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Sometimes I think I’ve been living under a rock. I just finished “a thumping good read” …and checked the year it was written thinking it was probably 2016 or something like that…2003!!! I guess it was a heavy rock. ☹
Mark Haddon prior to this book worked with autistic individuals. The protagonist, Christopher, is an autistic young man. I have a suspicion a number of reviewers will comment on the book and whether he was accurate or not in depicting Christopher. I think he was…and I know there are many different strata of autism. However, I have a lot of respect for Oliver Sacks, the brilliant neurologist who wrote a number of very good books (The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat)…and he had this to say: A brilliant autism novel has been overdue-and this is it! The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is delightful. Mark Haddon shows great insight into the autistic mind, and he brings his young narrator protagonist quite wonderfully to life. I found it very moving, very plausible-and very funny.” (very italicized for emphasis).
In my reviews I try to avoid spoilers so I will just say a couple of things (well now that I look back at my review I guess it is several!).
I thought the use of using prime numbers for chapter numbers was extremely clever (I started out with Chapter 2 and thought the bookseller had torn out a page!)
The drawings were extremely clever.
The use of Sherlock Holmes and his powers of deduction/investigatory work was a nice touch.
In terms of what happened to the dog in the night – I did not see that coming but when things were explained it made perfect sense.
I was captivated by Christopher’s logic/outlook on life – I learned a lot from him.
Christopher sometimes did not have an easy time of things – a number of things disturbed him. And I felt for him. I also empathized with his mom and dad.
I thought the plot line was superb. It revealed the thought processes of Christopher when he was scared, confused, and happy. I thought this blurb in the inner cover of the dustjacket put it really well: “And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world literally.”
Then there’s this quote by Christopher: “I think people believe in heaven because they don’t like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don’t like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things in the rubbish.”
His explanation of how we read when we scan a book (are yes moving rapidly back and forth and how do we process the stimuli (pp. 116-118) – very provocative at least to me.
Christopher makes use of the LONDON AZ Street Atlas and Index, Geographers’ A-Z Map Company. This is a later edition of a street atlas/map compendium that Phyllis Pearsall first created by walking the streets of London circa 1936 and is the subject of a fascinating read, Mrs. P’s Journey by Sarah Hartley (Simon and Schuster, 2001). I really liked that book…
And I loved this book! It made my day.
Mark Haddon prior to this book worked with autistic individuals. The protagonist, Christopher, is an autistic young man. I have a suspicion a number of reviewers will comment on the book and whether he was accurate or not in depicting Christopher. I think he was…and I know there are many different strata of autism. However, I have a lot of respect for Oliver Sacks, the brilliant neurologist who wrote a number of very good books (The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat)…and he had this to say: A brilliant autism novel has been overdue-and this is it! The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is delightful. Mark Haddon shows great insight into the autistic mind, and he brings his young narrator protagonist quite wonderfully to life. I found it very moving, very plausible-and very funny.” (very italicized for emphasis).
In my reviews I try to avoid spoilers so I will just say a couple of things (well now that I look back at my review I guess it is several!).
I thought the use of using prime numbers for chapter numbers was extremely clever (I started out with Chapter 2 and thought the bookseller had torn out a page!)
The drawings were extremely clever.
The use of Sherlock Holmes and his powers of deduction/investigatory work was a nice touch.
In terms of what happened to the dog in the night – I did not see that coming but when things were explained it made perfect sense.
I was captivated by Christopher’s logic/outlook on life – I learned a lot from him.
Christopher sometimes did not have an easy time of things – a number of things disturbed him. And I felt for him. I also empathized with his mom and dad.
I thought the plot line was superb. It revealed the thought processes of Christopher when he was scared, confused, and happy. I thought this blurb in the inner cover of the dustjacket put it really well: “And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world literally.”
Then there’s this quote by Christopher: “I think people believe in heaven because they don’t like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don’t like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things in the rubbish.”
His explanation of how we read when we scan a book (are yes moving rapidly back and forth and how do we process the stimuli (pp. 116-118) – very provocative at least to me.
Christopher makes use of the LONDON AZ Street Atlas and Index, Geographers’ A-Z Map Company. This is a later edition of a street atlas/map compendium that Phyllis Pearsall first created by walking the streets of London circa 1936 and is the subject of a fascinating read, Mrs. P’s Journey by Sarah Hartley (Simon and Schuster, 2001). I really liked that book…
And I loved this book! It made my day.
