Author : Mark Haddon
Publisher : Cox & Wytman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire
This book is a book about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome. The story is told through the boy's perspective, and having Asperger's Syndrome, his viewpoint is albeit different from the average person's perspective. Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder of the mind. Aspergians, as people with Asperger's are called, have little or no social awareness. As a result, they do not know what to do in some uncertain or confusing situations and they do not like chatting with others. They could end up losing many friends because of their lack of emotional quotient, or EQ. However, they have increased ability to focus on one subject for a period of time, perhaps permanently. They also understand black-and-white, yes-or-no situations better than unclear situations since they are exceedingly logical.
The book is a murder mystery, with a dog killed at the start of the book. The boy, named Christopher, then attempts to discover who actually killed the dog, Wellington. He goes to a few neighbours, talks to them and reasons his way to find a prime suspect. He writes a book on it in school, helped by his teacher, Siobhan. It appears to be Mr Shears, the ex-husband of the owner of the dog. But is it?
I would recommend this book to all my friends, because firstly, I too am an Aspergian. In my case, it is very mild, however I still find I have less friends that I would like. This book would help my friends and family understand Asperger's Syndrome better, and therefore be more understanding and tolerant towards me. Also, the book is actually rather humourous. Told in the dry yet innocent tone of a young child with Asperger's, there are several instances of humour displayed in the book. I too had a nice laugh reading the book. Finally, the literature is something to be admired. Using no complicated words, Mark Haddon still manages to describe things vividly, since the young Aspergian child tells things exactly as he sees it. The following is an adapted extract, a conversation between a policeman and Christopher. Christopher has just hit another policeman.
"You didn't mean to hit the policeman, did you?"
"I did mean to."
"But you didn't hurt him intentionally?"
"I just wanted to stop him touching me."
"Do you know it is a serious offence to hit a policeman?"
"Yes."
"Alright, we'll give you a warning. We'll enter in the records that you hit him, but didn't mean to."
"But I DID mean to hit him."
That is the type of humour one can expect from the book. Finally, the book teaches one to be imaginative. Christopher can imagine very well, like imagining a trip in space when he grows up.
Rated:
4/5
Very Interesting
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