"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

(I forgot to POST: .... Sorry!)

Christopher Boone, the protagonist of the "Curious Incident" is a 15-year old autistic boy. Christopher knows all the countries of the world and their capitals. Christopher is also a whiz at math (he is what sometimes is called an idiot savant but more appropriately called an autistic savant.) Our protagonist has a hard time dealing with the real world sometimes, and in those times he starts screaming or curls up in a ball. Christopher tells us about all the ways he deals with the world around him. Like seeing everything when he looks at things around him. For most people, when we look around us we can focus on just a few things and ignore the rest... But, for Christopher, it is much harder, because when he looks, he sees everything.

This explanation, by author Mark Haddon is one of the many things I liked about this book. He has worked in the real world with Autistic Children and understands their behavior and where they come from. In fact, it impressed me to not only see his knowledge on the subject, but also the level of research on autism. There are some amazing things being learned on this subject, and this understanding is also increasing the understanding of the workings of the human brain. The last fictional depiction of autism I know about, was the film, the Boy Who Could Fly which is an excellent treatise in its own right.

Christopher tries to find out who killed Wellington, his neighbor's dog (a poodle) using a garden pitch fork. His investigation takes him to places he has never been to before, and these new experiences help the reader learn more about autism, and help Christopher deal with the world around him a little better. When he goes on his investigations, we go along with him. I spend most of the time, cheering Christopher to go forward with his quest.

Overall, this is a book that I can recommend without any reservations. It is not intended for children, as I had originally purchased it for my nephew who is only 9. However, I do think teenagers 15 and up will probably get something from this book. Ultimately, this is a book about the search for love, and how even those of us challenged in life can and should go on this quest, this search for love. It is love that holds the fabric of life together, and there is no room for hate in the world. And isn't that a message worth reading about?