The curious incident of the dog in the night-time, by Mark Haddon – the latest book in the “Best Sellers” list – is tells the story of 15 year old Christopher John Francis Boone. Christopher knows all the countries of the world and their capitals, and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals, but cannot understand human emotions. He lives on patterns, rules and timetables. Then one day, his neighbour’s dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructed universe is threatened.
“The Curious….” is not yet another Catcher-in-the-Rye. Christopher is not a rebel against the establishment. He is a (rather eccentric) genius and loves mathematics. He lives with his father, but is always in an autistic world of his own. His only confidant is his teacher, Siobhan, and his only friend is his pet rat, Toby. He dislikes a lot of things - people touching him, crowds, France, the colours yellow and brown (he refuses to touch anything that is yellow or brown), …and telling lies. Wellington’s death changes his world, and Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective Sherlock Holmes – a decision which leads him on an adventure to London, and learn the truth about his mother. All’s well that ends well, as Christopher gets what he wants.
Haddon’s narrative takes us through the mind of the 15-year old genius, as if one were reading the child’s diary. It has a remarkable freshness. He holds the reader to the book, with his expert weaving of the thoughts of the boy into paper. Christopher is too logical to understand about love and emotion. He looks at the physical world as it is. He cannot comprehend the complexity of the relationships around him. To an extent, Christopher’s selfishness – he just wants to sit for his A Level Maths exam - is impervious to the explosive emotional situations around him – and it is this selfishness that saves him and his family, in the end.
The narrative is interspersed with Christopher’s random thoughts – the universe, the prime numbers, why “The Hound of Baskervilles” is such a great book, The Monty Hall Problem, why the number of frogs in a pond keep varying year by year, and so on. The readers lose themselves in Christopher’s magical world of numbers.
Maybe there have been better works on children, such as “The Catcher in the Rye” or “To Kill a Mocking Bird”. But “The Curious…” is not far behind – it’s definitely a must read.
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time – the title of the book is taken from the Sherlock Holmes story, Silver Blaze. Holmes is investigating the disappearance of the race horse, Silver Blaze.
He brings to the notice of Dr. Watson,”The curious incident of the dog in the night-time”.
Watson says: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
"That was the curious incident," remarks Sherlock Holmes.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Sunday, August 01, 2004
The ICC Champions Trophy: A Sports Diary
Fri, 10/09/04: It’s back to SET Max and you-know-who…And what better way to enjoy it than sit at home on a week’s vacation? The fare meted out is not much to talk about, though. To their credit, the USA starts off well, strangling the Kiwis in the initial overs, before Astle and McMillan run berserk. At Edgbaston, Zimbabwe (who even lost to the US in a practice match a few days earlier), threaten to make a match out of a mismatch against England. The Englishmen look as if they are on the Silverstone racecourse, rather than a cricket pitch – and then, rain intervenes.
Sat 11/09/04: A big day for India – from what Mandira and Co. reckons. This is nothing short of Armageddon. Nothing much has changed…Ganguly feasts on the Kenyan attack, and Dravid gets what he wanted – the wicket keeping gloves off his hand. Nothing has changed…certainly not Sehwag (don’t ask me what he was planning to do with that shot) and Agarkar. Rather than bowl out Kenya and get some valuable “net run rate”, Ganguly prefers to give his dibbly-dobblies a go at the Kenyans. India wins by 98 runs, and Mandira is now talking of how the team is ‘gelling as a unit” and is “back to winning days”.
Sun 12/09/04: It’s raining here in Cochin. But it certainly is not raining runs. Bangladesh doesn’t cross 100. The match is over before the blink of an eye. The only thing worth watching is Mandira’s dress – the straps are getting thinner each day. Today’s the thinnest! Eagerly waiting for tomorrow….
