The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon - Book Review

What a queer name for a book?! Indeed that was what prompted me to read this book. I did not read any preface before starting the book except for the interesting name. And was the book as queer as the title?! You can say that!

Christopher John Francis Boone is a young boy who knows certain things very well like the capitals of countries and the prime numbers. He finds Maths very interesting.He has everything fixed in his world like a huge timetable. One day he comes across a neighbor's dog which is found killed. Taking inspiration from his favorite Sherlock Holmes, he sets forth to solve the mystery and plans to write a story on the same. How his pre-set world gets affected by the incidents that follow and how it is going to affect everything & everyone around him forms the rest of the story.

It may be a boring premise if Christopher was a normal child. But here, he being autistic; the story is woven around his perspective. The insecurities, the hardships that the kid faces and how they see the world; along with the difficulties of parents in bringing up the kid is shown. Even the awareness level of people are mentioned well. One should have lot of patience in raising kids with such conditions. As a reader, we might come across many such situations that tests our patience and that makes us realize the level of care they require. when certain things unfold. This very situation can make the read cumbersome sometimes. The characterization of Christopher and his father is portrayed very well. Despite the condition he has, the way he traverses to meet his mother is indeed an inspiration. All these being said, i did find the read a tad tedious at places. Even though there are a handful of characters, only two or three characters travel with us throughout the length of the story.

Seeing the world in the eyes of a different person is always great if interesting. Seeing the world through Christopher did open my eyes to the world of a child with disorder and realise the gruels he/she has to face in this world. A good read but can tend to wear you or might tend to test your patience.

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