AUDIO

Raising Cubby: A Father and Son's Adventures with Asperger's, Trains, Tractors, and High Explosives

by John Elder Robison
10 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 12½ hrs. Books on Tape. 2013. ISBN 9780307881373. $40; digital download. MEMOIR
COPY ISBN
The two most interesting facets of noted memoirist Robison's (Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's) book receive the least attention. The first is that both Robison and his son, Cubby, live with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. The other is that by the time he turned 18, Cubby had a basement chemistry lab so advanced that the local district attorney was moved to press charges (for "possessing explosives with intent to harm people or property"). Much of the parenting material tends toward dull recitations of mundane events. And though naturally defensive about his son's legal plight, Robison never addresses the elephant in the room: that a boy he best characterizes as "eccentric" creates some fairly powerful homemade explosives.
VERDICT The tedious subject matter combined with Robison's uninflected narration makes for a poor translation to audio. Not recommended.
Reviewed by Douglas C. Lord, Connecticut State Lib., Middletown , Jul 05, 2013
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