Mon 13/09/2004: Disappointment! Mandira comes “fully dressed”. The Aussies go about dissecting the US. There’s a hilarious moment on the field though. Nasir Javed, on his debut for the US, is rapped on the pads the third ball he faces. A vociferous appeal from Jason Gillespie is turned down. Arun Lal offers his expert comments: “Javed has this habit of putting his foot forward in the line of the delivery”. ‘Habit’???
Tue 14/09/2004: This tournament has so far had the misfortune of putting people to sleep. Sri Lanka seems to be sleepwalking through their game against Zimbabwe, until Elton Chigumbura sounds a rude wake-up call. To their credit, the Lankans don’t fall off to sleep again.
Wed 15/09/2004: Oh dear! I’m forced to miss the matches on TV.
Thu 16/09/2004: The first of the big matches. The Trans-Tasman tussle may not be an Indo-Pak rivalry, but the Aussies have always found New Zealand, a thorn in their flesh. Nathan Astle starts off from where he stopped against the US. Soon, he’s brought back to the earth by the ‘old lion’ – McGrath. The rest of the Kiwis follow (remember the ‘bicycle stand’?). Charu Sharma rants and raves about how totals in the 190s are viewed skeptically by teams all over the world. The Aussies don’t seem to agree. With all the spend-your-time-at-the-crease-runs-will-automatically-come talk going around, Andrew Symonds belts his first scoring shot into the stands. Its game, set and match.
Fri 17/09/2004: The hide-and-seek for TV rights continues in India. A different hide-and-seek is being witnessed in the England – this involves the weather. The Sri Lankan fielding looks as if they have come straight off an Amul Butter ad. Undeterred by the fielding, the Sri Lankan bowlers toil to reduce England to 118/3, before rain intervenes. It seems like the English honeymoon is finally over – but the “Great White Hope” (read as Andrew Flintoff) is still there at the crease.
Sat 18/09/2004: You don’t drop Freddie and get away with it, as Mahela Jayawardene finds out. Soon it begins to rain sixes. The Lankans would have liked to go off citing bad weather. They do…but by then it’s too late. They are saved the blushes of being bowled out for a paltry total!
Somewhere else, South Africa seems to be applying the screws on the West Indies. Herschelle Gibbs comes good at last – thanks to a pizza he has eaten – but all the good work is undone by some “not-so-dangerous” bowlers – like Chris Gayle. And when everything seems to point to an interesting encounter, rain intervenes for the umpteenth time.
Sun 19/09/2004: Mandira is wearing the National Flag, and that means its D-Day!! Due to my lousy vacation plans, I’ll be traveling when the action takes place! In the bus, I’m forced to watch “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” (that too for the third time)! By the time I receive the shocking news, I take solace from the fact that watching anything is better than watching India lose to Pakistan.
Tue 21/09/2004: You just can’t understand the English! “Bring on the Aussies!”, they shouted throughout the summer. And when the Aussies are brought on, half the ground is empty. What begins as Flintoff v Aussies, soon turns into England v Australia. Freddie is lucky to get a bat in the middle. For England, it’s time to party. For the Aussies, the jinx continues…
Wed 22/09/2004: Forget India or Australia. There’s nothing better than to see Pakistan losing! Brian Lara can’t hide his smile after Inzamam-ul-Haq, lazily, opts to bat after winning the toss. It’s all over by the time I reach home.
Sat 25/09/2004: It’s the big day. It’s England’s party, and the West Indies is not invited. The celebrations have already begun at the Oval, as Shivnarine Chanderpaul holes out to Michael Vaughan in the covers. It’s just the bowlers - Ian Bradshaw and Corey Collymore - to come, and victory is just around the corner. But the West Indies have a last ace up their sleeves. Along with Courtney Browne, Bradshaw begins to plod around, picking up singles. Harmison and Flintoff come and go. Incredibly, the West Indians survive. Soon, confidence turns to desperation for England. Darren Gough comes in for a last hurray – for him, the world ends not in a bang, but a whimper. Alex Wharf is the last hope. And that’s exactly what he turns out to be – the ‘last hope’. Five balls later, the Bradshaw goes on his knees and thumps the air. What a win!!
