‘A Visit From the Goon Squad’ (2010), Jennifer Egan
I ended up reading Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad by accident really. I found myself halfway to the library to find a book to read the next day (having missed my chance for Amazon’s next day delivery) when I realised I had forgotten to decide on a book in particular to loan.
‘M is for Autism’ (2015), Students of Limpsfield Grange School and Vicky Martin
Reviewing M is for Autism was always going to be tricky. The 2015 novel was penned by students of Limpsfield Grange School in collaboration with their creative writing teacher Vicky Martin. Which left me with a bit of a puzzle: how do you critique a representation of autism written by someone with autism? Can you do that?
‘Little Green Man’ (2001), Simon Armitage
At one point in Simon Armitage’s 2001 novel Little Green Man, the narrator, Barney, is told “‘[y]ou’re a sick person. You make people ill. You poison them.’” (186). Another tells him “[y]ou need help” (227). They are both right, and even with the dramatic reveals of the ending (which in itself is a masterful piece of plotting) I found the story dark to the verge of twisted.
‘Martian Time-Slip’ (1964), Philip K. Dick
It was the Swiss professor of psychiatry Paul Eugen Bleuler who coined the term schizophrenia in 1908, from the Greek ‘skhizein’ and ‘phrēn’. Schizophrenia then literally translates to ‘a splitting of the mind’. Bleuler went on to list four primary symptoms of the condition, the so called ‘four As’.
‘Queens of Geek’ (2017), Jen Wilde
As a book, Jen Wilde’s Queen of Geek (2015) is far from my regular read. It’s a fairly formulaic book probably best classed as chick-lit. There is more pink on the cover than I have ever seen in one place. With regards the story, Wilde has stuck to the aphorism to ‘write what you know’ – she describes herself in an interview postscript as “an autistic, bisexual girl with anxiety”. The story features one character who is autistic with anxiety, two who are bisexual, and one who is part of a minority group.
‘The Regulators’ (1996), Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King)
I’m not quite sure where to start with Stephen King’s The Regulators. I suppose the facts are always good. The text was first published in 1996, under the pen-name Richard Bachman. It was published on the same day as Stephen King’s novel (published under his own name) Desperation, a story set in a parallel universe to The Regulators. Both featured the town of Desperation, and many of the same characters appearing in both texts, albeit with different personalities. It also features the same evil entity, a parasitic, vampiric creature named Tak which survives off the life force of others.
‘You Look Different in Real Life’ (2013), Jennifer Castle
When I received my copy of You Look Different in Real Life, I was mildly alarmed. Not because I knew anything in particular about its presentation of autism, but because the cover was the embodiment of the target audience: school-age teenage girls who enjoy the drama and romance of chick-lit. I am none of those.
‘Clear Light of Day’ (1980), Anita Desai
I was unsure what to expect before reading Anita Desai’s 1980 novel Clear Light of Day. I knew that it contained a character, Baba, who was described as autistic on the blurb, but whose actions were never labelled as such in text. In particular I was concerned that the presentation of autism in a text coming up to 40 years old would not only be misguided, but straight up uncomfortable to read.
‘Mockingbird’ (2010), Kathryn Erskine
While I was reading Kathryn Erskine’s 2010 novel Mockingbird, the depiction of autism felt reasonably accurate. The key traits were there, manifested in reasonably common ways. Indeed at times I was impressed by the accuracy of the writing and the centrality of Caitlin, the character with autism, who was the story’s narrator.
‘Flamingo Boy’ (2018), Michael Morpurgo
I was slightly sceptical about Sir Michael Morpurgo’s latest novel Flamingo Boy. I had read an interview with Morpurgo in which he admitted that in spite of featuring a character with autism, he had done “[v]ery little” research into the subject. When I got around to reading Morpurgo’s story though I was impressed by the level of accuracy in his depiction of the character with autism, Lorenzo.
‘The Hades Factor’ (2000), Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds
Having completed Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds’ 2000 thriller The Hades Factor, my initial reaction was mixed. As some of the bestselling thrillers seem to do (Lee Child’s Killing Floor springs to mind), The Hades Factor features a conspiracy operated by those in authority. Here, a mysterious new virus emerges in America, initially killing three people in different states.
‘House Rules’ (2010), Jodi Picoult
The world of Jodi Picoult’s House Rules is a confusing one. The story is narrated by five characters, which provides insights into various motivations but also obscures the truth. In one instance, Emma, the mother of eighteen year old with autism Jacob, states “Jacob wouldn’t hurt a fly, literally or figuratively” (10-11), only for this statement to be immediately contradicted by Jacob’s brother Theo, who observes that the culmination of one of Jacob’s meltdowns was “twenty-four stitches on my face” (12).
‘Gone’ (2008), Michael Grant
I hadn’t heard good things before I read Michael Grant’s 2008 young adult novel Gone. As a matter of fact, that was why I read it. Not only was there a negative review of the presentation of autism within the text, but the author actually engaged with that review.
‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ (2003), Mark Haddon
If I asked someone to name a film featuring autism, I suspect their answer would be Rain Man. The iconic 1988 film has become a go-to reference as one of the most well-known presentations of autism in the public consciousness. In a similar vein, if I asked someone to name a novel featuring autism, I suspect the answer I would hear would be Mark Haddon’s 2003 novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It became so renowned that it has been used as a ‘textbook’ in police and social services.
‘Speed of Dark’ (2002), Elizabeth Moon
Reading Elizabeth Moon’s 2002 novel Speed of Dark, I was reminded of something that stood out to me in one of the diagnostic manuals. A line in the 2000 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, edition IV-TR reads “[i]n adolescence or early adult life, individuals with Autistic Disorder who have the intellectual capacity for insight may become depressed in response to the realization of their serious impairment” (indeed there does appear to be a higher incidence of comorbid conditions such as depression amongst people with autism, but whether this is the cause is debatable).