Tracy S. (allister) - , reviewed on 10/23/2014 + 13 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

The Gauguin Connection is a mystery thriller about art thefts and murders. The hook this author has is the protagonist has high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Written in first person. If you know me and my background (my family has some Autism, ranging from very low to very high functioning) you know that I will either like or hate this book. So many attempts are done poorly by posers, and aren't (almost) all of these authors posers?

Would you accept the word of a hearing person about how it feels to be born deaf? A white person about how it is be Korean? I am always skeptical of those who adopt another's voice, and most skeptical of those who choose to speak as one with Autism.

Is she believable? Yes, as a character and a detective. As a person with autism? .... I don't think so. She is too social and verbal and her "blackouts" seem contrived and convenient. The book starts out with her having a disability, somewhat like "Monk" but fades rapidly when the book actually needs to progress.

I did like the book and would have liked it more if the author hadn't given her character the diagnosis of autism, and left the reader to decide what she might have. Telling the reader "this is autism" leaves the author with a heavy burden of showing what high-functioning autism really looks like.

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