Saturday, July 11, 2015

The Curious Incident of the Dog at the Night-time Review

This long curiously constructed title adorning a curiously made cover leads one past the smattering of praise and laurels into what is a curious read.

Enter Christopher, a strange fifteen year old with special needs and an aversion to the colours yellow and brown. The murder of his neighbour's dog leads our protagonist on a whodunit that reveals more than is intended for both the protagonist and the reader. The story is narrated by Christopher himself who is convinced and persuades readers of his intelligence despite his lack of social ability,, maturity, and arbitrary attempts to make sense of his world. It is his flawed nature that allows us to relate to him be it our need for solitude, what we aspire to be, or predicting how our day will. I find myself now classifying my days as A Super Good Day, Quite A Good Day, A Good Day, or A Black Day. Though it is not on the basis of the colour combination of cars parked on the street.

The story is really a drama that emotionally challenges the emotionally-challenged Christopher well past his limits and challenges his self-assured knowledge of himself and others around him. I certainly wish the ending was fleshed out - this interesting read ends abruptly. Perhaps, this is a good thing that spares us from what could have been a mundane epilogue.

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