The Speed of Dark (Ballantine Reader's Circle) - Softcover

Moon, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345447549 ISBN 13: 9780345447548

Publisher: Random House Worlds, 2004

Synopsis

Thoughtful, provocative, poignant, unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping journey into the mind of an autistic person as he struggles with profound questions of humanity and matters of the heart.

In the near future, disease will be a condition of the past. Most genetic defects will be removed at birth; the remaining during infancy. Lou Arrendale, a high-functioning autistic adult, is a member of the lost generation, born at the wrong time to reap the rewards of medical science. He lives a low-key, independent life. But then he is offered a chance to try a brand-new experimental “cure” for his condition. With this treatment Lou would think and act and be just like everyone else. But if he was suddenly free of autism, would he still be himself? Would he still love the same classical music—with its complications and resolutions? Would he still see the same colors and patterns in the world—shades and hues that others cannot see? Most important, would he still love Marjory, a woman who may never be able to reciprocate his feelings? Now Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world . . . and the very essence of who he is.
 
Tenth anniversary edition · With a new Introduction by the author

Praise for The Speed of Dark
 
“Splendid and graceful . . . A lot of novels promise to change the way a reader sees the world; The Speed of Dark actually does.”—The Washington Post Book World
 
“[A] beautiful and moving story . . . [Elizabeth] Moon is the mother of an autistic teenager and her love is apparent in the story of Lou. He makes a deep and lasting impact on the reader while showing a different way of looking at the world.”—The Denver Post
 
“Every once in a while, you come across a book that is both an important literary achievement and a completely and utterly absorbing reading experience—a book with provocative ideas and an equally compelling story. Such a book is The Speed of Dark.”—Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
 
“A remarkable journey [that] takes us into the mind of an autistic with a terrible choice: become normal or remain an alien on his own planet.”—Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow
 
“A powerful portrait . . . an engaging journey into the dark edges that define the self.”—The Seattle Times

About this title

Review

Corporate life in early 21st-century America is even more ruthless than it was at the turn of the millennium. Lou Arrendale, well compensated for his remarkable pattern-recognition skills, enjoys his job and expects never to lose it. But he has a new boss, a man who thinks Lou and the others in his building are a liability. Lou and his coworkers are autistic. And the new boss is going to fire Lou and all his coworkers--unless they agree to undergo an experimental new procedure to "cure" them.

In The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon has created a powerful, complex, and believable portrayal of a man who varies radically from what is defined as "normal." The author insightfully explores the nature of "normality," identity, choice, responsibility, free will, illness and health, and good and evil. The Speed of Dark is a powerful, moving, illuminating novel in the tradition of Flowers for Algernon, Forrest Gump, and Rain Man . --Cynthia Ward

From the Back Cover

“The Speed of Dark gives a stunning, insightful and openhearted look at the world through the eyes of a man with autism. After reading this book, you will think deeply on the question: What does ‘normal’ mean? Elizabeth Moon has written an outstanding testament to the unique gift every one of us has to share, exactly as we are, while also cheering us on to be all that we can be. Kudos to Ms. Moon for helping us to see with new clarity not only the mystery of autism, but also the wonder of it.”
–BARRY NEIL KAUFMAN
Author of Son-Rise and Happiness Is A Choice
Director of The Option Institute and
the Autism Treatment Center of America™

“[A] fine novel . . . I marvel at Elizabeth Moon’s achievement. With no shadow of sentimentality or easy romanticism, she shows us the core of autism . . . making us experience the anxiety and tension continually accompanying its autistic hero as he struggles to make sense of the world we so readily call normal.”
–CLARA PARK
Author of Exiting Nirvana: A Daughter’s Life with Autism

“Absolutely compelling . . . A fine novel! Elizabeth Moon takes us to a part of the human neighborhood that is at once enchanting and heartbreaking.”
–GREG BEAR
Author of Darwin’s Radio

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Worlds
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0345447549
• ISBN 13: 9780345447548
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 376