Howard Buten

Howard Buten (born 1950, Detroit, Michigan) is an American author living in France. He is also a psychologist, a clown, and a violin player. He is the author of five novels, the first of which, entitled When I Was Five I Killed Myself, was published in 1981 and turned into a film under its French title Quand j'avais cinq ans je m'ai tué in 1994.

As a young man Howard Buten encountered a child with autism and this sparked a lifelong interest in the disorder. He has worked on autism as a researcher, clinical psychologist, therapist, and founder of a clinic for the autistic in Paris, France.

He is also a theatrical clown (graduate of Ringling Bros) with the stage name Buffo, who is quite well known in France. He got his start in acting at a very young age, re-enacting scenes from his favorite stories, along with his childhood friends/neighbors.

Buten's first and best known novel, When I Was Five I Killed Myself, is largely unknown in his home country, but has sold more than a million copies in France. He was made Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a prominent literary honor, in 1991.

Works

 * When I Was Five I Killed Myself (novel) (also published under the title Burt) (1981)
 * Le Cœur sous le rouleau compresseur (1984)
 * Monsieur Butterfly (1987)
 * Il faudra bien te couvrir... (1989)
 * Histoire de Rofo, clown (1991)
 * C'était mieux avant (1994)
 * Ces enfants qui ne viennent pas d'une autre planète (1995)
 * Quand est-ce qu'on arrive? (2000)
 * Il y a quelqu'un là-dedans, des autismes (2003)
 * Buffo par Buten (2005)
 * Through the Glass Wall: Journeys Into the Closed-Off Worlds of the Autistic (Bantam, 2004)
 * I Understand that If Not Completely Satisfied I Will Be Issued a Full Refund (1996)