The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Five things you didn't know about autism:

1- Autism Spectrum Disorder - actually a range of disorders - occurs in between 3 to 6 children out of every 1,000.

2- Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism.  Nobody knows why.

3- Michael Fitzgerald, an autism researcher and child psychologist with Dublin's Trinity College, has speculated several notable historical figures were autistic. His list includes Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo and Isaac Newton.

4- Fitzgerald's list also includes Adolf Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Kaczynski. 

5- There is no cure for autism. There are a variety of treatments and therapies, some of which are "revolutionary" and controversial - many of which attempt to completely remove mercury from the body, either through injections of hormones, or IV drips. Mercury has been linked to autism, but not conclusively.


I'll admit something to you here and now: I vastly prefer nonfiction to fiction. When fiction is bad, it's a waste of time. When nonfiction is bad, at least you might learn something new. Even worse, when I do read fiction, it often tends to be historical fiction, such as Robert Harris' unfinished Cicero trilogy. 

How Christopher copes with the world

I do try and leave my comfort zone every so often, though, because of gems like Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 

The book's Wikipedia page mentions a film version is in the works. Given the book's success, this was probably inevitable, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. The book's wonder comes from successfully and believably getting you inside Christopher John Francis Boone's head - and being autistic, Christopher is a hard person to understand.

In truth, Christopher is often a hard person to like. This sounds harsh, and it is. But his parents are divorced, mostly because of the stress of caring for him. Like Rain Man, Christopher is incredibly gifted with numbers, math, and puzzles.  But he's also moody, distant, and occasionally even violent. When overwhelmed by life - which is often - Christopher shuts down, slumps over, and groans loudly to block out the noise. Most devastating for a parent, he loathes being touched - no high-fives, no handshakes, and certainly no hugs. Haddon doesn't pull any punches: living with Christopher is difficult.

This happens a lot. Sometimes with biting.

The story itself - no spoilers, but Christopher decides he must solve the mystery of his neighbour's dead (murdered?) dog - is compelling and even amusing. But the genius is it's told completely from Christopher's perspective.  The world, filled with menacing strangers, is terrifying, bewildering, and unfathomably big.

The movie is being written and directed by Steve Kloves, who's done some of the Harry Potter films. And that's encouraging, I suppose. But I just don't see how he's going to transport us into Christopher's head, or manage to make Christopher as difficult yet somehow lovable. 

There are books I read and set aside, in case I want to read them again "somewhere down the line." And there are a few I know I will read again, very soon. The Curious Incident is one of those precious few.