The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

A remarkable book because it is told by a 15-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time also requires a remarkable reader. In Ben Tibber, a 12-year-old who reads with assurance and intelligence if not quite enough of that scratchy sound of a breaking voice, Random House have found one. Using a child is important because Mark Haddon tells the story entirely through the eyes of Christopher Boone at no time observing him but always describing things exactly as he sees them. And the way Christopher sees things is very particular. Although he is taking maths A-level and can do the most complicated arithmetic, he has great difficulty in understanding people and the wide range of emotions their faces and speech may be conveying. When he sets out on the complicated journey that follows his attempt to solve the mystery of the dog that has died in the night - a mystery which causes him to discover the truth about his own family - he has never travelled anywhere on his own and has only the haziest idea of how to catch a train. Christopher's story, though underlyingly sad, has moments of humour and is always gripping.