The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire

“Now, as he stands by one of these dirt tracks at the start of a blackened map, the damage from this fire stretches before him, over gullies and ridges in all directions. The hills are filled with exactly the kind of scrap metal - ruined farm equipment and endless strips of scorched corrugated-iron roofing - that he likes to collect. By lighting a fire, accidentally or not, he has turned the bush around his home into one vast junkyard.”

Parts of this book took my breath away; some pages brought me to tears; and others made me rage with the futility of attempting to understand the mind of an autistic arsonist.

I appreciated Chloe's attempts at providing all sides of the story, although the focus is mainly the lonely and tortured existence of Brendan. I liked the insights she provided from other people who have autism, on what it's like often being so misunderstood, and how differently they experience the world.

I definitely recommend this book, but be warned, it's not an easy read.