First, let me just say that parts of this book went right over my head. I didn't understand most of the math problems or his explanation of the human mind. I also realize that this book is not meant for young adult readers such as myself, and so I will not criticize Mark Haddon for this.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon stars Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15 year-, 3 month-, and 3 day-old genius with some behavioral issues. I believe Christopher has a syndrome, but the book does not state exactly what the syndrome is. I wish this had been a bit clearer. The novel begins in Swindon, England at 7 minutes after midnight, when Christopher spots his neighbor's dog lying dead on the ground, a garden fork in its side.
The story was beautifully written, with little interludes of explanation in between the plot. The interludes were like backstories, explaining Chrisopher himself as well as the aformentioned math problems and the human mind.
Christopher tells the story in first person. He does not speak with contractions, which makes it (usually) very easy to understand precisely what he means. When it comes to math and the human mind, or explaining why Christopher doesn't understand the constellation Orion, the explanations tend to be either over-explained or the pace is too fast, as with the math problem titled Conway's Soldiers. Also, the chapters are numbered uncoventionally -- using prime numbers only -- which gives a nice change from your standard cardinal numbers.
The plot twists, turns, and thickens as the story goes on. Because Christopher's feelings are moderately easy to empathize with, it's hard not to become entangled in Christopher's world. The dialogue sounds very real (though I could do with less swearing), and while descriptions of places are few and far between, diagrams allow the reader to get a clear idea of the setting.
My favorite part is when Christopher explains a newspaper column featuring a math problem. While most of the math problems were complicated, this one had me trying to figure out what I would have done. It's also a bit funny, because a 15-year-old boy can prove that the columnist is right when all these professors with fancy degrees say the columnist is wrong.
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys math and mystery -- just make sure you brush up on your math skills!
