Review: Movement (2011 Nebula Award nominee, 2012 Hugo Award nominee)

Nominated: Nebula Award for Best Short Story, Hugo Award for Best Short Story

Synopsis: Hannah is a young woman with temporal autism. Her parents are considering a treatment that will resolve Hannah's autism and make her "normal." Hannah has to decide what she wants.

Nancy Fulda's Nebula Award nominated story touches on several themes: the meaning of "normality," the significance of an individual in contrast to universe, and the effect of evolution on the world. Because of Hannah's autism, she is unable to communicate easily with the other characters in the story; however as the first person narrator of the story, she can communicate easily with the reader. This is not the first time an author has given us an autistic POV (see The Speed of Dark, for example), but it does give Nancy Fulda the opportunity to show us the universe from a unique perspective, which she uses to good advantage.

Where to read this story: Originally published in Asimov's (PDF), you can read it at Nancy Fulda's web site; it is also available as a podcast.

More by the author, Nancy Fulda:

Nothing This Fun Could Be Good For You: A History of Evil Entertainment (Clarkesworld) 

Dead Men Don't Cry includes the Phobos Award winning story "The Man Who Murdered Himself"

Jim Baen Memorial Award Winner:



Includes "The Breath of Heaven," Writers of the Future finalist.