The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This is the first time chapter numbering has made me laugh, and I feel a strange compulsion to be very precise about things.
What an amazing book. Purely from a technical point of view it strikes me as an incredible undertaking to maintain such an idiosyncratic voice throughout the story. Despite this the story flows with consummate ease. The lack of expressed emotion serves very well to amplify those instances where it is evident around the main character, and I couldn’t help but feel the sadness and frustration of such a difficult situation. It made me laugh in places, and then wonder whether I should feel guilty for laughing. It brought a lump to my throat in places too.
If you love stories read this book. If you love maths read this book. In fact, put this book on the maths syllabus for teaching probability as it gives an excellent illustration of why 50:50 isn’t necessarily 50:50. Long live the Monty Hall problem.
A work of genius.