dandelionfiles

at least I read one. I've just had a run of bad luck. (I would avoid The Devil in the White City and Ahab's Wife. Too much serial killer in the first, too much smugness in the second, not enough architecture in either.)
That good book is... The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. If I were to tell you that it's written from the point of view of an autistic teenager who sets out to find who killed the neighbor's dog, you'd probably think, Not the old Sound and the Fury trick again! But let me reassure you that at no point will you have to consult Masterplots. (I finished this book in three hours.)
Everything about this book is amazing. Our hero, Christopher Boone, in spite of being completely unable to comprehend other human beings' emotions, feelings, etc., is a remarkable, courageous and thoughtful person. (I have to add that I also found him charming in his obsessively mathematical way, but in the interest of full disclosure I should say that Grissom is my favorite character on CSI, so I don't mind a little autism in my protagonists. His love of the Sherlock Holmes stories mirrors mine as well.) The other characters, in spite of Christopher's complete inability to understand their motives (and his is the only perspective you have), manage to come across as fully human -- a sign to me that this writer knows what he's doing. (I would tell you the other character that I thought was well-done, but that would constitute a pretty big spoiler.) The plot has enough twists and turns to satisfy those who picked it up thinking, Oh, an homage to Sherlock Holmes then, must be a mystery. There is also adventure and danger (and mathematics), and the ending is as satisfying as it could possibly be.
I know this was a bestseller five years ago or something, but I'm remedial on pop culture like that. All I can say is, if you haven't read this, please do so immediately. Thanks for your time.
I am cooking up an essay on Stephen Jay Gould's The Mismeasure of Man at my own blog as well. It should be ready for viewing and rotten vegetable throwing soon.