Monthly Meeting: Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

Unannounced schedule change, I am moving the meeting to May 1st. ChrystinP and I have possible scheduling conflicts. Please respond with a comment if that is okay or not.

I will post a Zoom link to the meeting the day of the meeting.

Our monthly meeting to review the current book. As usual please bring one part of the book you really enjoyed or didn't for discussion.

This month we're reading Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2003, and was also an Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist. The story is told from the first person view of an autistic person.

Lou Arrendale is a bioinformatics specialist who is autistic, and has made a good life for himself working in pattern recognition. A new manager at the firm where he works puts pressure on his department, where many autistic people work. Lou is pressured to undergo an experimental treatment that might "cure" his autism. Lou does not think he needs curing, but he risks losing his job and other accommodations the company has put in place for its autistic employees if he does not undergo it.

Lou struggles with the idea of going through this "treatment" for his autism while he pursues fencing with his "normal" friends and continues to go to work. His autistic friends, as well as himself, meet together after work and discuss what or what not to do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_Dark