My impression of the book is simply that it is very straightforward. It immediately caught my attention because i could tell from the way it was written, that it is nothing like any ordinary book. Other novels are often based on main characters with lots of complicated feelings and thoughts. With being the exact opposite,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time manage in a unique way to stand out from the crowd.
My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7.507.
The extract above is taken from part where the readers get their first meeting with the main character, Christopher. In order to fully understand the complex character and psyche of Christopher is the knowledge of Aspergers Syndrome crucial. I must admit that I am one of the many who barely knew anything prior to reading the book. Aspergers syndrome is a form of autism, which is a life developed disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, and connect to others.
As a resolute of his disorder - despite being only 15 years old - he has great skills in math and his is above average intelligent. With his love for thing being in order, other people often perceive him as weird, though he actually is a very logical person. After reading the reasons behind his way of both acting and thinking, it is rare that i have not agreed with him. The honest way the book is written makes me understand and therefor also be able to sympathise with Christopher in why he finds other people difficult to understand. His biggest dream is to become an astronaut, so that he can be all alone in space for years without ever seeing other people. In command with most other authentic people Christopher is well organised, but he do struggle a lot with understanding and relating to other people. He find a lot of stuff that "normal" people take for granted like sarcasm, metaphors, body language and facial expressions confusing.
Because of this Christopher does not have many friends. He resent being near strangers and when it comes to body contact and shouting he has quite strict rules to people he mingle in everyday life. For instance to show that they love each other, instead of hugging they spread their fingers out in sort of a fan and let each others fingers touch.
A complicated mind of the main character is usually what makes an novel interesting, but in this case it is rather the other way around. Due to Christopher having a very clear and logical view on things, does not makes the book not heavy at all. Well aware that he is different and does not really fit in, he exposes all his errors time after time. I simply love this book!
