"Nobody trusts a man who won't look them in the eye."

Look Me In The Eye, John Elder Robison

Initially, I picked this novel up at the bookstore due to the striking photo on the cover. However, as I started to browse through the first pages I realized the author was none other than the brother of one my favorite writers, Augusten Burroughs (author of Running with Scissors).  I couldn't resist. 

Much like Running with Scissors, this novel is a memoir that captures the odd, often disturbing, family dynamics that were originally detailed in Augusten's series of books. However, this novel differs in the fact that it takes the perspective of Augusten's older brother, John Elder, who also happens to be diagnosed with a form of Autism known as Asperger's.  Hence, the title...."look me in the eye".  

In some ways, John Elder's diagnosis aids him in the darkest days of his mother's escalating mental illness and his father's alcoholism.  He was able to escape his increasingly disturbing home life due to his almost savant-like expertise of engineering just about anything from musical instruments to pyrotechnics.  One might wonder how he could ever combine these two seemingly separate talents, however John Elder eventually is hired by the infamous band, KISS, to create one-of-a-kind exploding guitars for their tours in the 1970's.  Pretty impressive for a guy who was a high school drop out. 

The one critique I have of the book is the perhaps misconstrued representation of how a typical "Aspergian" behaves.  John Elder certainly embodies many of the stereotypical habits of one diagnosed with Asperger's (avoiding eye contact, lack of close relationships, inability to read social cues), however he also describes several darkly deviant pranks that he performs throughout his childhood that I beg to differ have anything to do with his diagnosis.....  

The following excerpt is a statement John Elder makes to his teacher when she questions what he is again staring at.  It seems to highlight the point I'm trying to make: 

"Oh, Mrs. Crowley, " I answered, in my nicest voice, "I was just imagining you chained up, in a deep hole, with a heavy steel grate on top.  And rats. Lots of rats. Crawling all over you." Then I made a smile, baring my teeth the way dogs do when they're ready to bite. 

I think his tendency to lash out with twisted humor has less to do with his diagnosis and more to do with his fairly unstable upbringing. 

All in all, I think it's an interesting read of a man's life like none other.  However, purchase it for the story itself and not with the intent to learn more about Asperger's.