BOOK GROUPIE: 'Marcelo" about much more than autism
Two recent government studies indicate that about one in 100 children have autism disorders. Autism is classified as a spectrum disorder, with some people exhibiting mild symptoms and others suffering very serious symptoms. Symptoms include difficulty communicating and interacting socially, as well as the display of repetitive behaviors.
At first glance, “Marcelo in the Real World” is a book about autism. The fictional main character, after all, is a young man who falls on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. Marcelo Sandoval was diagnosed as a child, and his story is told in first person.
But the author, Francisco X. Stork, makes the book about much more than autism. He makes it about the complex choices we all must make in life.
Seventeen-year-old Marcelo’s first choice in the book is forced upon him by his father, a high-powered attorney named Arturo. Arturo wants Marcelo to live in the “real world.” He feels Marcelo has been too sheltered at a special-needs school. So instead of allowing Marcelo to work with the school’s horses during the summer, Arturo aggressively persuades Marcelo to work at the family law firm.
At the firm, Marcelo is initially put to work in the mailroom. Gradually, he is given tasks requiring increasing responsibility. Eventually, Marcelo is asked to gather evidence in boxes. While performing this task, Marcelo discovers evidence that may be damaging to his father. But if Marcelo buries the evidence, another person could be hurt.
Even while Marcelo struggles with autism, he is torn between good and evil and all the gray areas in between. Marcelo’s greatest confidants during this time are Jasmine, a young woman who befriends him, and Rabbi Heschel, a friend of Marcelo’s mother. The conversations Marcelo shares with Jasmine and Rabbi Heschel are often interesting and thought-provoking.
At one point in “Marcelo in the Real World,” Rabbi Heschel tells Marcelo, “But deep at the bottom of our conflicting desires and confusions there is the sense of what is right and what is wrong. What else can we do but trust and hope in that sense?”
In the end, Marcelo makes the decision that feels right for him, the decision he trusts in his heart. Going through that difficult process makes Marcelo stronger and more confident. He is a character who can teach us all a thing or two about living in the real world.
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Anita Miller welcomes your book suggestions. Read her blog at
bookgroupie.freedomblogging.com
or e-mail anita.l.miller@worldnet.att.net.
