I do like Curtis Sittenfeld

I found Jodi Picoult’s passing portrayal of a young man with a developmental disability gratuitous and sloppily drawn. Curtis Sittenfeld, on the other hand, has written movingly (if passingly) of young men with special needs with grace and insight and caring. In “American Wife,” Alice Blackwell (the fictionalized Laura Bush character) sits next to a young man with a disability at a fundraising dinner.

Though I suspect Dale had the intellectual aptitude of a nine- or ten-year-old, I wouldn’t have guessed this if I’d been observing him from any distance–his featurers weren’t irregular, except perhaps that he looked friendlier than most other guests. When it was time to sit for dinner, the men at the table remained standing while I and the other wives found our plates, and Dale, to whom I had been briefly introduced a minute before, plopped next to me in the seat that had a place card for his father; Mrs. Tasker’s place card was one more over.

… Dale said, “My favorite actress is Drew Barrymore, do you know who Drew  Barrymore is?”

Image: CurtisSittenfeld.com

Instead of a few paragraphs, Sittenfeld gives him four and a half pages. If not a relationship, exactly, an affinity between the man and the First Lady springs up during what would otherwise be a stodgy, dull affair. And we learn that his name is Dale; he adores Drew Barrymore movies; enjoys tic-tac-toe (and is pretty good at it); that he is 40 years old and lives with his father; that he is proud of his collection of American aircraft stamps.

At the end of “Man of My Dreams” her protagonist is teaching kids on the spectrum. I can’t quote because I don’t have a copy of the book but I remember it as straightfoward and dignified.

I don’t know what Sittenfeld’s experience with people with disabilities is, or why she seems to have a bit of interest in them, but she does seem to. It’s refreshing to read someone with insight and kindness write about kids with special needs.