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Rachelle Joy
The main character feels like a caricature to me. Yes, the author never explicitly says that Molly is neurodivergent, but it’s obvious to me that was the author’s intent. And personally, I don’t feel like it was well done.
Laura
I found the character inconsistent and stereotypical. I have an autistic kid, and my father and I are most likely (undiagnosed) autistic. I found Eleanor Oliphant much more believable, but took issue with the author blaming her autistic traits on bad parenting and childhood trauma. I'm beginning to think that the reluctance of authors (or publishing houses) to actually "diagnose"/identify characters as autistic represents an unwillingness to take responsibility for accurate depiction. ("If we don't come out and say s/he's autistic, then we can make them act/say/think/do whatever we want, regardless of whether it fits.")
Judith
If authors only wrote stories built on their own experiences, that would be the end of fiction as we know it! The great literature of the world was mostly "madeup."
Susan U. Dawson
Who cares? The book was such a dreadful, terrible read whether the maid was or was not on the spectrum.
Amanda
People like you will make stories and fiction stagnate. If you're only interested in reading books "built on own experiences" read exclusively autobiographies.
Mo
I just saw an interview with the author- she was a teacher of kids with special needs.
Lo
Your question intrigued me and I did some research. Nita Prose is actually the pen name of Nita Pronovost, who's a relatively big deal in publishing. While I didn't find a definitive answer, in this article -- https://quillandquire.com/authors/nit...
-- she describes the main character as "socially awkward."
So if the character is on the spectrum, it's one of those cringe-y books when it happened by accident. None of the publishing material references autism at all; 100% of references I found to Molly being autistic were by readers in reviews. No attempt at representation was ever actually made.
Too bad, but I'll probably still read it because this "socially awkward" mystery lover also cleans for a living. But I'll be getting it from the library rather than paying for it. Thanks for asking this question!
-- she describes the main character as "socially awkward."
So if the character is on the spectrum, it's one of those cringe-y books when it happened by accident. None of the publishing material references autism at all; 100% of references I found to Molly being autistic were by readers in reviews. No attempt at representation was ever actually made.
Too bad, but I'll probably still read it because this "socially awkward" mystery lover also cleans for a living. But I'll be getting it from the library rather than paying for it. Thanks for asking this question!
Roberta Rich
No, Nita Prose is not 'on the spectrum' but she has done a fantastic job of getting into the head of a character who is.
Jenny
Molly is not written as having been diagnosed with anything specific, she knows she is different, and the perception of others around her confirms this, she finds it difficult to understand certain non-literal phrsaes and to interpret subtle, often non-verbal social cues. It depends where you place the line between social awkwardness and neurodivergence. As someone who has struggled with experiences similar to Molly's, though not to such an extent, I thought that it was pretty well done. To respond to a couple of comments that her character was inconsistent, to me that felt actually more realistic for what I perceive her condition to be than if she straight-up took everything literally, or at face value, it is possible for people on the high-functioning side of mild neurodivergent conditions to adapt, mimic, and learn from society, even if that learning is just to mask your 'otherness' rather than fully adapting your way of thinking. That was my take anyway.
XX
Thanks for asking and answering this question. I really don't want to read aneuro characters written by neurotypical authors. It rarely goes well.
Kasandra Dassoulas
I loved this book. If you know one autistic person you know one autistic person. Just because the character doesn’t fit into the box you’ve constructed to fit your exact brand of Gen-Z, self-diagnosed autism you’ve constructed by watching tick tocs and following autistic people on Instagram who are most likely just run of the mill folks with borderline personality disorder, doesn’t mean she isn’t a good portrayal of one particular autistic person. Sincerely, an autistic person.
Jeremy Booty
I think that's what was intended but in my opinion not accurate. Since I do see a number of people with ASD, I saw a number of discrepancies. One big one is her genuine enjoyment of other people's company on a deep level. She may not engage well and may not read social clues very well but it doesn't necessarily add up to Autism. A closer, more accurate diagnosis (for a fictional charachter :-)) is Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder.
Kathleen
I think so - but I disagree with others who didn’t like the representation of her. I thought she was a charming, quirky, likable, wonderfully-drawn character. Her odd way of looking at the world and her delightful speech patters were fun to read. I just loved Miss Molly and her trolley!
Richard Pittman
I think that while the book never explicitly says that Molly is on the spectrum, I think the story makes it plainly clear she is. We the readers are fully intended to understand that, even though the character's description of herself doesn't come right out and say it. I can't talk about whether the representation is GOOD, but I think the character is handled with a great deal of compassion, empathy, and respect. It sounds like the author is not on the spectrum herself, however.
Rebecca Nixt
Is it possible that Molly just doesn’t understand social cues? She seems like a character who would appreciate a diagnosis, but instead has to spend her life not knowing at all why she doesn’t “fit a type.”
Pavlína Černá
I tried to look up the author's experience with being on the spectrum, but couldn't find anything. Very valid question.
Ali
Never met a neurodivergent person who fit into a neat box of characteristics or personality traits. I am therefore not surprised that this depiction would not resonate with everyone with that label. I imagine hoping that she would fit into a specifc box is diametrically opposed to being "on the spectrum" or divergent in any way.
Paula
I'm only 3 episodes in of the 10-episode abridged audio, and was wondering what was going on with this Molly character. I'm no expert, but I agree with others that her behavior and thought patterns seem inconsistent with anything. Is she mildly retarded? OCD? Asperger's? Because it goes way beyond "socially awkward". And yet her social skills and perception seems to come and go. At times she's so thick she doesn't get a simple joke, then other times she's scheming on how to deceive the detective, which requires complex perceptive and interpretive skills. She stands too close and wants hugs. She's hung up on proper hotel protocol, but has no problem slipping the dishwasher room keys on the sly. The author didn't seem to know what she was writing about. To make it worse, the reader of this version is accentuating Molly's weird speech patterns, which is really annoying. She's speaking. very. crisply. With long pauses. Between simple phrases. I want to slap her.
David Homer
This answer contains spoilers…
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Cherlynn Womack
No. Molly didn't have outside friends & enjoyed spending time with her grandmother. She was socially awkward & quoted her grandmother often who played a big role in who Molly is. I think Molly is naive & a very literal person.
Tracy Williams
I think it's written to be she has ASD. I thought maybe MMR but I'm not sure she has a low IQ. Possibly OCD also.
She processes things differently and the comments other make about her give me an ASD feeling. Just a guess
She processes things differently and the comments other make about her give me an ASD feeling. Just a guess
Belkis
Idk about Nita Prose but imo Molly definitely is, as an autistic person most likely. Or social communication disorder if it's not autism. But it's not official, the author hasn't said anything yet and it's never explicitly mentioned in the book either. But maybe in the future books of the series Molly will get to discover that she is autistic or neurodivergent (if it's not autism). Maybe the author wants to do that. And I'd like to see it. It'd be cool, as autism is commonly associated with children, so it's great to have more representation of autistic adults, and even better cause she's a woman, which are less understood as relates to autism than boys.
Loli Owlkins
I was also wondering if Molly is on the spectrum or possibly displays some of the traits of neurodivergence due to loneliness, neglect or even abuse. Her mother’s drug use may have affected her when she was a baby, too. While is clear is that Molly is quite bright in some ways, she doesn’t pick up on social cues and can’t ‘read between the lines’ when talking to people who are plotting and scheming around her.
Colleen Hayes
Nita Prose is not neurodivergent, but she has worked with people who are.
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Jul 30, 2023 07:43AM
Jul 30, 2023 08:01AM