Lou Arrendale is a member of this lost generation. A high-functioning autistic man, he works for a pharmaceutical company while living a carefully structured life (grocery shopping on Tuesday; fencing class on Wednesday; laundry on Friday). This calm life is soon shaken, however, by a series of events at work and in his personal life. First, there is a new treatment that promises to reverse his autism and turn him into a "normal" person. Then he has to deal with Mr. Crenshaw, his power-hungry and mean-spirited boss who wants to eliminate the special privileges that the autistic employees enjoy at work as a cost-saving measure. And then there is the series of attacks that are launched against his car, as his tires are first slashed, then his window broken, and finally an explosive put in his motor.
As Lou tries to figure out who wants to hurt him (and why), he imagines what will happen to him if he undergoes the new treatment. If the procedure is successful, will the new, non-autistic Lou be a different person, and will he still like his friends from fencing class, especially Marjory, the women he has fallen in love with?
I discovered this book while browsing in my local library, so I was not familiar with the writings of Elizabeth Moon. After finishing this impressive work, however, I definitely plan to read more of her books. With great skill and love, Moon is able to switch from the first-person perspective of an autistic person, to the voice of a "normal" character. In this transition, the reader gets the sense that they are viewing the world through a different set of eyes (one pair autistic; the other "normal"), and in the process acquiring a better understanding of what it means to perceive the world, and also what it means to be an individual, with a unique set of thoughts and emotions.
4 of 5 stars
