The story told in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a pretty standard one. There are many aspects of the story that are easy to see coming, but what makes the story an extraordinary one is the way that it's told. The story is from the POV of a fifteen year-old boy and while it's never flat out said in the book it is assumed that he suffers from autism (though he is very high-functioning and has a gift for mathematics).
Christopher sets out to find who killed a dog in the neighborhood and ends up uncovering family secrets. This book is an amazing insight into the way an autistic mind can work. There are touches of asperger's and OCD in Christopher's behavior that contribute to the mathematical and "black and white" nature of the book.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to people who don't like things of a technical nature. But I appreciated the human spark and clear explanations of a mind set I never really got.
B+
*Whitebread Book of the Year
*New York Times Notable Book
*Today Show Book Club Selection
*Boeke Prize
*Entertainment Weekly's: The New Classics
*AV Club, Best Books of the '00s
*AV Club, Best Books of the '00s
Loved this book! If I remember correctly, I read it in one sitting and just couldn't put it down. I haven't liked any Haddon's other work as much, but I think this one is enough to be excited about.
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