Scan barcode
A review by evewithanapple
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Okay, we need to talk for a second about the autistic character in this book. I . . . don't think the depiction of Zofia was intentionally offensive. I think the author was genuinely trying very hard to write autism authentically! It's just that her idea of what autism looks like seems to have been mined exclusively from The Big Bang Theory. Zofia is overly literal, speaks in a weirdly formal register, obsessed with counting things (did Chokshi mistake autism for OCD?), a genuis scientist/mathemetician, and cannot recognize or follow social cues. Look at these interactions:
Severin crossed his arms. "Zofia, tell him he's pretty."
Zofia didn't look up from her tea. "I am personally undecided, but if we're assessing based on objectivity, then according to the principles of the golden ratio, also known as phi, which is approximately 1.618, your facial beauty is mathematically pleasing."
"What on earth are you doing?"
"I am imitating patterns of flirtation."
"Wait. You're flirting . . . with me?"
Zofia frowned. Why would he think that? She just said she was imitating the general strategy of others.
"Great minds think alike."
Zofia frowned. "No they don't. Otherwise every idea would be uniform."
This would be cringeworthy even if Zofia was a well-rounded character outside of being on the spectrum (autistic people don't talk like this!) but the thing is, there's absolutely nothing going on with her apart from the things that make her identifiable Different. It's honestly really tiresome to read, and it's too bad, because Chokshi was clearly trying to write Zofia as an actual human being. She just . . . didn't do a very good job.
Severin crossed his arms. "Zofia, tell him he's pretty."
Zofia didn't look up from her tea. "I am personally undecided, but if we're assessing based on objectivity, then according to the principles of the golden ratio, also known as phi, which is approximately 1.618, your facial beauty is mathematically pleasing."
"What on earth are you doing?"
"I am imitating patterns of flirtation."
"Wait. You're flirting . . . with me?"
Zofia frowned. Why would he think that? She just said she was imitating the general strategy of others.
"Great minds think alike."
Zofia frowned. "No they don't. Otherwise every idea would be uniform."
This would be cringeworthy even if Zofia was a well-rounded character outside of being on the spectrum (autistic people don't talk like this!) but the thing is, there's absolutely nothing going on with her apart from the things that make her identifiable Different. It's honestly really tiresome to read, and it's too bad, because Chokshi was clearly trying to write Zofia as an actual human being. She just . . . didn't do a very good job.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Racism