Review of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I finished my first book for the Book Awards Challenge. I thought I would start with an easier one. I did not choose well.

I know the vast majority of people liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon but I did not. I do think it was interesting how he used a handicapped boy as the narrator, but after the first chapter, I was annoyed with this and with the boy and his parents. I don't want to spoil the book, but the whole deal with the parents, come on, who does that?

I understand that good literature should take a look at society and capitalize on a problem or issue there and really encourage good debate. I am sure that this book will indeed do that, but I still didn't enjoy reading it. I enjoyed Anna Karenina, I enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities, The Scarlet Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, not to mention Call of the Wild and so many other great pieces of literature. I did not enjoy reading this book.

I also got this book thinking I would perhaps share it with my children, but with the language and adult situations, it seems inappropriate. This book reminded me why I often stray away from books on award lists and go by good reviews and intuition instead.

Here's hoping the next choice will be more enjoyable!