Victor Borisov-Musatov, Boy With a Dog, 1895
(June 14) I was surprised to find this so compelling: because it’s a novelty narrator, you feel like the focus might be on the verisimilitude and not on the bare plot... but I found I wanted to know what was going to happen to Christopher and was sorry to see the book end. This is part of the surprise -- that Christopher is so endearing -- given that he’s autistic spectrum condition and is without affect. At least one reviewer on Amazon said it was hard to like Christopher because he was so lacking in empathy for his fellow human beings... but I found him likable -- he is so scrupulously honest, consistent and curious... and you certainly can’t hold the lack of empathy against him.
Whether this is really how autistic people think, it’s a compelling story.
Another Amazon review said: “Although Christopher cannot grasp subtlety and nuances, the reader can, and that's where the true force of this exceptional novel lies.”
I noticed that, too -- being made to see how important it is to be able to interpret behaviour. There are these compliments to the reader.
But I wonder if I’m partially autistic, because I thought Christopher’s reactions to certain situations -- particularly to the “incident of the dog” -- are better, more admirable, than the behaviours of the so-called “normal” people.
I wonder too about the consistency of the portrayal or whether autistic people themselves think they are something they are not. Christopher says he believes only in what is real, but he also has dreams and imagination -- about space if nothing else, but about his A levels and so on.
Whether this is really how autistic people think, it’s a compelling story.
Another Amazon review said: “Although Christopher cannot grasp subtlety and nuances, the reader can, and that's where the true force of this exceptional novel lies.”
I noticed that, too -- being made to see how important it is to be able to interpret behaviour. There are these compliments to the reader.
But I wonder if I’m partially autistic, because I thought Christopher’s reactions to certain situations -- particularly to the “incident of the dog” -- are better, more admirable, than the behaviours of the so-called “normal” people.
I wonder too about the consistency of the portrayal or whether autistic people themselves think they are something they are not. Christopher says he believes only in what is real, but he also has dreams and imagination -- about space if nothing else, but about his A levels and so on.
