Over the summer, I read a novel called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon. For a few reasons, I truly enjoyed reading this novel, even though the writing was not complex or complicated, and the plot was not intriguing or suspenseful. The novel is written in the first-person, narrated by Christopher Boone, a fifteen year old autistic boy who lives with his dad in a town called Swindon. The actual story did not interest me much--it is about Christopher finding out the truth about a secret his dad has kept from him for a long time, and his journey to London, which he takes alone. Also, the novel was not a complex one with plot twists or suspense filled scenes. It was basic in the sense of plot. I liked it for something I had never before encountered.
This novel is one I will remember reading far into the future because of its narrator. Christopher Boone narrates the novel through his own eyes, therefore giving the reader an inside look at the mind of this autistic child. This is what truly made the book unique. The novel allowed me to see the world through the mind of an autistic child. Never before, had I ever had the slightest clue about what Autism really meant, or how it affected the way a person looks at the world.
I enjoyed the new perspective I saw in the novel. The way Christopher told things in the novel kept me reading. Sometimes, it even made me chuckle, because of some of the more humorous things Christopher did. But mainly, this new perspective sparked a new interest in my mind. I had never before thought about Autism, but this novel has brought it to my attention. It has done more than that--it is the reason I am now so interested in the subject. It is the reason I want to learn more about Autism and what exactly it means.
What I found most interesting was the way in which Christopher interacted with the people around him. Also, I found his other actions and thoughts to be very interesting, mainly because they were completely different from what I am used to. To me, his thoughts were unique and intriguing. For example: he used math problems to calm himself down and clear his head. If anything, this would only frustrate and work up me or any of my friends. The way Christopher dealt with stress interested me. How could someone not be able to take in only part of the information they see at any given moment? How can someone use their memory like a video recorder--one which he could rewind to any specific moment in the past? This is what I liked reading about. I enjoyed watching a fifteen year old kid who doesn't like to be touched solve a fairly difficult math operation in seconds.
The relationship between Christopher and his parents also intrigued me. I found it interesting that Christopher didn't understand the notion of love. He didn't feel emotion like his parents did. His father fought for Christopher's trust, because he loved his son, but Christopher didn't understand any of this. These unique perspectives kept me reading. This is what made me feel emotional towards scenes in the book. This is why a novel with a plot that did not interest me, and situations that I did not care about, fully captured my mind in a way that no other novel can.
