'An Extreme Aloneness'

So why did I end up wanting to give this laudable lady a rude shove? Because Moore knows, twice as well as I do, that precisely because autistic kids don't much notice or care about the outside world, autism actually "happens" to the sentient human beings around them. The heartbreak, the drastic realignment of expectations, the fury, the terror -- even the fleeting moments of elation or amusement or solidarity in the face of insurmountable weirdness -- happen to the parents and the siblings. Here, Moore's husband melts away on Page 97. We never find out if he's dead or still mentally ill or off with a new girlfriend. Wouldn't it be useful to note for readers that autism parents have a staggeringly high divorce rate? Wouldn't it also be useful at least to mention support groups, as well as the role of the extended family? Wouldn't it help to evaluate the efficacy of the constant stream of tutors and trainers in Moore's life, instead of just listing them in the acknowledgments? To have one's home overrun with strangers trying to take care of what is essentially a wild child is no picnic, but what exactly is it like? What was any of this like for her ? We aren't told. Moore leaves us with an unsatisfactory portrait of herself as superbly solitary and heroic. I respect the work she's done here, but she's withheld her most important information.

Sunday in Book World

· Nelson Mandela under the microscope.

· Gore Vidal's star-studded life.

· The classical world revisited.

· Tough-guy mysteries.

· And a special roundup of children's books.