Book Review of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'

Today I thought I’d do a book review for ya’ll, just to shake things up a bit.

                I’ve just recently finished the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

                The story centers around Christopher John Francis Boone, a severely autistic fifteen year old living in modern England.

On a midnight walk around his neighborhood, Christopher discovers a neighbor’s dog dead, impaled by a garden fork. Due to his love of detective work and the Sherlock Holmes novels, it becomes his mission to find out the identity of the murderer. He keeps track of his progress in his own novel, which is meant to be TCIOTDITN itself.

Through this simple quest, Christopher discovers a lot about himself, his world, and secrets people keep under the pretense of making life easier.

Haddon definitely has a bit of genius in him to come up with such an honest, off-beat, smart book.  The writing is simple and clear, just as you would imagine an autistic boy to write. The simplicity is obvious, but every so often you start to see the deep thought and the finesse and the quiet power within the paragraphs.

The story itself is a bit of a blurred adventure novel. We’re forced to see things through Christopher’s eyes, but at the same time can take it all in with our own minds. The result is both frustrating and enlightening; it gives a clear-cut view into the ambiguous world of autism that I haven’t encountered anywhere else.

It was cute, thought-provoking, and a little bit heartbreaking. I’d recommend it.