The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
I loved this book. It’s really great to find a national bestseller that deserves to be a national bestseller. Every time I open up the paper to see the fiction list populated with nothing but trashy novels, I fear for the state of my nation.
This book is told from the perspective of an autistic boy who discovers a dead dog in the neighborhood. He loved the dog and is wrongly blamed for his death, so he goes on a quest to solve the mystery of who killed him. In the process he uncovers family secrets, but due to his disability he doesn’t realize he’s even uncovered them.
It was a fascinating read. I’ve had just enough contact with autistic kids over the course of my life to know that it’s a challenge I don’t think I’m capable of. My future sister-in-law works with autistic kids and she has the patience of a saint. But interestingly enough she does not enjoy working with kids with Downs Syndrome. She finds them to be stubborn and aggressive, while I’ve always found them to be love bombs. It takes all types, I suppose.
The author has worked with autistic kids and it shows. He has an understanding and compassion for this disability that shines in his work. It was so eye-opening to see a disability from the inside out. The challenges he faces, the overwhelming stimulation he has to overcome, the tunnel vision he has that blinds him from seeing facts of life that I take for granted.
I devoured this book in one sitting. It turned out to be a rare mix of entertaining, heartwarming, life-affirming, factual about life itself, and triumphant. This story could have easily devolved into the hallmark channel movie of the week, but it never did due to the strength of the narrator. Christopher Boone does take a moment to glory in his accomplishments and hope for the future, but that emotional gushing is tempered in the reader by understanding what he faces everyday, and by observing how much in life goes right over his head as he’s distracted by his bombarded senses. Seeing his success is bittersweet because we’ve witnessed the cost.
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