By Elizabeth Moon

Reviewed by Elaine Williams

Lou Arrendale, the narrator of this novel, has a good job at a pharmaceutical company. All of the coworkers in his section are autistic, as is Lou. Lou has a lot on his mind, including his weekly fencing classes, and his growing attraction to Marjory, a “normal” woman. Lou has learned, through much study, how to hold a polite conversation, make eye contact, and to make educated guesses as to the motivations of normal people. But his perfectly balanced life changes forever when a new boss is hired at the company. This new boss doesn’t believe in giving autistics the special environment they need to do their unique work. He not only plans to take away these supports; he also plans to force a new experimental treatment on the autistics—a treatment that will make them normal. Lou and his coworkers finally have a chance to live life as everyone else does. Would Marjory love Lou back if he were normal? Isn’t normal what they’ve always wanted?

Author Elizabeth Moon, herself the mother of an autistic son, uses this dilemma set in the near future to explore the idea of normality. Many autistics are able to do kinds of work that the rest of us cannot or will not do. Their autism shapes their personalities and choices in life. Some are magnificent artists, musicians, or mathematicians. For these people, “normal” means ordinary, commonplace.

Not everyone will be able to plow through the minutiae of Lou Arrendale’s life, but those who are willing to do so will find it fascinating. Lou thinks about everything he says and does. He looks at a woman sitting on a couch and notices how the pattern of her blouse connects or clashes with the pattern on the couch upholstery. He skips all small talk with other autistics, but consciously uses it when speaking with his fencing companions. He is utterly unable to understand that a friend might turn against him, since this goes against the definition of “a friend.”

The Speed of Dark can be difficult to read at times, but while reading it, we are looking through the eyes of someone whose thinking style is unique, even alien, to most of us. If you don’t know much about autism, I highly recommend first reading the cover story of Newsweek’s September 8, 2003 issue (available at the local libraries). This will somewhat prepare you for the trip that is life as Lou Arrendale sees it. Another book to try is Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams. This is a true story, written by an autistic woman who was also abused by her family. I was unable to connect with that book, but I feel that since reading The Speed of Dark, I could probably understand Nobody Nowhere better. If you are up for a challenge in your novels, give The Speed of Dark a try.