Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hooter: Life through the eyes of a fifteen year old with Asperger syndrome, high-functioning autism

Done from a first person perspective, the entire story structure is hence different from the norm as Christopher shares about himself, his surroundings and his love for math. Ignorant of social protocols, he logically breaks down problems in front of him triggered by the murder of the neighbour's dog as he goes about investigating. Turns out that isn't the focal point of the story but Christopher is dealing with day to day from his own perspective. Christopher could totally have been Young Sheldon from Big Bang Theory in terms of his love for logic and math, even justifying illogical traits through ingenious logic like defining a good day and bad day by the colored cars he sees on his way to school.

There is so much math geekery on display with monty hall problem making an appearance and all the chapters numbered as prime numbers. Never once in the book is the syndrome mentioned except in the blurb. He can figure everything out like his idol Sherlock Holmes and specifically not Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but has trouble understanding human emotions.

This book is probably more Young Adult than mainstream but nonetheless makes for a good read. Not a murder mystery as marketed but understanding the mysterious ways of our society through a completely different perspectice.

View all my reviews