The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Wow - this is quite a book! The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a novel by Mark Haddon, has to be one of the most captivating and unique books I have read. This intriguing story of an investigation into the death of a neighbor dog is told from the perspective of Christopher, a fifteen-year-old autistic boy. Christopher knows all of the countries of the world and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions.

And I kept my eyes closed and I didn't look at my watch at all. And the trains coming in and out of the station were in a rhythm, like music or drumming. And it was like counting and saying, "Left, right, left, right, left, right..." which Siobhan taught me to do to make myself calm. And I was saying in my head, "Train coming. Train stopped. Train going. Silence. Train coming. Train stopped. Train going..." as if the trains were only in my mind. And normally I don't imagine things that aren't happening because it is a lie and it makes me feel scared, but it was better than watching the trains coming in and out of the station because that made me feel even more scared.

I am amazed at the insight that this author portrayed in depicting Christopher's thoughts and feelings. I was so involved with Christopher that it truly felt as if he was the one authoring this novel. It is not a fun story; there are many parts which are uncomfortable and even painful. But the journey is well worth the discomfort felt along the way; I'm sure Christopher would agree.

*****