More recently, high-functioning autism is lumped together with Asperger’s syndrome for diagnostic purposes. The more I study the two the less I believe they differ in any substantial way. However, for many parents, a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome is more palatable than a diagnosis of autism, as for years autism has been characterized as a totally debilitating affliction (which ain’t necessarily so).

I asked my son to answer the following questions about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Here’s what an autistic teenager has to say about the book and specifically about Christopher, the (unlabeled) protagonist of the story.

I’ve added an RSS feed for comments, so it’s easier to follow the discussion. Also, feel free to post your own entry if you feel the need to go off on a tangent! All discussions are welcome.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m probably the only person in the world who didn’t enjoy this book. I am a writer, and I teach creative writing, so first and foremost when I read a book I read it from a writerly perspective – which means I read it for craft. Craft elements in creative writing include a story’s structure, characterization, point of view (who’s perspective the story is told from), description, voice, tone, etc. I teach my students all the time that writing a story is like cooking – it’s all about getting the right balance of ingredients. If you need a little salt, or have too much salt, the meal will not be satisfying – same goes for books.

In the case of The Curious Incident, I think the problem I had was with the point of view. Although I’m really not sure it would work any other way, by telling the story from Christopher’s first-person point of view (first person meaning I or we), the author must write as if with blinders on – we can only know what Christopher sees, feels, thinks etc. The first person point of view is also the most unreliable narrator in fiction – because we are so locked in to one, very narrow perspective – it’s often unclear whether the world we’re seeing is real or what the narrator is feeding us.

A little too excited to wait until Monday to post how I feel so far about this book... it is different from what I am used to reading. I have to admit I was put off at the beginning but the more I got to know Christopher the more I began to enjoy the book. It is a quick read and I cannot wait to talk with everyone about it.

Happy Reading...
Amanda

Judy
www.knottyneedle.blogspot.com