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

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.

This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

My thoughts: This was a completely different reading experience. The narrator is a fifteen-year-old boy who has autism. One quickly comes to realize that he has a disability with the way he acts and the way he views the world. The book was an easy read but had a great message towards the end.

There wasn't much plot development in the book; it was mostly about the characters, especially of that of Christopher. I really love the way Haddon portrayed Christopher and his disability. I work with children who have autism and I was able to relate so much with Christopher;s character. Christopher reminded me tremendously of a boy of the same age that I tutor after school. Christopher and my student's thought process, mannerism, likes and dislikes, and OCD were almost identical. For a moment there I thought I was reading a story about my student.

In this book, we get to see the world through Christopher's mind. We also get to see how disability affects the people around him to such a high degree. There were many repetitive moments but this was understandable because it futher showed how Christopher's OCD took affect.

This book was sad, funny, and cute. It really hits home and makes one see the reality of this disorder. I give this book: