Curious incident of the dog at midnight, July 2011
The Curious Incident of the Dog at Midnight, is a murder mystery of sorts-- told by an autistic fifteen-year-old called Christopher John Francis Boone. He is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers.
Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork. Wellington's owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, and has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his investigations, and the result, with quirky illustrations, with each chapter given its own prime number--is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Christopher narrates his story with a detachment from his thoughts and emotions. Examining them in a logical way, which helps him understand that he is different.
Some of my favorite comments from the meeting this month:
“I kept waiting for somebody to die” We have read a lot of books lately where there is a death at the end.
“The book was painful to read, a brilliant voice but excruciating to witness”
“This is a left brain functioning book – exhausting for a artist (right brain user)”
Next months book is something a little light-hearted for the summer, Ghost in Love by Jonathon Carroll. We will be meeting on Monday the 1st of august at 7:00pm. I have copies at the desk if anyone still needs one.
I look forward to hearing you comments
Comments