"The curious incident of the dog at midnight" (Mark Haddon)

Christopher John Francis Boone he is 15 years old. He knows all the countries in the world, their capitals, and every prime number up to 7,057. He loves math, he relates well to animals, but does not have an understanding ofhuman emotions. He can't stand being touched and always seeks routine, order and predictability in his day to day, as this makes him feel safe and secure.

The above description corresponds to a child with Asperger syndrome, a subtype of Autism included within the autism spectrum, whose main characteristics are the difficulty in social interaction, affectivity and communication, lack of empathy and sensitivity towards others, tendency to egocentrism, naivety and gullibility, lack of knowledge of limits and social norms, as well as restricted and repetitive interests.

Also, certain obsession with routine, order and turning daily acts into rituals. The main difference between Asperger Syndrome and the other subtypes of the autism spectrum is that these people do not have a delay in their intelligence

, sometimes being above average, as in the case of high-functioning autistics. However, this particular child is part of a work of fiction.

The autism spectrum lived in first person

Christopher is the protagonist of the novel The curious incident of the dog at midnight (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is its original title). The story is narrated in the first person by this 15-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome who lives with his father in Swindon (Wiltshire, United Kingdom).

It is a novel by British writer Mark Haddon which won the Withbread Book of the Year award in 2003, and in 2005 the award for Best First Book for Young Readers and in 2004 the Commonwealth Writers Award for best first book book. As a young man, Haddon worked with autistic people, which has enabled him to reliably describe the thoughts of a child with this condition.

The story begins when Christopher finds his neighbor's dog dead in the garden, and is initially blamed for the event. From here on, the routine and order that Christopher had created around his life gradually crumble while he investigates who was the real murderer of the dog.

The brilliance of the novel lies in Mark Haddon's choice of narrator: torturous and emotional moments are described by a child who cannot imagine the emotion. The effect is stunning, making for a funny and moving story, while also giving us a point different view of human behavior and helps us understand how an autistic person thinks, lives and feels.

Locked in their world, there is great difficulty in being able to communicate with people with autism, and it can be an almost impossible task. impossible to understand the reason for his strange actions, exaggerated reactions or his impassive behavior regarding different stimuli. Haddon tries to capture the ideas and reasoning that Christopher has throughout the events that happen in his life, events seen from a totally different perspective than what we are used to.

An educational and enjoyable read

The curious incident of the dog at midnight it lacks long and tedious descriptions, and its reading becomes agile thanks to the dialogues between the characters and the simple explanations of the protagonist. In addition, among the plot of the story, you can find mathematical and logical proofs, as the explanation to monty hall problem, both scientific and historical curiosities such as cottingley fairies, and some literary references, especially to Sherlock Holmes novels.

A totally recommendable book for those people interested in autism, since they will learn in a pleasant and playful what it really entails to experience this behavior disorder without necessarily resorting to manuals theoretical.