THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

• by Mark Haddon

• [rated by PBS readers as #66]

• 221 pages

Now, you didn’t think I could live by audio of Moby Dick alone, didya?

Am I ever glad to have picked and read this little jewel! I believe it is officially the shortest time I’ve taken to reading one of these blog books – less than a week.

By about page 3, I realized that if I had misplaced this book, I would have immediately purchased another copy. The primary voicing the author has chosen, that of a very young autistic boy, is original and captivating and I just couldn’t wait to hear of his travails.

Which start immediately, as he discovers the next door neighbor’s dog has been killed. For animal lovers, this seems unbearable, but it is merely a starting off point for Christopher’s story and adventure to unfold.

From here, his life begins to unravel and he is forced to try to understand all of it – questions that are unsolvable and require more of life interaction than he has ever even tried to handle.

But somehow, every page of this book is a triumph. It is a very tiny story filled with the largest ramifications in life – love, betrayal, safety, goodness, truth…

It is easy to see why Christopher’s tale goes down fast and easy and yet, it is utterly unique and impossible to forget. This writer understands human nature and shows us a concrete story with edges that ripple out into infinity.

I’ll be interested to see how this one stays with me, but I am a richer person for having read it. And I love that it is on this list!

The uniqueness of the story and the writing make it equally difficult to explain. But it is exquisitely written and winning. Easily one of a handful of these books that I would recommend to anyone interested in a warm and quite unique read.

I will return to this one later.