Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Rating: ★★★★
Marcelo in the Real World is the story of a young man with Asperger's syndrome being thrust into the real world for the first time. This story hit close to home for me. My brother, Jacob, had Asperger's syndrome. He was an incredibly funny and intelligent kid, and I couldn't have asked for a better older brother, even with the many challenges his syndrome presented. On top of Asperger's Jacob also had Osteosarcoma, a form bone cancer. He fought hard through the first bout, and made it into remission, but, as it tends to do, the cancer came back. The second time even my invincible big brother couldn't fight it off. Jacob died when he was nine years old. The idea always pops up "maybe it was better that way. His Asperger's syndrome made his life so difficult", but Jacob was the kind of kid that could have made a difference. Jacob, like Marcelo could have learned, not only how to function in the real world, but how to make a difference in it. Sometimes death doesn't make sense. Sometimes there isn't a reason. Sometimes things like this happen in the real world.
Back to the book-- when thrust into the real world, Marcelo tries to figure out how people feel and why they act how they act. Using this perspective allows for basic exploration and explanations of moral and social issues we don't think about, and, when pointed out, we fundamentally don't understand. This book allows us to rethink some of the basic rules of modern society. What is wrong? What is right? How can you tell the difference?
I love that this book addresses and makes use of religious views, but it is in no way pushy, judgmental, or set in stone. All discussions of religion are just that: discussions. The presentation of religion is one that provokes further thought and conversation and allows readers to draw their own conclusions. It also brings up an important question: why are people so afraid to talk about religion? Why is it such an offensive subject? I hadn't considered this before, but religion is definitely a touchy subject in our society. Why? Is God not love? Is religion not based in God?
Favorite Quotes:
"If it keeps you from functioning in society the way people think a normal person should, then our society calls that an illness" (55).
"My special interest is God... I have to remember never to talk about anything religious while I'm here. It scares people... But I also enjoy listening to music. I have hundreds of CDs at home. For some reason this has never been considered abnormal" (57).
"It seems that most of my brain needs to be turned off in order to function effectively" (85).
"How can I tell her I knew (that she was beautiful) but I didn't know-- like seeing the sun set every evening but not seeing it" (182).
"But today-- I will just be" (230).
"'Boy, you really break things down, don't you?' 'Some say it is an illness.' 'We should all be so ill'" (241).
"For all the pain I saw at Paterson, it is nothing compared to the pain that people inflict upon each other in the real world. All I can think of now is that it is not right for me to be unaware of that pain, including the pain that I inflict on others. Only how is it possible to live without being either numb to it or overwhelmed by it?" (302).
"Are your ugly parts any uglier than mine?" (303).
