The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Published by Vintage on May 18th 2004
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 226
Format: Paperback
Source: purchased
Goodreads
After having this one on my shelf for quite a few years I finally picked it up as my first read for 2016.
Christopher, the protagonist, has a form of autism. He seems brilliant when it comes to numbers and remembering facts; dealing with people and social situations, not so much. The only touch he seems to be able to tolerate is that of an animal – his favorite pet rat or the next door neighbor’s dog – Wellington.
When Christopher discovers Wellington with a garden rake poking out of his fur, he loses it. No one seems to know who or why Wellington was murdered. So Christopher takes it on himself to detect the culprit. His favorite storybook character is Sherlock Holmes. Christopher uses Holmes’ methods of deduction and reasoning to investigate Wellington’s death.
Christopher’s world is turned inside out as the progression of his investigation continues. We follow along in his head as he tries to make sense of the senseless. Several paragraphs I had to skip over. Whenever Christopher went off on a mathematical equation my eyes would glaze over and brain would go into a deep, thick fog. But I had to keep reading because the mystery was compelling, the characters heart-breaking and Christopher, whom I wanted to envelope into a long mama hug, could not be touched. To be autistic sounds incredibly difficult, but almost even more so difficult, I think, would be the one to take care of an autistic child. God bless the saints who care for the autistic person.
Recommended for those who enjoyed Flowers for Algernon or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Have you read this oldie?
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