Mark Reece's Blog, page 4

Short story publication

I have had a short story published in The Interpreter's House magazine (https://theinterpretershouse.org/).

The magazine should be published later in the year.

Review- 'Neurotribes'.

NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a very interesting book in many ways, although I thought it was poorly structured in places. Much of the book is devoted to a history of diagnostic procedures and the definition of autism as constructed by psychology. However, there were also chapters on historic figures the author considers might have been autistic, such as the scientist Henry Cavendish. These were interesting as vignettes, but the length of them distracted from the coherence of the book's narrative. It isn't obvious what the reader should derive about the 'legacy of autism' from Cavendish's limited food preferences, or tendency to avoid company.

As regards the history of the diagnostic procedures of autism, there are two main points of interest that I derive. Firstly is the complete lack of intellectual credibility of the leading practitioners in the field. The doctrines of many of the people described lack empirical support, lack diagnostic validity, and are contrary to the basic tenant of medicine, in that they make no distinction between on the one hand, bodily states that reflect ill health, and on the other hand, behaviours that might be considered social unacceptable in some contexts, but are not intrinsically harmful. The likes of Lovaas and Rimland took the view that 'x child is conducting x behaviour that is considered unusual, meaning that they are degenerate'. I don't see how that thinking can be classified as anything other than pseudoscience. It is no different than pointing to someone wearing red trousers in a society where blue trousers are the custom and saying 'yuck'. Obviously, red trouser wearing in those circumstances might cause problems, but that seems more relevant to sociology, or the fashion of hosiery, rather than medical science.

For the sake of clarity, some of the neurodivergent children described in the book (and in general) are prone to behaviours that do properly fall under the province of medicine, such as self-harming or depression. However, psychology seems to have historically been much more interested in trying to force people to follow the social norms of their time, rather than restoring them to good phycological health. I think there is a genuine science in this area that is gradually emerging, but also a tendency to absolute drivel, including the view described in the book that children became autistic because of their 'cold-hearted' parents. It is hard to imagine any other science where speculation of this kind with no credible empirical support would form any part of theory.

The second point that I derive results from the first, which is the extent to which neurodivergent people are de-humanized in much of phycology. Lovaas is described as conducting an experiment with a child in which affection was withdrawn to encourage socially acceptable behaviour. He also conducted multiple physical torture techniques, such as electrical shocks. His victims were often children or people with intellectual abilities. With great irony, he had the temerity to suggest that autistic people lacked empathy. The book contains a passage in which he inveighs against criticism of electric shocks by accusing his critics of 'sentimentality'.

Usually, torturing people only happens after they have been de-humanized, and that is evident in the language used to describe neurodivergent people both historically and currently. Again, Lovaas in the best example of this, claiming that autistic people "are not people, in the phycological sense". This attitude is essential to justify torture, just as regimes that have sought to commit genocide against particular ethnic groups invariably describe them as inhuman animals. This language has been normalised to a disturbing degree, such that it is described in passages in the book without authorial comment. As a measure of how unusual this is, one might consider a hypothetical analogy. Suppose one was to posit that the behaviour of phycologists needs to improve, given the harms their views have often caused, and that the best way to achieve this is to progressively burn them until they abandon their anti-social views. Such a suggestion would almost certainly be considered the fantasy of a mad or evil person. The reason for this, of course, is that phycologists are not a dehumanised group, and as such, even if burning them could be demonstrated to have a socially beneficial impact, harming them wouldn't be socially acceptable. 'Sentimentality' would prevent such an outcome.

There are contemporary echoes of this type of thought, described in latter sections of the book, in a discussion of vaccine 'controversy'. Putting aside the obviously pseudo-scientific nature of the claim that vaccines cause autism, even if it was true, it is grotesque to claim that children should be put at risk of death from infectious disease rather than being turned autistic. The eliminationist nature of 'anti-vax' positions as regards neurodivergent people has been too little commented on.

Despite that I enjoyed much of the book, there were many sections where I thought the author was overly journalistic, in flatly describing the views and behaviours of noteworthy figures, without giving a wider analysis. For example, the book described Nazi beliefs about the burden that disabled people pose to society, often described in monetary terms. There was a distinct echo of these views in eugenicist programmes in the USA to sterilize disabled people, and in the justifications given to forcibly 'normalize' neurodivergent people. Although the book contained a lot of interesting information, the reader was often forced to conduct such analysis themselves. Nevertheless, it was a compelling book, and I learnt a number of interesting facts from it.



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Review- Volo's guide to monsters

Volo's Guide to Monsters by Adam Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a useful add-on to the monster manual, creating sub-types for many of the D&D races. The book also contains stat blocks for a variety of generic NPCs, such as different kinds of wizards, which are great for random encounters.

Like the monster manual, there are too many races whose only real feature is that they are mindless killers, but there is also some interesting lore.



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Review- The last

The Last by Hanna Jameson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Last is a post-apocalyptic novel, set after a nuclear war that destroys much of civilization. However, the story is narrowly focused around a small number of characters who were in a hotel at the time of the disaster.

The protagonist, Jon, an academic, now a long distance from his family, investigates what seems to be a murder that took place at the hotel either before or around the time of the disaster. The novel focuses around that investigation, and his group's struggles to survive.

Although neither the premise nor the plot devices were particularly original or striking, the author writes at a thrilling pace. Many of the chapters end with simple set-ups, such as a character's exclamation, that work very well with the structure of the novel, with its short chapters that are comprised of diary entries. The investigation is also handled well, with the character's skills from the old world enabling Jon to learn more, while the resource constrains of his situation hinders his efforts.

I found the conclusion to the central plot to be unsatisfactory, as it didn't flow from the events that were focused on hitherto, and relied on the author introducing a lot of information in an off-hand way. The characters were well enough developed that the book felt as if it could have been longer.

Overall, an enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading other works by the author.



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Review- The butcher's masquerade

The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The dungeon crawler series continues to be entertaining, with enough action in the meta story to hold one's interest. I didn't think the writing style was able to transition to what was intended to be the more emotionally impactive sequences towards the end of the novel, but the pacing and sense of humour continue to make it pleasurable to read.



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Review- 'Life ceremony'.

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The stories in this collection were of variable quality, but the authorial voice was always very strong, making the book engaging even during the weaker tales. Although the plots were very different, there was a strong focus on the body of the protagonists throughout, particularly on eating and sex. Many of the characters are seemingly unable to accept subjective preference as a motivation for bodily function. Having sex for fun is something that often provokes extreme aversion in Murata's characters. In fact, that might well be their most distinctive characteristic. Disgust directed towards bodily functions is often a function of puritanism or conservative values, but here, it seems to be depicted neutrally; the protagonists of these stories typically have little inner life and are often innocent in a way that verges on the grotesque; their lack of knowledge of the world might be expected by people who were brought up in a cult.

In the weaker stories, the unusualness of the characters' behaviour seems artificial. For example, in 'A first-rate material', the body parts of dead humans are harvested to make clothing and other products. In a world where such a social practice was typical, one would imagine that it would be little commented on as a matter of course, in the same way that there are few everyday conversations about jeans in a world where wearing jeans is commonplace. However, every character seems fascinated, and constantly talks about, a facet of their world in a way that makes no sense if it was routine to wear jewellery made out of corpses. Furthermore, the explanation of how that social practice developed makes little sense. In other words, the author seems to have been taken by the idea but put little effort into world building.

By contrast, the stories that focus on individuals with obsessions, or asexual couples, are generally much better developed. For example, 'Eating the city' tells the story of a woman who becomes obsessed with eating weeds. This works well because the focus is on the character's inner world, which doesn't need to logical or even coherent. Murata's prose is often excellent in those stories, which generally raise the question of why certain social behaviours are necessary.

There is a curious gentleness, even poignancy, in these stories that the outwardly startling nature of the subject matter initially conceals. Even in stories that do not work, Murata is always an author who grasps the reader's attention.



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Review- 'The hero of ages'.

