The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
is without doubt the most original book I have read.
It relates a series of mysterious events as seen through the eyes of fifteen year old Christopher Boone, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism. Christopher, out late one night, discovers the body of his neighbour’s dog, killed with a garden fork. He determines to find the killer and to keep an account of the investigation, despite being hampered by his difficulty fathoming other people’s actions and thoughts. As he pursues his enquiries and thinks over the clues, Christopher uncovers a web of lies and deception, and embarks on a perilous journey. Along the way he recounts many
interesting facts about himself: brilliant at maths, he enjoys setting out fiendish mathematical riddles, and he has all kinds of facts at his fingertips. He illustrates his account with interesting diagrams, which make his explanations clearer. He outlines very logically the way in which he thinks: why he groans in
certain situations, why he likes white noise. why he cannot eat certain foods and why some colours mean good days or bad days.
By turns funny and sad, this book is always hugely entertaining.