Don't Judge This Book By Its Cover (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Adult Edition - Mark Haddon)

Member Name: janharper

Product:	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Adult Edition - Mark Haddon
Date:	12/10/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a good read and interesting perspective on Aspergers

Disadvantages: Cover is off putting, so is start of book

The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon was recommended to me by a friend and I have to admit that I took one look at the cover which shows a cartoon type dog lying on its back with a pitchfork stuck into its stomach, and didn't think this book was for me.

Looking further into the book and seeing the first few, one page chapters with their smiley face illustrations made me even less keen to start reading it. Anyway, I did buy it as it was included in buy two; get one free deal at Waterstones. So, it was my free book.

It sat on the shelf for ages as I deliberated passed over it, giving preference to other books that I had on my 'to read' list. However, I actually ran out fresh books to read the other day so I picked this one up.

It's odd in the way it is structured and feels quite disjointed at the beginning, but as the story unfolds and Christopher, the boy with Asperger's Syndrome is revealed, the story becomes fascinating. It is incredibly sad in parts but not what I would call sentimental.

Christopher Boone is the boy in the title. He is the narrator and the detective in the story. He's just fifteen and his Asperger's Syndrome which is a form of autism cuts him off emotionally from the rest of the world. Christopher is very good at mathematics but doesn't have much idea about how the people around him function emotionally. He likes patterns and making lists of things but he hates yellow and brown and reels back from being touched.

Then he discovers that his neighbour's dog has been killed by someone and he ventures out into a world he knows nothing about.

A sad and sometimes funny book that treats the subject sensitively but is not over emotional about it. The fact that Christopher is the narrator gives some insight into what is going on in his troubled mind as he investigates the murder.

This is the adult version of the book. There is a toned down children's version available too.

Summary: Turned out to be a good read but my initial reaction to the design and layout was not to bother