April Meeting Recap

We enjoyed some yummy Rumbi food while discussing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. We talked a lot about how frustrating it must be for parents to have a child who can't express love in all the usual ways, like a hug. We thought the dad was a very strong person, even though he made some decisions that we questioned. He was put into a situation where he had to come through, so he did the best he could. Perhaps this is part of his jealousy toward the dog. The woman he loves doesn't love him back, but she loves the dog. His son can't show his love. This is a man who does not have love, but the dog does. All of his anger built up and the dog paid the price.

We went into the novel thinking that it was about the mystery of the dog's murder. However, things turn as the investigation leads Christopher to discover the truth about his mother, the story changes for the reader. However, Christopher stays focused on the dog. His story is about the dog's murder, and all this other stuff is a side-effect of the investigation. Everything centers around the dog, even his decision to seek out his mother. He is scared of his father because of what Dad did to the dog.

We found Christopher's sense of companionship with animals very interesting. We constantly worried about the rat, and were pretty amazed when he risked his life to save it. He also picked up the dog's body and hugged it, something he would never do with a human being.

We wondered about the realism of the book. We were impressed with the author's ability to show us the inner-workings of a person living with Asberger's, but we wondered whether or not a person like Christopher would be able to take so many risks and overcome those phobias that quickly.

We found ourselves worried for Christopher throughout the book because of all the newness he was experiencing. It seemed inevitable that he would become so spooked that he hurt someone else or himself. That was a constant source of suspense as Christopher made his way through a scary world.