Monday 12 September, 2005

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeTalk about books I should have read ages ago - Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time that I got from Woja as a going away present about a year ago is one of them. I picked the book up yesterday and read it in one go.

This is the kind of book I'd never pick out myself, but I'm really glad I read it. It's written from an autistic 15-year old boy's point of view who is the narrator of the book. Christopher is mathematically extremely talented but socially totally inept. He uses prime numbers as chapter numbers because he likes prime numbers, but when it comes to people he has to remember what different emotions look like as he finds it impossible to know what people think. Although the author is not autistic himself, autistic people have said that this book is a very good description of how an autistic person's mind works, and Haddon manages to keep the narrative true of the subject for the whole book.

Despite the difficulties Christopher has, he's not stupid by any means, and he tries his best. The reader is never ahead of him, expect in situations very common to us like traveling in a train when we know how things work and how to behave that are very alien to him. I love especially the description of London underground and the sensory overload you get when a tube comes in - something we're quite used to even though it's actually fairly unpleasant, but something that's totally petrifying for Christopher. Or seeing the pain of his caregivers in the face of a child who is unable to give or receive love in the traditional sense.

This is an excellent book, well deserving of all the awards it has won. It's an incredible insight into a completely different way of looking at the world, it's moving and it feels very real. I'd wholeheartedly would recommend this book for anyone.

You can read some chapter excerpts from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at MostlyFiction.com to get the feel of the book.

Posted by kolibri at 12 September 09:50, 2005
Comments
# 1 - rannva (on September 12, 2005 09:48 PM):

For some reason my heart has a special place for autistic children/people and Asperger people as well. I loved this book and wholeheartedly agree with your recommendation for anyone and everyone to read it.


# 2 - kolibri [TypeKey Profile Page] (on September 13, 2005 08:57 PM):

Normally I would say "I'd recommend this book for anyone who..." - this time I left it out. I really would recommend this book for anyone.


# 3 - woja (on September 14, 2005 04:21 AM):

I'd just like to add my (perhaps obvious given the first paragraph) recommendation.

I'd especially recommend it to anyone who thinks "I wouldn't normally read *this sort* of book", but mostly as said, anyone and everyone.

Truly great.


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