If you have a child with autism, work with a child with autism, or live in a world where children have autism, you really need to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. I had never even heard of this book until a coworker suggested it to me (thanks, Trina!) and now I think it should be recommended reading for, well, everyone. Especially those supermarket-sneerers who think they can judge children while knowing nothing about them. To be fair, if you see my kids misbehaving or acting in a way you would consider odd, they have no excuse. However, the main character of this book does.

Told from his perspective, the story takes you inside the mind of a boy with autism (written by a man who has worked with such children) and it is truly enlightening to be a witness to this inner monologue that lower-functioning children could never hope to articulate. Plus there’s a storyline. And some parts might make you cry. (That’s coming from me…I do tend to cry at anything.)

Coincidentally, the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly profiles “The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years”, and this book’s protagonist, Christopher Boone, lands in at number 92, on the same page as Napoleon Dynamite and Fargo’s Marge Gunderson. High praise for what they call “the absolutely most reliable narrator”.
Add it to your must-read list!

4 comments on “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”

  1. I hadn't heard of that book, but I was looking for a good one to read. So I'll check it out.
    And, on a personal note, as a mom with a child with some special needs (not autism – though for awhile that was the fear) I can so relate to being *that* mom with the kid in the store that everyone is staring at mid-episode – and really wanting to scream "this isn't my kid – and he's not having any more fun than you are right now".
    Can't wait to read it.
    PS thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂

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