1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (4/2/2011 - 4/5/2011)

To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a first-person narrative of what it's like to have autism.  I know a little about autism in general through some volunteer positions and Special Education readings, and from my understanding, it can be incredibly difficult for both the person with it and the people around him/her.  I wasn't sure what to expect from a book dealing primarily with this disorder, but I found that the main character Christopher is really quite endearing and that, from his perspective, autism almost makes sense.  Haddon has done such amazing job of capturing what goes on in Christopher's mind that I can understand his thought processes, understand why he hates yellow and can't have people touching him and why groaning and white noise make him feel a little safer.  I have to wonder if perhaps every person considering going into Special Education should read this book.

Along that same line, I wonder if perhaps every person considering being a parent should read this book as well.  Christopher's relationships with his parents are major focal points within the novel, and those relationships are both complicated immensely by the fact that Christopher has autism.  I can't go much more in depth without giving away some plot twists of the novel, but overall it makes me nervous to have children.  I identify so much with the mother in the novel before I factor in that she has a child with autism that I worry about what would happen to me if I someday have a child with autism. I don't honestly know what I would do.

But despite this overwhelming idea, I enjoyed the novel.  Read it. It's worth it.