Recent Reads: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Publisher:  Vintage Contemporaries
Publication Date:   2004

 

Format:  Hardback
Source: Borrowed from the Library

Rating:
 


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.

Review: 
Being a blogger and a book reader, I have heard about this book since it was released. So many people have read it and so many have enjoyed it. I liked it, it wasn't one of my favorites, however it does offer some diversity to the book world and I think we need more of that.

Christopher is a 15 year old boy who is writing/ telling a story - in this case, about a dog that was murdered and how he went about finding the killer. His story led the reader through his lifestyle but also into his mind. Christopher is a very smart kid, he is also autistic, so his likes and dislikes are amplified but his emotions are pretty narrow. Throughout the story I kept thinking that the point of view of the story was torn - the character was so poised and intelligent and at other times so naive and innocent.  And the adult themes of the book were contrasted with this naivety. 

The plot was also very interesting and so I think that is how I feel about this book - no strong feelings of love, no strong feelings of hate, but it is thought-provoking.  The plot, which I thought would focus on a dog was a bit all over the place - we learned about Christopher, as well as the dogs murder, and then some - about his life and family situation. I came to find myself thinking about Christopher's welfare most of the time and if he was in a good environment and that detracked from the story a bit. 

Overall I would say that this book is worth a read - it was different and would provide great material for a reading group, class, or just as something to think about.