The best books with characters who appear to be on the autism spectrum

I love Katniss Everdeen as much for her strength as for her quirks; the things that make her feel like a real person. She finds relating to people challenging, which is something I struggled with growing up. Her anxiety can be felt when she plays with objects to calm herself, which I still occasionally do. Yet despite her difficulties in connecting with people, everything she does is for the sake of others. She is strong and capable in the face of adversity, which is something I work to achieve in my own life. Learning that her character may be on the spectrum, and my ability to identify with her, led me to start wondering if I may be on the spectrum as well.

Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite characters because although he seems to detest most people, at his core he finds justice for others. From his brusque nature to self-medicating his anxiety, to his tendency to speak in a lecture-like tone, Sherlock manages to overcome his challenges to win the day. I’ve had my own struggles using alcohol to cope with the stresses of day-to-day life. Thankfully, I rarely drink now. I also tend to ramble on about minute details if the mood strikes, and I found Sherlock’s interlinking of evidence and similar attention to detail to be an exciting part of the story. What makes Sherlock even more interesting is that the diagnosis of autism wouldn’t be conceived for well over fifty years after A Study in Scarlet was published.

What I admire most about Lisbeth Salander are her strength and courage, and the challenges she overcame while being highly introverted. Despite her inability to connect with others, and her violent nature, she used her anger to right wrongs, and had a strong sense of morality. I actually see a lot of Lisbeth in myself, as I’m also a software engineer. Chain smoking to treat her anxiety is something I relate to, as I smoked cigars for eight years to help deal with my depression. What I like about her most is she overcomes her abuse and overcomes her abusers; something I’ve had to do in my own life. The story is emotionally difficult to read at times, but the sense of elation I felt when she found justice for herself was worth the turmoil.

James Halliday is a futuristic Willy Wonka, creating a fantasy world to bring people together, despite his own social awkwardness. Unfocused on his personal appearance and social norms, yet laser-focused on his creation, The OASIS, he has a child-like exuberance that makes him endearing. Like Halliday, I can hyper-focus on projects I’m deeply interested in. His story of shyness and unrequited love resonates for me, as I’ve had a few unrequited loves in the past, ones that in some ways still affect me to this day. What I appreciate about him the most is the things he does are out of love, even when it’s not reciprocated. Ultimately, although Halliday uses his fantasy world to cope with the challenges of life, he passes on the knowledge to Wade, the protagonist, that the best things in life happen in the real world.

Hermione Granger is a character that took some time to grow on me, admittedly. Finding friends was challenging for Hermione, as she intimidated others with her deep knowledge of magic and tended to ‘correct’ others and lecture them when they either skirted rules or weren’t paying well enough attention in class. I feel this echoes my own childhood, where I was too focused on studying and seeming intelligent, instead of learning how to help others without making them feel uncomfortable. What I admire most about Hermione, and the books in general, is that despite her social challenges, she is defined by the friendships she created with Harry and Ron. And as for many people on the spectrum, she championed others who faced unfair challenges, such as the house elves.