[Book] The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Well, I read this book last weekend.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
David Fickling Books (a division of Random House)

When I picked up the book and read thru first page, the style of the author seemed funny--short sentences, precision where you would least expect it-- and, interestingly fresh. That's the reason I bought it.

The book is in first person, and as Christopher Boone, the narrator puts it, is intended to be a murder mystery. Christopher is a 15-year kid, with a photographic memory and amazing abilities in math & science. One night, he finds his neighbour's dog killed. Being a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, he decides to become a detective and solve the murder mystery. What unravels is a amazing journey that touches math, science, psychology, philosophy, literature in most amazing ways.

A few pages later, it becomes increasingly clear that the book isn't that funny. The humour-- and there's plenty of it-- arises out of an autistic boy's perceptions of things and events around him. On one hand, you feel like laughing out aloud, but on other hand, your heart reaches out for the boy who seems unaware of the most basic realities of the life. You also realise the difficulties that the parents of such children have to go through.

Do try this book at least once. I read it twice in a single day. It made my journey of 800 kms much bearable.