I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time yesterday. I loved it the whole way through. Haddon did such an incredible job of bringing Christopher to life and making him likeable...despite his quirks and differences. I really cared about him...I worried for him and hoped for him...I was fully invested.
Being linked so closely to a character with autism was interesting. I felt like I really understood Christopher...I got him...His behavior stopped seeming weird to me. And when he encountered people in the story who were put off by him or afraid of him, I was indignant. But then...I would stop and think, "What would I do if I were in their sitution?" What if I bumped into a 15-year-old boy in a train station and he started barking like a dog? What if I saw him sitting on a bench with his eyes closed "doing groaning"? I'm sure I'd steer clear...I'm sure I'd feel uncomfortable...
The most moving part of the book is near the end, when Christopher recounts his favorite dream. He says, "Sometimes I have it during the day, but then it's a day-dream. But I often have it at night as well...in the dream nearly everyone on the earth is dead because they caught a virus...And I can go anywhere in the world and I know that no one is going to talk to me or touch me or ask me a question...But if I don't want to go anywhere I don't have to, and I can stay at home and...play computer games for a whole week, or I can just sit in the corner of the room and rub a coin back and forward over the ripple shapes on the surface of the radiator..."
This piece of the story made me realize just how difficult life can be for someone with autism. It really brought it home. It was brilliant.
And the ending...so hopeful...
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oooh! Can't wait to read it. And I'll have lots of time this weekend. :)
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