The review of the fascinating book I just finished...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)

The incident that the curious title alludes to occurs right at the beginning when a dog is discovered stabbed to death in his owner’s garden by Christopher, our hero of the book. At first it seems like a mystery as Christopher begins his hunt for the killer, despite suspicions it was him, and his dad’s urging to stay out of other people’s business. It’s not long before the reader understands that the real mystery is about the loss of Christopher’s mother. However, the twist element with Christopher is that he is Autistic. He’s very intelligent when it comes to math, but when it comes to understanding the world around him he has trouble distinguishing what is going on because he always sees things at face-value. And here’s where the interest really lies with this book. Haddon does a wonderful job putting the reader in the mind of an autistic boy like Christopher, demonstrating a wonderful use of voice. And Haddon manages to allow the story to flow so that the reader understands what is going on even if Christopher cannot. The book is very, very good. A+

And for my last act, I will review this book...

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Maggie O’Farrell)

This book is a tangled juxtaposition of multiple perspectives, including the title character Esme Lennox, great-aunt to Iris Lockhart. Iris is juggling an affair and some long harbored feelings for her “adopted brother” Alex when she discovers her grandmother Kitty has a sister (enter: Esme). Esme's been out of the picture for 60 some odd years because she’s been locked away in a mental hospital, which is now closing. She is thus thrust into the care of her closest (and healthiest, as Kitty has Alzheimer’s) relative’s care. Are you following the plot so far? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the book is about revealing why Esme was locked up and there is some interesting twists so I will go no further revealing the plot.

While I think the author intended this book to be a play on narrative form, at times it's kind of a mess to follow. There are multiple elements to each of Esme and Iris’ stories. Each could get their own sections to be explained but instead they are all mixed up. I felt like I was constantly jumping from the mind of Esme (both young and old), seeing the past and present world through her eyes, and then trying to read through the incomplete memories of Alzheimer’s Kitty, along with following the drama of Iris’s situation while she tries to absorb the knowledge of this new addition to her family. Because of this, I thought the characters were hard to empathize with and that only takes away from the ending, which in retrospect is intricate and intriguing.

The style of writing is eloquent. It reminds me of The Awakening, mixed with The Yellow Wall-Paper. The writer was clearly influenced by Chopin’s use of the sea as a metaphor and catalyst for her heroines. There’s also a Gothic-ness to the story, with the family secrets and issues of madness. Overall, it’s not terribly long, so I read through it in a couple sittings. If you enjoy Chopin, and Gothic literature, then you would probably enjoy this book. However, I would have preferred a steadier storyline with fewer jumps in time and perspective. B-