suffering from progeria, a condition that prematurely ages the boy and dooms him to an early death. Using extremely unconventional methods, Julia treats the boy and finds that Aaron undergoes a series of metamorphoses which transform him into a being of rare beauty and intelligence. The doctor's attempts to cure the disease of time results in the boy's breaking free of time, shattering the hourglass and moving into disturbing areas of existence. This posthumous novel continues Roszak's critique of a society captive and captivated by a strictly rationalistic scientific worldview. The Crystal Child is an unsettling reflection on the body, aging and the passage of time.