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

The title of this novel intrigued me when I first saw it and I decided I had to buy it. I have not read any of the reviews before reading this book, only the synopsis at the back. It is written in a first person narrative, the person being Christopher, an autistic 15 year old boy who lives with his father. Christopher understands facts and details, he lives on rules and order but relationships and emotions make little sense to him. He cannot tell a lie or jokes. He hates being touched and reacts violently to it. He finds people confusing because he cannot make sense of the various facial expressions that people seem to possess.

Then, one day, when his neighbour's dog, Wellington, was killed, he decided to solve the mystery with the help of his favourite novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles. When he embarked on this quest to find the murderer, he ended up finding more than just the identity of the murderer. Secrets about his family will be revealed to him that would change his well ordered life and the lives of those around him. His relationship with his father in particular was heartbreaking to read. This book is beautifully written, funny and sad at the same time with a bittersweet ending.

After reading this book, I searched the internet for the reviews and every single one had nothing but praise for this book which I heartily agree. It is written simply but that in no way undermines the strength of the emotion of this book. Apparently, they are going to make a film based on this book ( this comes as no surprise....it has *oscar* material written all over it ). I do hope however that they will make a decent job out of it. If not, stick to the book. It does not disappoint.