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Jun. 8th, 2006 12:26 amAn annoyance that has developed over the past few months, since I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime:
Do readers not understand that Christopher has Asperger's Syndrome? And that it is, in layman-type terms, a sort of high-functioning autism?
I found Christopher's character development okay; he's not from a family that has a lot of money or spare time. His mom is flighty and moody and his father pleading and taciturn. It's not the shiny, we're-so-happy-to-have-an-abnormal-kid-and-everything-is-wonderful family. That's what bugs me - a lot of readers criticize Christopher's parents. Bet they'd have just as hard a time dealing with a very intelligent child that has a limited way of interacting in the world.
I blame Corky for the delusion that love conquers everything.
Maybe it's because I have to talk to one of my staffers this week about his recent attitude, and I have to think about how to do this correctly. It would be easier to say, "dude, chill out" than "we need to discuss your behavior," and "straighten up" than "When you feel angry, you need to think about why you are angry and you need to decide how you will deal with that."
It would be easier to turn off the mentoring part of my mind, and assume that he should know how to handle being upset, and give him the what-for. That's the American Way, right?
Anyone else read this? Thoughts, good or bad? Theories about Milky bars and why Christopher ate them even though they were yellow?
Do readers not understand that Christopher has Asperger's Syndrome? And that it is, in layman-type terms, a sort of high-functioning autism?
I found Christopher's character development okay; he's not from a family that has a lot of money or spare time. His mom is flighty and moody and his father pleading and taciturn. It's not the shiny, we're-so-happy-to-have-an-abnormal-kid-and-everything-is-wonderful family. That's what bugs me - a lot of readers criticize Christopher's parents. Bet they'd have just as hard a time dealing with a very intelligent child that has a limited way of interacting in the world.
I blame Corky for the delusion that love conquers everything.
Maybe it's because I have to talk to one of my staffers this week about his recent attitude, and I have to think about how to do this correctly. It would be easier to say, "dude, chill out" than "we need to discuss your behavior," and "straighten up" than "When you feel angry, you need to think about why you are angry and you need to decide how you will deal with that."
It would be easier to turn off the mentoring part of my mind, and assume that he should know how to handle being upset, and give him the what-for. That's the American Way, right?
Anyone else read this? Thoughts, good or bad? Theories about Milky bars and why Christopher ate them even though they were yellow?
