Nom de Plume

Fast forward a few decades to a world in which autism has been completely eradicated by treatments given in the womb. Lou Arrendale belongs in a select group who was born too early to be completely cured. Nonetheless, he is doing very well as a high-functioning autistic: He has an apartment, a car, a fencing class, a crush on a “normal” and a good job at a pharmaceutical company where he and others are valued for pattern recognition skills.

Then he gets a new boss who resents what he calls preferential treatment for the autistic employees, and makes a threat; they will be fired if they don’t participate in a trial program reversing the effects of autism and making the same person, only normal. But what is normal? Why is normal better? And how could Lou be the same person if he weren’t autistic?

The Speed of Dark is a thoughtful, intelligent book that I would highly recommend in addition to–and even instead of–A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Moon has created strong, sympathetic characters, and provided the reader with rich insight into the workings of Lou’s brain. In turns hilarious and heartbreaking, this is one of the better, more thought-provoking books I’ve read in a while.