The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback)

On the negative side however, he's only fifteen, he's autistic, he's got more phobias than Adrian Monk, and his fractured family haven't yet learned how to cope with his illness.

Christopher often determines what type of day he's going to have by the number of cars of a specific color that pass in a row, and when he finds the neighbor's dog impaled on a garden fork, it must have been a Black Day indeed. The death of poor Wellington brings out his inner Sherlock, and he is determined to solve the case, working in his logical fashion, despite the objections of his father.

Unfortunately, this investigation uncovers a lot more than the identity of the canine garden fork killer, and he is faced with several difficult emotional issues which his mind is unable to handle.

Brilliantly told in the words of Christopher himself, this novel allows the reader a rare look into the world of autism, or as much of it as we presently understand, and shows clearly the challenges an autistic person faces on a daily basis.

The mathematics and logic puzzles may not be for everyone, but I especially liked "The Monty Hall Problem", which I pondered for a long time before agreeing that the "vos Savant" solution is the most logical. Now at least I know that if I were ever called up for a game show that required me to choose from three closed doors, I should cross my fingers and switch as quickly as possible, even if one third of me knows I'll still get Monty's goat.

Eloquently told in simple language, this book is a must read for young adults and old adults alike, especially those with a penchant for a drastically different outlook on life.

Amanda Richards

The premise is simple. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is autistic with many emotional complications (including not being able to read others' emotions) . . . and also has a brilliant mind for logic. Because of his fascinating experiences, his teacher, Siobhan encourages him to write a book . . . which is this one.

It's easy to think of Christopher as much younger than he is . . . with problems concerning strangers, others touching him, and wetting himself. But then the brilliant mind comes out, and you feel like you are in contact with a professor. The combination is fascinating in the first half of the book as Christopher tries to find out who stuck a pitchfork through the neighbor's dog. As a twist on The Hound of the Baskervilles, that part of the book is irresistible.

Once that mystery is solved, the book seems to veer off into less realistic and less emotionally compelling material. Christopher's character was no longer completely believable to me. The writing seemed more like an exercise by an author than Christopher's own as the "author" of this book.

I treasured though those parts of the book that help me understand how an autistic person might view the world. It reminded me of those jumbled letters and reversed numbers on cards that teachers show to simulate what dyslexia is like for those who are not dyslexic. Such journeys in another's footsteps are rewarding and I encourage you to seek them out.

Based on this first novel, I can only hope that we will read more about Christopher in the future. I suggest, though, that the knife be left behind.