The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 30, 2009 Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009books

I realize I’m late to this particular party, but it’s OK to show up a little late, if the party’s still going, right? Fashionably late, maybe? I might be stretching the statute of party-limitations by extolling the virtues of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” a solid six years after its acclaimed publication, but sometimes we can’t control when we get around to things. So, “Curious Incident” party, here I am! I’m (fashionably) late, but I made it!

If you are like me and sometime I realize I’m late to this particular party, but it’s OK to show up a little late, if the party’s still going, right? Fashionably late, maybe? I might be stretching the statute of party-limitations by extolling the virtues of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” a solid six years after its acclaimed publication, but sometimes we can’t control when we get around to things. So, “Curious Incident” party, here I am! I’m (fashionably) late, but I made it!

If you are like me and sometime get turned off by ubiquity, you may (like me) have turned up your nose when the little paperback copies of this book with the red cover and the upside-down dog cutout started popping up everywhere. But the hysteria has died down, so you (like me) are free to revisit the book, post-phenomenon. And it’s worth revisiting, because it is really a very interesting and imaginative book. I enjoyed, for all the complications and sadness and difficulties, going inside the mind of an autistic 15-year-old. It was eye-opening and really a huge, worthwhile exercise in empathy. Rarely has a book offered me such a connection and such an overdose of empathy for a fictional character – especially a character different in such a profound way from myself. Since the people who write the books I like are often (I’m going out on a limb here) somewhat like myself, I tend to really enjoy books about literate, verbal, oftentimes somewhat cynical characters. This book, and its central character – Christopher – couldn’t have been more different from that type, and yet couldn’t have been more enjoyable for me to read.

Various professors and teachers I have had have offered the injunction that literature (or, more generally art) ought to “make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.” This novel is an excellent example of doing just that: making what is certainly strange to me (autism and the inner experience of an autistic youth) feel utterly familiar. The reader is dropped inside Christopher’s mind, and between the covers of the book, that mind makes perfect sense – coherent and understandable – even as you can stand back from the text and realize what a difficult, crippling affliction Christopher’s autism can be. What an achievement to give that kind of insight to readers within a digestible, enjoyable package. (Of course, I am no expert in autistic youth by any means, so I may be way off-base here, but the descriptions and details certainly felt genuine and authentic to this layman.)

My only critique might be that the story builds so gradually to such an extreme “rolling boil,” that it seemed sudden in its ending…I wanted a more gradual cessation of intensity – a equally gradual calming of the bubbling waters. Yet I think the book was true to itself, and felt perfectly unified in tone. So I can forgive the suddenness of the ending, and the lack of a truly satisfying resolution. Given the story itself and its difficult subject matter, there could hardly be a sunshine-and-rainbows happy ending. The cleverness of the first-person narration by Christopher, and the slow, careful unfolding of the real story were expertly done. Really well-written and moving. It’s a slim book that starts strong and doesn’t let up for the entire 200-or-so pages, almost poem-like. And if I had any qualms about the ending, I should temper them by saying it is probably a far, far better thing to pull the plug quickly (and “leave ‘em wanting more”), than to allow your story to peter out listlessly or overstay its welcome.

For any of you party-poopers, like me, who thought you had missed your chance – it’s ok: the “Curious Incident” party is still going strong, and it’s well worth stopping in. ...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Nina rated it liked it

Shelves: bookgroup

Under the wire with this book--I found this whole novel very irritating. I couldn't like or sympathize with any of the characters for very long, not that I think we're meant to. This is definitely one of those books I would not have read but for my book group. ...more

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