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The hero of ages is a strong end to the first mistborn series, and I thought it was of equal quality to the earlier books, although different in tone. In this novel, the characters are now in positions of power, with very different problems from the first book in the series, when they were rebels, thieves, and dilettante aristocrats.

The strength of this book, as with earlier entries in the series, was in the characterization and pacing, which make it constantly enjoyable to read. The split narrative, with the chapters alternating between various interconnected stories, worked well. There is always something interesting happening and the character's voices are firmly established by this point in the series. It was also very useful to have a summary of the backdrop of the world as a reference point at the end of the book, should one have forgotten part of how the world works.

The weaknesses of the novel lay in the more reflective sections. The observations of Elend Venture, now emperor, are rarely more intricate than 'being a ruler is hard than thinking about being a ruler' and there is a strong emphasis on determining whether or not he is a 'good man', something that seems irrelevant given the world ending events going on around him. Furthermore, the comments on philosophy of religion are repetitive and often trite, largely based on characters thinking 'it is important to have faith'.

The nature of the metal powers in this series means that the characters are effectively superheroes; I preferred the type of system he derived in 'Warbreaker', which didn't rely on that kind of backdrop. Overall though, this was a strong end to the trilogy, and I'll certainly read more of Sanderson.



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Review- Cosi fan tutte opera

Mozart's Cosi fan tutte was recently performed by the Welsh National Opera (WNO) at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The WNO regularly perform at the location, and always prove hugely entertaining.

This performance was played in a playful, lighthearted, even slapstick way, which is likely a good choice, given the triteness of the source material. The story is a trope of 18th century literature- two men dress up to test the fidelity of the fiancés, and discover 'woman's true nature'. There's a comedy value to it, but the story rarely rises above the level of farce.

On the other hand, the artistic value of the performance: the singing, the costumes, the visual jokes, were all outstanding. The four singers cast in the central roles all had incredibly powerful voices, and Rebecca Evans, playing Despina, had great comic timing and suitably silly costume changes.

I'll certainly look to watch the WNO as often as possible in the future.

Review- Carlos Acosta's 'On Before'.

Until booking this performance, I didn't know that Carlos Acosta still performed as a dancer (aged 50). He's clearly a busy man. Not to mention an extremely accomplished one.

'On Before' comprises a series of vignettes. I'm unfamiliar with them, but I had the impression that they were thematically unconnected. Some may have had religious connotations, containing sequences involved candle like lights, choral singing and lights leading upwards.

Whatever the interpretation, Acosta moves beautifully, displaying an impressive range of styles, including some performances that seemed influenced by 'street dance'.

It will be interesting to see how long Acosta continues to dance in addition to directing. On the basis of this performance, there's no reason why he couldn't continue for a considerable time.

Review- 'Death and the penguin'

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is a strong sense of the uncanny in Death and the penguin, where events are invariably described with a flat, laconic tone that intrinsically downplays the absurdity of events. In that way, the novel reminded me of Gogol, although the events in this work had a greater degree of realism than was typical with Gogol.

The protagonist of Death and the penguin- Viktor- is a dispirited fiction writer who acquired a penguin (Misha) after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unable to find regular work, he agrees to a proposal by a newspaper editor to write a series of obituaries about public figures. However, over time, it becomes evident that his writing is being used to identify the subjects as targets for assassination, by a state or criminal organization.

There is a sadness and emptiness to Victor's life that is epitomized by his domestic situation. He is asked by a friend to look Sonya- a young girl- and despite his lack of social connections, he starts a romantic relationship with the niece of another friend- Nina. This seemingly gives him a family setup, but Victor is always distanced from his partner and adopted daughter, partly by his work, which takes up a lot of his time and puts him in danger, but also by his general sense of alienation. As time goes on, his life seems increasingly like a facade, having genuine affection for only Misha. At one point, Nina says that she knows Victor does not love her very much, a statement that Victor does not even try to contradict.

The novel has an excellent ending, which potentially casts Victor's relationship with Misha in a different light, when Victor also acknowledges the absurdity of his situation for the first time. Death and the penguin is a brilliant book, with recognizable influences from great Eastern European authors.



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