I just finished reading a fabulous little book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It tells the story of 15 year-old Christopher, an autistic boy (or perhaps he has severe Asperger's Syndrome, it never says and I don't know enough to tell) who finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, has been killed and decides to do some detecting to figure out who did it.
The book is written in the first person, by Christopher's character. This gives us a glimpse into not just how he thinks, but how he understands the world around him and how he manages to survive in a world that is filled with ambiguities and uncertainties and way too many other people. It also brings into reality the emotional challenges that come with raising or teaching a boy with Christopher's condition.
The book is part mystery novel, part adventure, and part memoir. It's half exploration of the inner mind, and half commentary on the awesome overload of information we deal with, through the eyes of one who is least capable of dealing with it. I'm not a book reviewer by nature (honestly, I forget most of what I read shortly after finishing it...I didn't even remember the main character's name and it's only been two days), so I'll just say that the closest book I can compare it to is The Catcher in the Rye
Comments