The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Now that I've finished all of my exams for 2014 and managed to get all of my christmas shopping done, I'm back again. Even though it's a bit late to still put it on your christmas wish list, I'm going to tell you something about a great book today. It's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I've wanted to read that book for years now, but only actually did, after one of the people I live with had told me about how good it is. And it actually is! 

What is the book about?

The book tells the story of 15-year-old Christopher Booth, who suffers from Asperger Syndrom. He finds his neighbour's dog stabbed with a garden fork one night and decides to find the murderer. The only problem is that his father does not like him investigating. But there's got to be a way for Christopher to figure out who committed the murder anyways, hasn't there? I'm not going to tell you more about the plot. If you want to find out who killed the dog and what big family secret Christopher is going to unveil, you'll have to read it yourself!

What is Asperger Syndrome?

Asperger syndrome is a form of an autism spectrum disorder. It is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, alongside restricted and repetitive of behaviours and interests. Affected people have trouble understanding other people's emotions and feelings. They show limited empathy for their peers and often are clumsy – not only physically but also with their choice of words. In contrast to other autism spectrum disorders, people affected by Asperger's have a relative high level of linguistic and cognitive development. They do not have as much trouble with speaking and their ability to think is basically on the same level as the one of any other person. They cannot comprehend their own or other other people's feelings whatsoever. 

Why did I like the book?

I absolutely enjoyed reading the book. It's been a while since I last finished a book that quickly. The story is told from Christopher's perspective, which makes it really engaging and refreshing to read. Mark Haddon also has a genuinely pleasant writing style and the whole story just flows nicely.

The only thing that put me a bit off in the beginning was the numbering of chapters. The first chapter is named "2" and I only was sure I didn't skip a chapter after I saw that the following chapters were 3, 5, 7 and 11. They're all named after prim numbers and that really confused me at first.

Another benefit of the book is the authors description of Christopher. I just feel like he paints a good picture of a person suffering from Asperger's. His description seemed really fitting, even though honestly, I can't really judge anything about it. My experience with people on the spectrum is next to nil. Nonetheless, there was nothing that made me think: "That's not likely at all!"

All in all, the book is worth reading and every minute and euro you spend on it is well invested. If you're looking for a detective novel with a twist or just a new and refreshing story The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is the right choice for you.

Lastly, for all the people living in Graz: In January 2015 there are going to be several performances of "Supergute Tage oder Die Wunderbare Welt Des Christopher Boone" in the Next Liberty. Just in case you are interested!