THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME 2003
By
Mark Haddon
The world is not the same place for everyone.One’s fears,biases,capabilities or lack of them,values,intellect and capacity to feel emotions create a personal space in which an individual lives.Everyone dwells in a different world.
This is the story of an English boy who is a budding mathematician with certain behavioural problems .The author allows us a peek into the boy’s world through an account scribbled by the latter himself.Christopher Boone is a protagonist like no other.He sees the world for what it is and observes the patterns and rules behind systems.He has his own set of oddities and idiosyncrecies.He loves prime numbers,lives in a world full of mathematical puzzles and systems ,cant tell lies,can only understand literal meanings of words,doesn’t like to be touched,has trouble reading facial expressions and usual human emotions,lives life by set algorithms and timetables and is very particular about his food habits.He is for sure a pain in the ass of his dad who loves him dearly.One cant help not falling in love with this lad.
A dog is killed in the boy’s neighbourhood.Inspired by Sherlock,he decides to investigate.The purpose is also to find an interesting enough topic to write about.This investigation sets him on a path which tears asunder his relationship with his father.The boy sets on an adventurous journey to London from his home in Swandon to live with his separated mother.What an adventure it is,and how unpompously has the author described it !
This short novel covers Christopher’s insights into the dog’s death,the boy’s escape to and journey back from London,his love for mathematics,his fragile relationships with his pet rat Toby and his parents.
Mark haddon has penned a very beautiful novel.His lead character is someone as endearing as Holden Caulfield (catcher in the rye) or Yossarian (catch-22).Christopher Boone is a star.I suppose this novel must be included in the school syllabi and must be a compulsory read for Indian kids as well.Mark has not described Christopher’s medical condition,but it can be assumed from the behavioural patterns that he might be having some kind of high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome.This is very clever (smart) piece of writing,and can ignite in anyone a love for mathematics.I wud strongly recommend The Curious Incident OF The Dog In The Night time to all and sundry.
Comments
Post a Comment