Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
Just finished The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. Like " Movement: A Short Story about Autism in the Future" by MobileRead's own Nancy Fulda, it's told in the first person from the point of view of the autistic, and like that story, it takes place in the near future where a new procedure promises to reverse the effects of autism. But here the similarities end. Fulda's Hannah was a very different and far more socially impaired person than Moon's Lou Arrendale, and unlike Lou, Hannah was not being threatened with loss of employment if she refused the treatment (indeed, she was too impaired for employment). The protagonists in the stories also eventually chose very different options with very different outcomes. I highly recommend both. It took a while in my opinion for The Speed of Dark to get going, but once drawn in, it was spellbinding. Will you like the ending? Hard to say. Some critics have called it a cop-out. I did find Nancy Fulda's resolution to her short story more satisfying. |
Fascinating! Did you happen to read
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? This is also from the point of view of the autistic.
I'm going to put both your suggestions on my TBR pile because I loved Mark Haddon's work and would like to see how others approach similar characters.
Also - a bit different now, but have you ever read
Skallagrigg? This is one of my favourite novels and features characters with cerebral palsy. This is one of the few books I would give 5/5 stars (actually I'd give it 5.5/5
)