subject: Norton Scientific Collection: the Curious Incident A Kids Book Through And Through [print this page] http://norton-scientificcollection.com/collection/2012/09/10/the-curious-incident-a-kids-book-through-and-through/
A family drama centering on a 15-year old kid with Aspergers syndrome think math whiz with tons of behavioral issues.
Mark Haddons The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, while amusing was not that remarkable for me. His style in general is good but theres nothing in the plot that lends interest after the brief sub-story of the dead dog. I want to be disappointed, but its a childrens book after all.
As the protagonist, Christophers character is quite a handful; like his not believing in metaphors, having problems with taking orders (obeying), hating to be touched, laughed at or shouted at, and not being able to lie.
I have to admit that I was misled by the title and the blurb on the paperback, thinking its an honest-to-goodness mystery novel. Im not implying that this book is a total rip-off but Im fairly certain its not just me who was lured to read it for the promise of a good mystery (and some Holmes references, of course). Unfortunately, even the references to Holmes were really nothing special because the exact same things have been pointed out numerous instances before, though its still cool that at least there are references and that Christopher terribly like him.
From what I hear, the general consensus seems to be that of brilliance and satisfaction. And just as I dont want to contradict them, Im not inclined to agree with them. Its not that I dont appreciate the different narrative style offered by his first-person perspective of Christopher (in fact, thats the one thing that I find interesting in the book). Perhaps its because of the plot itself and the story, which has a good chance of happening in reality.
Arriving at the last page, I wasnt really that satisfied. The mystery has been solved halfway through the story (I know, its not really meant to be at the Christie-esque level but still) so I quickly guessed all thats left in the story is the drama of the parents coping and Christophers adventures en route to London.
Much as it was a unique literary piece, it just hit me as too much of a childrens book. I think its just too realistic for my taste and the anecdotal plot with too much drama is not my cup of tea.
