Look me in the eye

I'm reasonably happy with this book. Judging the cover, I didn't think it would be any good. Then I saw that Augusten Burroughs wrote the intro, so I thought it must be good. Then I read that Augusten is the author's brother, which made me think it isn't any good.

But I started it anyway.

And it is good. It's not written with the same scathing wit of Augusten, but in a nice, refreshing way - like I could hang out with the author.

There's also some pleasing crossover of life details with the brothers, which adds a satisfying amount of triangulation.

It's a biography more than a story of autism, but I don't feel cheated out of reading about autism.

I was reading it this morning before I left the house for work, and as I walked outside I felt like I had been awake for hours, because the book is so engaging and rapid-paced (without feeling rushed at all). It was a nice feeling.

After finishing the book, I have to say it was a good read.

Reviewing this book will be a complex affair; I gave it four stars but I wouldn't say I "liked" or "enjoyed" it. It was certainly educational, about Aspies yes, but also about humanity in general. The book often made me angry, however, with its characteristic habits (which I find among "normal" men as well as Aspies) of blowing off anything that he personally wasn't interested in or good at as unimportant... and by chronically lumping all "normal" people as possessing certain characteristics. Many "normal" people experience the same sufferings that he describes, only we suck it up and learn to cope, or pretend to cope. And not all "normal" people prefer platitudes to actual conversation -- and when we do, it is often for a functional reason. So I hope he gets off his "actually, this is better" place, and grows up some more.

So the book was often infuriating.

But maybe that's just me.

I will have to think about that. I do hope to review it eventually, but for now I'm really glad I've finally finished it.

I read the paperback, which apparently has been "cleaned up" in terms of language compared to the original hardcover. The hardcover has been left raw. So read them both if you like.