One of the great joys of reading is that, occasionally, you discover a book that has a profound effect on you, the reader. I’ve recently finished such a book, specifically Nine Minds by Daniel Tammet. The minds in question all belong to autistic people; some have achieved extraordinary things in their careers, others have had to overcome challenges with their physical health. All are fascinating.
There is so much to enjoy about Nine Minds, not least Tammet’s choice of subjects. Autistic himself, the author skillfully sidesteps the tired, cliched perception of autism being an infantilising condition which predominantly affects males by featuring brilliant autistic women who use their neurotype to shape and change the world around them. Of course, men also feature within the narrative portraits and the profiles selected include a young Canadian boy who would grow up to become a Hollywood star, a Welsh-born surgeon who emigrated and was diagnosed in his sixties and a detective who solved 91 murders during a long career in the West Midlands Police.
Each of the narrative portraits presented by Tammet is beautifully written and when grouped together as a whole, the different chapters form a deeply satisfying read which provides detailed looks into the inner world of the author’s subjects. Six of the people whose lives are explored in Nine Minds shared their stories with the author directly; three were sufficiently ‘high profile’ that Tammet was able to gather rich, extensive detail from other sources. The meticulous research which underpins the work comes through in the prose; the fact that the author cites thirty-eight people who shared memories for a single profile tells you how much work went into this project.
The genius of this book is that it shows its reader just how rich, complex and varied autistic lives can be. It zigzags around the globe, highlighting both how capable autistic people can be and how difficult it can be for them to harness their specific gifts. These are not ‘happy clappy’ tales; all of Tammet’s subjects have worked hard to find a level of personal and / or professional fulfilment. Some were diagnosed as children, others much later but, as an autistic person myself, there was much in each chapter I could relate to.
As anyone who read my Reading the Game reviews of football books will know, I only publish reviews of books I really enjoyed. There’s more than enough negativity online already, why would I want to use energy on pumping more into the world? For this reason, I haven’t written a review for almost a year. It speaks volumes that Nine Minds was the book which changed that. Autistic readers will identify with the protagonists in this work, non-autistics will learn a great deal about Autistic Spectrum Conditions and the strengths they can bestow upon us. Anyone who enjoys beautifully written, carefully considered prose will be able to enjoy the book for its own sake.
At the time of writing, I have read 43 books during 2024. Nine Minds is my favourite among them. Given that two of my literary heroes – specifically George Orwell and Daniel Gray – appear twice each on the reading list, I can offer no higher praise.
Nine Minds is published by the Wellcome Collection. You can read an extract from the book, or order it, via the Collection’s website.