Book Review: Curious Incident

I actually finished two books within the last week but I'm only going to talk about one. The first one was The Modern Ark: A History of Zoos and really how many people are going to think of that for a fun reading book. I found it amazing but I have odd tastes. I'm a geek for books on animals and wildlife and the more scientific and sociological the better.



The one I'm really writing about is Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. I wasn't really sure about this book when I picked it up. I has been listed as one of the 501 must-reads. And they are not kidding. This is a really fascinating book. The book tells the story of Christopher, a 15 year old with autism. He finds a neighbor's dog stabbed with a garden fork and sets out to solve the mystery of the killing. And finds out more truth about everything then he was looking for.


The premise seems silly but Haddon's writing style is amazing. He tells the story while allowing his narrator (Christopher) to branch off on the tangents that seem to fill his mind. In one scene, Christopher is in the back of a police car (he's been arrested for hitting an officer) and is puzzling and thinking about the constellation Orion. And then he branches out into how to determine prime numbers. All the while handcuffed and sitting in a squad car.



The characters are likable. Christopher is just wonderful in his systems and tangents. You really feel like you get into his mind. Haddon allows you to explore his mind and it really was a fascinating place. Plus I learned a fun way to find prime numbers. Always cool in my book.