My thoughts on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
When I first started reading this book, I thought a page or two was missing, as a clear number 2 was sitting on the page, labelling the first chapter I was about to read. However, the labelling of chapters simply comes down to the fact that Christopher Boone prefers prime-numbers, and knows all of them up to 7,057. Christopher Boone himself is even more unfamiliar to most of us than how the chapters are labelled. He is autistic, yet in this book, the reader doesn’t explore a condition, but rather the intense mind of this teenage boy.
Now, my title isn’t completely true, as there is a dog in the story. The plot that guides the deeper narration is about Christopher’s neighbour’s dog being murdered, and how he sets out to find who is guilty of such a crime. Loving animals is yet another of the endless quirks that Christopher possesses.
In my opinion, this was an exceptional novel. A common complaint among many readers is that the writing-style and narration is overwhelming and at times confusing, as it is written as if Christopher was the author, and therefore it is very intense and sometimes scatter-brained. Personally, I loved this aspect. I found that it gave the novel a whole new level of depth, and evoked emotion much more than normal text would. One of my favourite types of books is that which has a fairly minor physical plot, which mainly serves as a guideline and measurement of time and space for a deeper exploration of a character or idea.
To end off, I’ll say this: whether or not you enjoy this book really comes down to your expectations and what you want from it. If you are looking for meaning, truth, and unfiltered intensity, this book is for you, regardless of your preferred genres. If you seek simple stuff and fluffiness, try another book, because I doubt you’ll be able to willingly get very far.