Kursmoment 6: The Speed of Dark

En av 2010 års främsta läsupplevelser var Elizabeth Moons roman The Speed of Dark, som ingick i min kurs.

Den utspelar sig i en snar framtid och följer en ung man vid namn Lou Arrendale, som har autism. Han bor ensam, arbetar med komplicerade datorsystem vid ett stort läkemedelsföretag (tillsammans med flera andra personer med autism) och har fäktning som hobby.

Men Lous fasta rutiner störs av flera stora händelser - någon börjar stalka honom och hotar skada både hans egendom och honom själv.

Aktuell forskning visar plötsligt på möjligheter att bota autism vid vuxen ålder - barn som föds med autism botas omgående i denna sekundärvärld, men Lou och hans vänner är för gamla för att ha varit med om detta.

Detta leder till att Lous chef iscensätter en komplicerad intrig där han hotar sparka sina autistiska anställda om de inte ställer upp på de högst experimentella behandlingarna.

Än mörkare motiv anas i bakgrunden - någonting om att kunna plocka autistiska drag (savanthet, koncentrationsförmåga) och överföra dem till människor som exempelvis ska arbeta i rymden. Klart av ekonomiskt intresse för det stora företaget, alltså.

Vad boken framförallt är, är en djupdykning i en människans sinne och liv. Lous perspektiv följs konsekvent genom romanen och det är fullständigt uppslukande läsning.

Förutfattade meningar om normalhet ställs helt på ända. Detta har diskussionerna på forumet rört sig mycket kring.

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It’s fascinating to find that so many of us seem to really have shared similar reading experiences through the course – of course we have read the same books, but often we seem to interpret them similar as well.

I was so completely hooked by this novel – one of the most interesting and moving in a long time. And I’m not entirely sure why. T, I agree with you – it’s difficult to get Lou out of one’s mind!

From page one Moon constructs an us-and-them-sense which, as already been pointed to in the discussions, often puts us as readers closer to the “us” perspective, e.g. the autistic perspective.

Like J points out, Moon makes us as readers really see Lou and sympathize with him. But it’s never about pitying him. He’s depicted as a whole human being.

“If they aren’t going to listen, why should I talk?”, Lou asks himself in the beginning, while at the psychiatrist’s office. Consistently throughout the novel Moon holds the narrative close to Lou’s perspective and really show how many things that we may consider natural and obvious are in fact … well, not.

A lot of sayings, if you interpret them literary, are really illogical. Like someone being a heel, for instance, which Lou reflects upon. This is certainly one of the difficulties for someone trying to learn a new language – to be able to decipher these cultural references. This also holds true for someone autistic, as is repeatedly shown in the novel.

Many social situations that Lou deciphers in the text show us how complicated, illogical and not-honest “normal” people in general are. Like Don, who appears to be a friend but is really a foe.

Because Lou works so hard trying to interpret nuances in voices and facial expressions he often gets confused by people saying things they obviously don’t mean. The communication between the autistic characters in the book is depicted as more direct and honest. If no one wants to talk, they simply don’t.

The fact that different rules seem to apply for autistics and “normal” people is also commented on, for instance: “Aldrin closes his eyes, refusing contact. I was scolded for doing just that.” (s. 149) If you’re considered normal, you have a lot more freedom. If you’re autistic, everything will be viewed against that.

As all of you have pointed out, the concept of normal just doesn’t cut it after reading this novel (not that it did before!).

I see a lot of myself in the character of Lou, like the need for routines, a systematic way of working and his tendency to feel overwhelmed in social situations, like when travelling with public transports. I, for instance, have these tendencies as well, but Lou feels them stronger.

Like T pointed out, this book actually disturbs one’s way of looking at the world and taking people for granted. It made me stop and think how frail communication between people are – if all of our brains work in different ways, how are we able to communicate with each other at all?