The Premise:
An autistic 15-year old boy sets out to solve the mystery of
his neighbor’s dog’s death.
The Good:
The book is written from the point of view of an autistic
teenager, which can be both interesting and trying. Mr. Haddon clearly wants
the reader to come away with a better understanding of how and why autistic
persons are the way they are—how they talk, think, reason, etc. My own personal
experience with autistic people is rather limited, but the story seems to come
across as sympathetic rather than gimmicky. Most of the time the chapters work*
and the story moves along with enough twists and turns to qualify as a passable
mystery. The main character is interesting and the support characters gradually
become fleshed out as the story plays out.
The Bad:
There are a few chapters where Mr. Haddon gets a bit showy.
The aside chapters often worked and many were entertaining, but a few seem like
they were just thrown in to shout, “See how clever I am”.
The Verdict:
Read it. And if you know an autistic person and have read
it, I’d love to hear your perspective.
*Not to brag, but I figured out why the chapters are
numbered the way they are before it’s revealed in the book. Okay, I’m bragging.
