The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

For my first actual blog post, I decided to do a book review.

As one of my summer reading books, I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. It is technically classified as a mystery and it is 226 pages. I was drawn to this book because 1. It was a book my brother already owned so I wouldn't have to spend money on a book I potentially (and ultimately) wouldn't like, 2. I had heard it was pretty good and a short read, and 3. It was on Broadway. I figured it must be not that bad and even if it was, it was short enough for me to power through. If I am honest, it took me about 3.5 weeks to read a book I could have read in a single day. Here is why:

While I liked the concept of the story line including the knowledge of the main character's thoughts, feelings and perspective, most other parts of the book were just not my specific taste, which is usually realistic fiction, not mysteries. I actually don't know if I would consider the book a mystery at all. Stylistically, the story is told through the perspective of main character, Christopher Boone. The entire book is actually written as a mystery book that Christopher is writing for school about the peculiar murder of his neighbor's dog Wellington. To me, the mystery element was missing from the story and overshadowed by Christopher's personality. As he is autistic, very talented at math and knowledgeable about many other topics, he spends a fair amount of time explaining math problems that I did not understand or physics concepts I am not familiar with. I know those details are not very crucial to the story, but they had a very large impact of my enjoyment of the novel. The parts of the story's plot which I enjoyed the most were the bits of drama in regards to the main character's dysfunctional family and their neighbors. The Boone's are a very complicated family tangled in scandal and lies, though Christopher is oblivious. It provided more sympathy and understanding about the intricacy of his life. Another one of my favorite parts of the story was the theme of Christopher's independence. Throughout the novel, he learns how he does not need to rely on his father or Siobhan, his teacher or anyone else. He can manage to do many things on his own. I think that is a very valuable lesson for anyone, specifically someone who is the same as I am currently, 15, like he is as well.

In conclusion, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time was not one of my personal favorites. There were some aspects of it that I enjoyed, but the negatives seemed to outweigh the positives. I did not feel engaged in the story very often. To me, it dragged on for too many pages with mindless information. I would recommend this novel to anyone who would like to learn a lesson about patience. Not only in your own life, but with reading as well. Not every book is perfect for you, but you must continue to give it a chance and you might learn a thing or too. I would also recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about how some people with disabilities, specifically autism might act in situations. Not to say that all people act and think the same way as Christopher, but one view might be insightful. OveralI, I would give this book 3 out 5 stars.