Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time… by Mark Haddon…

i LOVE this book!

i think i could just leave this book review at that but that wouldn’t be much of a review, would it?

This story is written from a first-person point of view, which in my opinion can be quite difficult to have good staying power, cos it is just one point of view for the entire story; there is no insight into the minds of the other characters. But i must say, this one kept me reading and reading and always hoping the best for Christopher; wanting the other characters to help him out.

i am very interested in special needs such as Aspergers, Autism and related conditions because my son has been given a label; one which i do not agree with – but that is another post altogether. Anyhow, that was the first attraction to the book for me.

It gives a real look into the mind of a child on the spectrum; how his mind works, how he processes everything and everybody around him, how his extremely logical thought processes can be… well, logical but… the people all around him are illogical in their thoughts and actions and expressions, and so there is conflict in his otherwise logical mind.

It also shows how difficult it can be on the parents of such children, how even trying your best, sometimes, is not enough. But there is always hope as long as you do not give up.

i root for Christopher and children like him to succeed in life, to have the opportunities that they deserve!

If you want to understand children on the spectrum a tiny bit better, have a read. If you like a good detective story but with a completely new style of writing, have a read.

And before i forget, this book is also a Whitbread (now known as Costa) Award winner.

syc

PS: As i read the story, there are many points i find myself agreeing with the way Christopher thinks… hmmm… what does that mean? 😉