Read a children's novel entitled Rain/Reign over the weekend. Written by Ann M. Martin it's won quite a number of prizes for its genre, prompting me to give it a read after it mysteriously appeared on the table just outside our apartment. Glad I did. Ms Martin employs a narrator who's been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and does so convincingly, managing to avoid an overly mawkish read. The relationship of the narrating daughter to her father is particularly well done. He isn't in any sense an attractive character, generally struggling to understand and accept her behaviour, but the adult reader can really feel for him. And the fact that things don't exactly work themselves out in the end is bracingly honest.
There's much to admire in the craft involved in this kind of writing, and in the generosity of insight it demands.
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