written by Mark Haddon
I was in a serious bind on New Year's Day... there I was, with a day off from all responsibilities, the kids were happily parked in front of Guitar Hero, Jay was busy with some photo editing, and I had the entire afternoon to curl up with a book. Only problem was, I didn't have a book. And the library wasn't open. And there was a furious blizzard brewing up outside, so no way was I going out to the bookstore.
So I stopped by my friend Summer's house and asked if she might have something I could borrow. To my delight, she walked me upstairs to a huge shelf full of books and said to take my pick. Ironically, right at eye level was a novel that had caught my eye at the library recently. At the time I first saw it, I was in the middle of reading something else, so I hadn't picked it up. But here it was, so I took it.
It's a quick, interesting read and it gets you inside the head of a young man named Christopher who is apparently autistic. At his teacher's urging, Christopher decides to write a book, and ostensibly the story is about the death of his neighbor's dog. But along the way we learn about Christopher's life and needs, the fragile state of his family. and how autistic people are so easily misunderstood. The book is alternately comedic, sad, touching, and harrowing. And I certainly found it to reveal, at times, my prejudices about mentally impaired people... prejudices which I guess I didn't realize were there.
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