Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Aspergers by John Robison ***1/2

Look Me In The Eye can at times be hard to swallow. While it is interesting to see how the disease effected Robison's life that is as far as the book goes with merit. Being the brother of well known and highly regarded author Augusten Burroughs he had big shoes to fill, and for his first outing he does fine. Also being his brother it is very interesting to see how the two both came out of their childhoods some what normal.

As they are brothers a lot of the stories told here have been told by Burroughs in his work before this. So the reader would hope to get a new perspective on the events and see it from someone else view. Well they are told the same way making the book seem boring at times.

Robison's stories often become very technical (due in part to his disorder), making some of the stories boring. The parts and things he used to build something are not nearly as interesting as what he did with those parts and he doesn't get that. This is also in part to his disorder.

But to see his struggle with his parents on top of his personal demons is fascinating and entertaining as a memoir. To see a man overcome his demons is always uplifting and wonderful to witness. For that Look Me In The Eye is not a total loss.

If you have the patience this is a nice read as well as an eye opening one...no pun intended.

"Look Me in the Eye" by John Elder Robison is a compelling look at Asperger's Syndrome through the life of one who never let his condition slow him down. Robison, the brother of memoirist Augusten Burroughs, is a compelling storyteller and perhaps more interesting than his struggles and discoveries as a person living with Asperger's are his insights into his messed-up childhood, his hjinks as a young man living on his own, his sound engineering work with KISS, and his years in the corporate world. An enjoyable read. Grade: B.

Excellent book, good insights into what life is like for an Aspy. Reccomend for all families who are effected by this curve that life throws us.

This book is entertaining and well written, but it does not give the information on Asperger's that I was seeking. The author shares more about his upbringing with incompetent parents than the issues associated with having Asperger's. When reading this book it is hard to separate what trials he endured because of Asperger's and what were based on poor parenting.

Do not read this book and expect to learn all about Asperger's. It is a memoir of the author's life with it. If you are looking for an education on AS, then look to a medical text or web site. Other reviewers are complaining about that aspect, but this is not a textbook. It is an interesting memoir written from the point of view of someone whose point of view is very different and unique from the rest of the world. Other reviewers are also complaining that the book doesn't flow and the writing isn't very colorful. That is true, but it is because of the author's AS. If the editor encouraged the author to change his style then it wouldn't really be written with the outlook of someone with Asperger's Syndrome. The book is unlike most other books because there really is no overall theme, some of the writing is choppy, some parts go too much into description about minute things, but I found this to be interesting because it gave me a glimpse into the mind of someone with AS. The book is not incredibly entertaining, funny, or enthralling, but it is different. Just be prepared for something unusual when reading it. The author's life isn't incredibly out of the ordinary, but the way he sees and does things are. I enjoyed this book, but I can't say that I would read a second book by this author.