I came across this novel and without knowing anything about it or the author, Mark Haddon, I picked it up and started to read it. Then I happened to notice that it was included in The Great American Read list of 100 books, which of course made me more curious and interested in reading it.
It certainly was different from anything I’ve read before. The narrator, who happens to be a teen-aged autistic boy named Christopher, is not only smart but at the same time can be stubborn and frustratingly annoying to his parents as well. Although they are divorced, they are both committed to the boy and want only the best for him. He is difficult to reach emotionally and often times he just doesn’t understand the possible dangers he exposes himself to when he takes a train ride to look for his mom and also when he just wanders outside at 2am because he can’t sleep.
Haddon, who worked with autistic individuals, was able to connect to the inner world of an autistic boy and show us what his life is like so that we can hopefully understand the daily obstacles people with this disorder encounter. By seeing what they see and feeling what they feel we can better understand how they cannot cope with the daily distractions we all move through without incidence. Just a simple matter of being touched can cause Christopher to scream hysterically. Once you meet Christopher you will look at autism with fresh eyes.
I rate "The Curious Incident..." 4 out of 5 stars
Buy "Bulldog Bruiser" by DJ Geribo
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