No Highway - vintage novel by Neville Shute

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This novel was written in 1948 and the main character is an engineer who tests new aeroplanes to find how long they can fly before metal fatigue occurs in flight with catastrophic consequences. The main character is widowed and has a young daughter - they are both very acute depictions of aspies, and the novel is told from the perspective of a perceptive NT, who realises that the engineer is right in his views about the dangerous aircraft in service , but that the NTs higher up the chain of command won't listen to the engineer because his style of communication is atypical, too "odd".

The engineer has unusual religious beliefs and interests (which the NTs laugh about behind his back) and use to discount his scientific ability (which is superior and more insightful to theirs).

Of course being written when it was, nearly 70 years ago, there is no mention of aspergers at all. Shute wrote it from direct experience obviously, creating a timeless portrait though of a gifted aspergers man and the lack of understanding, respect, acceptance and credibility from his NT work colleagues.

The author's empathy is with the engineer, and the only false note is that he creates a happy romantic ending (after the aspie engineer is proved right) which is extremely unlikely in real life. It's the most insightful novelistic depiction of aspie adult/child that I have ever read. Shute was an engineer himself as well as an extremely successful novelist so he may have been drawing on his own experience. It still reads well despite being written nearly 70 years ago.

I will read it then comment

I'll look forward to your comments. It's still in print, as the publishing house Vintage bought the rights and reissued it relatively recently.

Have you read any of his other novels? Although they are written for adults, I started reading him when I was 11 (>50 years ago), after hearing his novel The Chequerboard read on the radio. Now I wonder if part of the attraction was an unconscious aspie-aspie empathy. As a novelist he demonstrates huge empathy to misunderstood characters, and anyone who gets a rough ride or raw deal.

I'll have to look for it. I loved "On The Beach".

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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I've read the book and also seen the movie based on the book.

I usually find the movies disappointing in comparison to the books, but in this rare case I enjoyed each of them pretty much the same. I also enjoyed both the movie and his book of On the Beach.

I'm kind of intrigued that in both of these works of his, I found the movies to be as enjoyable as the books.