Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm reading the latest Stephen King novel "End of Watch" - the final book in the Mr Mercedes trilogy. There's a character in it called Holly who's obviously Autistic, but this isn't acknowledged and most people except for the main characters - who all love her obviously - can't understand her behaviour and treat her unkindly. Has anyone else read this book? I can't work out if the author is trying to get the reader to discover that this character is Autistic, and so give them an idea of what it's like to be "different"? Why would an author write an autistic character into a story and then not make it clear that is what they are?
Tom, I agree with you about Aspies not missing much because I was watching a Stephen King lecture the other night on YouTube where he said he thought that writers tended to be on the margins of society, sculking in the shadows, looking in. In other words, they have to be good observers of human behaviour, even if they don't really understand it.
I've read Dr Sleep and Mr Mercedes and although quite long, do engage you if you're prepared to stick with them.
And yes, there are many Aspies in King's novels, something he seems to like including and I have to wonder if he's on the spectrum too.