the curious incident of the dog in the
night-time (2003).
This is probably the most
original, honest, curious and humane book I’ve ever read.
It’s one of those truly
interesting book which is warm, funny and really sad all at the same time.
I’ve been saying this a lot, but
I think this book is also a must for every book lover.
SPOILER ALERT: there is basically
only one surprise in this book and I am talking about it in here.
P
|
layers. –Christopher John
Francis Boone. A 15 year old High-functioning autism kid. In other
word, a genius with condition.
He has a
classic symptom of kids with certain condition.
· A genius at
math and science. He thinks with logic and logic only. Sarcasm and metaphor
belongs to another planet for him.
· Photogenic
memory. With one glance, he memorizes everything on the scene. That’s why he
thinks that people are generally stupid because they glance but never see.
· He can’t
tell a lie. It’s just not in his system. Except white lies. Because, according
to Christopher, white lies are not lies. Just one way to avoid problems.
· Preference
on color. Red is lucky color for him. Yellow or brown is opposite. Nobody including himself knows why.
· Any new
situation like going to the new place or meeting a new person requires
preparation. You should explain it to him prior to the meeting or he panics.
· He doesn’t
understand emotion. But apparently it is getting better with training and
experience.
· You can’t
touch him unless you get his permission. Otherwise, he tries to defend himself
by hitting you.
All the kids
are different depends on the symptom but it seems like his condition is quite
lighter than most other kids with same condition. He can manage most of the
basic daily chore by himself and with a bit of help, can communicate with other
people smoothly.
He wants to
be a scientist or astronaut as long as there is no one around him and no yellow
buttons to touch.
The
adventure he is going through in this book is just a simple trip for most of
us, but for Christopher it is a life-threatening, do or die journey full of
adversaries and new discoveries. At the
end, he becomes A BRAVE MAN.
Ed. Chris’s father. Owns a
small heating and maintenance store.
When
they finds out about his son’s symptom, he just accepts it and moves on. As a single
father, he is doing as best as he can to take care of Chris but apparently it
is taxing his body and mind. Honestly, who can blame him?
He
loves his son very much but still doesn’t really figure out how to deal with
him yet.
He
is a hard man who curses and snaps all the time.
J. Christopher’s mom.
After they finds out about his condition, it takes her only few years to decide
to solve all problems by not facing it. So she just runs away with her
neighbour’s husband. I know it’s really difficult to deal with this kind of
problems but still……pathetic. Not a mother material nor a girlfriend.
P
|
lace. – 36
Randolph Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, Britain. Apparently not a good area cause
one of his neighbor is drug dealer. He has a routine which he follows everday precisely
and that routine only includes a school, home and a small shop around the
corner for his snacks. A small world indeed.
Later
on he goes to London to deal with some problems. But since London is filled
with lots of strangers and Christopher hates strangers, he hates London, too. For
that reason, for his post-secondary education (remember, he is super-genius!),
he is thinking of the universities which is located NOT in cities.
P
|
lot. –One night,
when Christopher is outside, he finds his neighbor’ dog Wellington dying with
fork sticking out of its chest. Someone obviously trying to kill the dog. And since
Christopher is a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and also, supposed to write a
journey about himself for his class project, he decides to become a complete
package: becomes a detective like Sherlock and writes about the investigation
like Watson.
And that’s
why the title of this book sounds like a Sherlock Holmes mystery because
Christopher is a huge fan of the master Sleuth and in his own mind, he is
Sherlock. Jr.
His honest
decision to find the dog killer leads him to an ugly truth about his family:
his mum is not dead as he has been told by his father for past two years! So he
starts another investigation which forces him to use all his strength and
pushes him to the unknown edges and hostile places that he never imagines
exists. It’s an actually adventure novel, not a detective story. And a great
one too.
V
|
erdict. I said a
lot of serious things about this book but this book is not that kind of rigid
and serious book. Because the narrator Christopher is pure and honest and
fascinating kid, this book is quite delightful to read and highly addictive/captivating.
You won’t be able to put it down I guarantee you.
We see our
society through Christopher’s mind and according to Christopher,
since none of us so called normal people are acting logically nor rationally, we are
a society full of idiots and special needs. He has a great point, not to mention a great sense of humor which off course he doesn't even know.
This is a kind of book which is impossible to categorize: part
adventure, part thriller, part education, part drama. For all I know, this
could be also pre-teen reading material. One of those rare books that can be
read by both adults and kids.
Incredible accomplishment!!
No comments:
Post a Comment