Atypical

I met the author of this book about two weeks ago and picked up his book after his short presentation. He even signed the copy that I bought. His presentation was funny, sad, and I walked away learning something new about autistic people. I could also tell he has Aspergers because of his flat monotone voice, his constantly checking the time, as well as the fact that he turned his back several times during his presentation to take loud gulps of his soda while we sat there in awkward silence.

That being said, I wasn't crazy about this book. While I was completely empathetic to his social awkwardness, victimizations due to bullying, and overall struggle with fitting in anywhere he went..I felt that this book fell short. He admits that he is a difficult person that craves attention, and it shows. Especially when he brings up the disgusting habits he has (constant flatulence, erections, not taking a shower for days, hoarding cat poop for months until the garbage bag was full) to the point of me saying "Okay, I get it". I understand one of the symptoms of Aspergers is the inability to have restraint, but I wonder how far it really goes after reading this. I've read many stories about persons with autism (including Aspergers) and none of them were quite like this. This is a very fast read so I don't feel as if it was a waste. And I don't want to completely knock it because some of the chapters were interesting (such as his thoughts on Max Fischer from Rushmore being an ideal portrait of someone with Aspergers). I think he has enormous potential. It was kind of like reading a portrait of Michael Scott. Cringeworthy but for some reason...oddly likeable.