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A review by evelikesbooks
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
4.0
The more I think about this book, the more unhappy I am with the way it ended. I thought it was extremely well-written, and I was very eager to keep reading and see Lou get out of his situations with Don and with the horrible (dare I say, mustache-twirling) Mr. Crenshaw.
I think the resolution of the Mr. Crenshaw story line, with the awesomely sneaky intervention of Mr. Aldrin was ok, even though the the autistic workers were sort of being "rescued" by a kindly paternal figure who didn't quite see them as independent persons in their own right, but rather innocents who needed protection. On the other hand, Lou is rather an innocent sometimes, especially in his dealings with Don. It was obvious to the reader from the first that Don was bad news, but Lou thought he was a friend. It must be noted, though, that autistic people aren't the only ones who have ever been wrong about someone's intentions.
This was the most effective part of the book for me -- the exploration of what it means to be "normal," such Lou's belief that "normal" people can read minds and always know if someone is attracted to them (if only!). It felt like the book was drawing toward a conclusion that autistic people are just another branch of "normal." Most people need some sort of accommodation to go about their daily lives, whether it is a different kind of chair, or glasses, or earplug, or what have you. There's no reason why the autistic people in the book, who need slightly more accommodation, couldn't just keep going on as they were. Some did, of course. But Lou, who wants to be an astronaut, decides to get the treatment and become not-autistic. It seemed like he was fine as he was, but decided to get the treatment because society could not accept that. This is a bummer.
I think the resolution of the Mr. Crenshaw story line, with the awesomely sneaky intervention of Mr. Aldrin was ok, even though the the autistic workers were sort of being "rescued" by a kindly paternal figure who didn't quite see them as independent persons in their own right, but rather innocents who needed protection. On the other hand, Lou is rather an innocent sometimes, especially in his dealings with Don. It was obvious to the reader from the first that Don was bad news, but Lou thought he was a friend. It must be noted, though, that autistic people aren't the only ones who have ever been wrong about someone's intentions.
This was the most effective part of the book for me -- the exploration of what it means to be "normal," such Lou's belief that "normal" people can read minds and always know if someone is attracted to them (if only!). It felt like the book was drawing toward a conclusion that autistic people are just another branch of "normal." Most people need some sort of accommodation to go about their daily lives, whether it is a different kind of chair, or glasses, or earplug, or what have you. There's no reason why the autistic people in the book, who need slightly more accommodation, couldn't just keep going on as they were. Some did, of course. But Lou, who wants to be an astronaut, decides to get the treatment and become not-autistic. It seemed like he was fine as he was, but decided to get the treatment because society could not accept that. This is a bummer.