Also, I am not much of a fan of first person writing, as I've stated many times before. It's not that I have a thing against first person in-and-of itself, it's just that, with the flood of indie writers, first person has become a shortcut to bad writing. And writing that all sounds the same from author to author. I tend to be very wary of first person, especially in debut novels.
However, first person was completely necessary to the story in the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. That's the way I like to see first person used, as something that adds to the story itself, not as an easy out to get out of the intricacies of description and explanation. This book has a unique voice, and it is that voice that makes it necessary to the story. No, I'm not going to explain, because you should just read the book and find out for yourself.
The other thing I really liked about the book (other than the unique voice) is that the story is not really the story. I mean, the narrator thinks he's telling one story, but, really, he's telling another story entirely, and it was pretty amazing. The way the author handled it, I mean.
That's really all I have to say, I suppose. Yeah, not a single negative about this one. I enjoyed it immensely and will probably look at re-reading it in a few years and see if I still feel the same way about it. I don't re-read often, so that ought to tell you something.
Look, just go read the book. Oh, one thing, if you have any desire to read any Sherlock Holmes, you should go read The Hound of the Baskervilles, first, before you read this. That is, you should if you don't want spoilers.
My friends just went to see this play on Broadway and said it was amazing!
ReplyDeleteJKIR,F!: I imagine it is. That would be something worth seeing if it's even half as good as the book.
DeleteSeen the book around but haven't read it. I have read all of the Sherlock Holmes books though.
ReplyDeleteAlex: It's a quick read. You should check it out.
DeleteIt's one of those books I've heard of but haven't gotten around to reading yet.
ReplyDeletePat: It's worth it.
DeleteI've never heard of this book but that doesn't mean much. You've probably read more books in the past year than I have in the past decade.
ReplyDeleteI like it when narrators are telling a different story than they think they're telling. It's also cool when a narrator tells a story that someone in the story tells that's really a story about something else that's related to the story that the author thinks they're telling but not really telling.
I don't re-read very often either. If I did I'd read far fewer books than I do now.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Lee: That's exactly why I don't re-read. Re-reading means not reading something I've never read. Every once in a while, though, it's worth it.
DeleteI read this book so, so many years ago. I loved it. I actually read it in hardcover, before the boys were born. So I didn't know as much about autism and related conditions when I read it. Looking back, I think -- I guess?-- Haddon nailed it. But I agree with you, the voice of the narrator is phenomenal and the story itself is good.
ReplyDeleteHaddon also wrote "A Spot Of Bother", which is good in its own way. It's a big departure from "Curious Incident." More sprawling, and more comic, I enjoyed it a lot. He's in the line of Nick Hornby, who is also one of my favorite authors. (Read "A Long Way Down" if you want to read the greatest Hornby novel, but they're all pretty good)
Briane: I do plan on looking into some of his other stuff. And I'll check Hornby, too.
ReplyDeleteHave read this, loved it, would re-read it right now if I hadn't lent it out. I read indiscriminately but re-read with extreme prejudice. Think if you like this you will appreciate Catcher In The Rye.
ReplyDeleteLisa: Yeah, I almost never re-read, so it says a lot that I am already planning a re-read of this one.
DeleteWow! Sounds like a winner. I love narrative misdirections like you've described.
ReplyDeleteTAS: You know, if I could have just sat down with this one and read it in one sitting, I would have.
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