One of the shortest books I ever read was Confessions of a Trappist Monk. The author just didn’t have very much to say for himself. Neither does Woody Brown, a debut American author whose new novel, Upward Bound, has shot straight into the New York Times fake bestseller list, despite him being a highly autistic young man who is almost entirely non-verbal. For someone who can’t talk, Woody has a surprisingly loquacious way with words. See if you can spot the very minor contradiction in this lead-in to a recent piece about Woody in the Guardian:
How can you have an interview with a “non-speaking” interviewee? How did this conversation take place? Via Ouija board? It turns out the answer is ‘sort of, yes’.
Mrs Brown’s boy
Several novels have been penned entirely by planchette in the past, most famously Jap Herron: A Novel Written From the Ouija Board, a 1917 American work co-authored by Emily Grant Hutchings and Mark Twain, in the limited sense that Emily sat down at her board and proceeded to channel Twain’s latest paragraphs from beyond the grave, thinking she was talking to his ghost. Twain’s angry daughter then launched a lawsuit against her late father’s supposed amanuensis, citing copyright violations of a very strange and necromantic kind, leading the self-styled medium to pulp all existing copies and cease any future publication.
Penguin Books is refusing to act similarly with Woody Brown’s own disputed literary effort today, however, despite
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Having grown up with a non verbal autistic sibling I can confirm this is likely bulls***t. Still, it costs a small fortune to look after someone so disabled, so good luck to them for the grift as they will need the cash for care after the parents are gone. The autistic person will probably never ‘say’ a word again. My only sadness is that the harsh reality of autism is constantly underplayed. The screams, the hideous trauma because of the inability to communicate, the self-imposed rigid routines and Inability to care for oneself for those most severely affected are brushed under the carpet by those claiming there are special autistic powers.
A shoe-in for a job at BBC Verify?
Sorry did I just read “Greta Thunberg” is a genius”?
Well, she’s managed to fool a phenomenal number of people. Fraudsters are clever.
Yes, that’s the bit I can’t stomach either!
I’ve a feeling her name is included ironically…
The same has been said about Helen Keller and I suspect it’s correct.
If this wasn’t so worrying it would be hilarious. However in this case it would appear to also be a ‘nice little earner’.
Is there nothing the left wing religion cannot worship,?
On hearing about the scepticism expressed by Steven Tucker Mr W Brown is reported to have said ‘How dare he? I’ve half a mind to…‘ but then his RPM board broke.
😆
On the politicization of autism and sexual orientation by a female bisexual autist. I think this also applies to trans people who do not want their ‘transness’ to be their sole identifying quality and what defines them as people. These blue-haired raving loonies and predatory ‘cocks in frocks’ women’s space-invaders do not represent the respectful trans folk who just want to get on with their lives and don’t court attention/victimhood status, same as everyone else;
”If you are somebody who is sympathetic to Critical Social Justice approaches to ‘queerness’ and/or ‘neurodivergence’ and understand yourself to be a bit bisexual or neurologically atypical, please do not merge these two things, politicise them as an identity and make your conception of either the authentic way to be. Recognise that this speaks for people who have not agreed to be spoken for by you and that it is presumptuous and unwarranted to turn a sexuality or a neurological difference/disability into a political orientation or epistemic commitment. People are dubious enough about whether bisexuality is actually a real thing without having it removed to the realm of metaphorical imaginings with political implications. Autism is a very serious disability for many people and, on the… Read more »
I think your first paragraph applies to many “victim groups” which are composed of only a subset of the supposed “victim” category and exploited by grifters.
When Starmer returned to the UK after meeting Biden, he declared the president to be ‘sharp as a tack’.
Words fail me! (Pun intended)