I was so surprised by reviews I read of this book that complained about the writing style. There were criticisms that said it was to dry, to matter of face, and lacking emotion. Well forgive the immaturity of this but duh! The man is Autistic and as I read this I just got it. And if you have someone in your life who has an ASD then you will recognize the style and find it makes perfect sense. The glimpse into the mind of Daniel was for me a chance to understand more my own child and how his mind works. Of course it isn't exactly the same, different people, those with an ASD and those without are individuals, but there are some common traits.
I was moved and encouraged by the way Daniel was able to embrace his abilities and make a life for himself that was full and wonderful even when it was difficult and challenging.
If you don't know anyone with an ASD I would hope that rather than complain about the writing you try to understand that this is what it would be like to speak to someone like Daniel and to some degree is very typical. There is a lot of fact and information, the language can be formal and lack contractions, and emotion isn't going to be a large part of the exchange, it might even feel cold and detached. But that doesn't mean there are no feelings, just different feeling than you are used to.
I was moved by Daniel. I was incredibly fascinated by the way he sees numbers and colors and patterns. I appreciated the insight.
(finished April 3, 2014)
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