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Synaesthesia

Very early on in Jasper Wishart’s narrative, it becomes clear that his perception of the world is unusual. One of the reasons for this is that Jasper experiences synaesthesia. This is a neurological condition where the brain links two or more senses together.

Jasper experiences grapheme-colour synaesthesia (where numbers, letters, or words are perceived as colours) and he also sees colours when he hears sounds or voices. Synaesthesia can, however, link the senses of taste, smell, hearing, sight and touch in almost any combination. Synaesthetes may, for example, taste words or feel sounds. However the condition manifests itself, the synaesthete will usually experience sensory stimuli consistently. If, for example, Friday is experienced as indigo blue (as in Jasper’s case) this word/colour association rarely changes.

Experienced by about four percent of the population, synaesthesia often runs in families. As the condition involves a heightened perception of the world, it is perhaps unsurprising that synaesthetes are eight times more likely to work in creative professions than the average person. The author of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov, inherited grapheme-colour synaesthesia from his mother and described his experiences of it in his memoir, Speak, Memory. Famous synaesthete artists include Vincent van Gogh and David Hockney. Meanwhile, the list of successful musical synaesthetes goes on and on, from Franz Liszt and Leonard Bernstein to Duke Ellington, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Tori Amos and Pharrell Williams. Most of the above have described their synaesthesia as an asset to the creative process (although sadly, in Van Gogh’s case, it was viewed by his contemporaries as just another symptom of his madness).

Face Blindness

Another factor in Jasper’s perception of the world is face blindness. Otherwise known as prosopagnosia or facial agnosia, face blindness is also a neurological condition. Unlike synaesthesia, however, it is considered to be a disorder caused by an abnormality in a particular part of the brain. The condition varies in severity but all sufferers have difficulty in recognising faces: some have trouble recognising friends and acquaintances while others are unable to identify their own face in a mirror. Many people who suffer from face blindness are diagnosed late in life, or not at all. This tends to be because sufferers feel embarrassed about their inability to identify their nearest and dearest and develop techniques to mask their condition. Masking often involves the pretence of recognition until other clues (mannerisms, voice, distinctive clothing etc.) help to establish a person’s identity. Many sufferers develop forms of social anxiety, as social encounters are a continual source of potential embarrassment. Face blindness is not connected to learning disabilities, memory problems or visual impairment. The condition does, however, often go hand-in-hand with autism and Asperger’s syndrome.

Autism

Autism is a neurological condition where the brain is wired differently – not defectively, just differently – from a neurotypical (or non-autistic) brain. The autistic spectrum covers a wide range of interrelated characteristics and behaviours. While some autistic people may be minimally verbal or have learning difficulties, others (within the Asperger’s Syndrome range) may have very high IQs. The common denominator of most forms of autism is that the condition generally impacts upon the way an individual experiences and relates to the world, often making social interactions difficult.

Although Jasper never specifically identifies himself as autistic, his father is revealed to be reading a self-help book on understanding children with autism. Even before this revelation, however, many readers will have spotted that Jasper displays a number of traits often associated with autism. These include certain physical tics (flapping, rocking); a dislike of eye contact and physical intimacy; difficulties in comprehending other people; problems with both expressing feelings and interpreting the emotions of others; a craving for order and routine, and a special (bordering upon obsessive) interest in a particular subject.