But spare a thought for the others who tried…A magnificent century from Marcus Trescothick, which gave England a fighting chance; A stingy spell by Wavell Hinds, that broke the back of the English middle order; Brian Lara, who threw himself at every ball that came his way; Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s brave innings holding up one end; Andrew Strauss’s one handed effort to dismiss Ramnaresh Sarwan; Stephen Harmison and Andrew Flintoff’s fiery spells; and last, but not the least, spare a thought for ‘The King of Spain’ (as Ashley Giles was mistakenly referred to on the the mugs in the Edgbaston Shop), who after mounting that rescue act with Trescothick, never even got a bowl! A blazing finale to a damp(literally) tournament.
Sun 26/07/2004: The Champions’ Trophy is now forgotten. We are still not sure whether we’ll get to see any more cricket action this year, be it against Australia (courtesy BCCI-Zee-ESPN) or against South Africa (courtesy Gibbs-Boje). But then cricket’s no more the flavour of the day. The country is more interested in Tennis…yeah, me too.
Can someone tell me what the heck a “tennis elbow” is?
P.S: The opinions expressed in the above diary are those of a frustrated cricket fan, and cannot be generalized to any group of individuals
Sat 11/09/04: A big day for India – from what Mandira and Co. reckons. This is nothing short of Armageddon. Nothing much has changed…Ganguly feasts on the Kenyan attack, and Dravid gets what he wanted – the wicket keeping gloves off his hand. Nothing has changed…certainly not Sehwag (don’t ask me what he was planning to do with that shot) and Agarkar. Rather than bowl out Kenya and get some valuable “net run rate”, Ganguly prefers to give his dibbly-dobblies a go at the Kenyans. India wins by 98 runs, and Mandira is now talking of how the team is ‘gelling as a unit” and is “back to winning days”.
Sun 12/09/04: It’s raining here in Cochin. But it certainly is not raining runs. Bangladesh doesn’t cross 100. The match is over before the blink of an eye. The only thing worth watching is Mandira’s dress – the straps are getting thinner each day. Today’s the thinnest! Eagerly waiting for tomorrow….
Mon 13/09/2004: Disappointment! Mandira comes “fully dressed”. The Aussies go about dissecting the US. There’s a hilarious moment on the field though. Nasir Javed, on his debut for the US, is rapped on the pads the third ball he faces. A vociferous appeal from Jason Gillespie is turned down. Arun Lal offers his expert comments: “Javed has this habit of putting his foot forward in the line of the delivery”. ‘Habit’???
Tue 14/09/2004: This tournament has so far had the misfortune of putting people to sleep. Sri Lanka seems to be sleepwalking through their game against Zimbabwe, until Elton Chigumbura sounds a rude wake-up call. To their credit, the Lankans don’t fall off to sleep again.
Wed 15/09/2004: Oh dear! I’m forced to miss the matches on TV.
Thu 16/09/2004: The first of the big matches. The Trans-Tasman tussle may not be an Indo-Pak rivalry, but the Aussies have always found New Zealand, a thorn in their flesh. Nathan Astle starts off from where he stopped against the US. Soon, he’s brought back to the earth by the ‘old lion’ – McGrath. The rest of the Kiwis follow (remember the ‘bicycle stand’?). Charu Sharma rants and raves about how totals in the 190s are viewed skeptically by teams all over the world. The Aussies don’t seem to agree. With all the spend-your-time-at-the-crease-runs-will-automatically-come talk going around, Andrew Symonds belts his first scoring shot into the stands. Its game, set and match.
Fri 17/09/2004: The hide-and-seek for TV rights continues in India. A different hide-and-seek is being witnessed in the England – this involves the weather. The Sri Lankan fielding looks as if they have come straight off an Amul Butter ad. Undeterred by the fielding, the Sri Lankan bowlers toil to reduce England to 118/3, before rain intervenes. It seems like the English honeymoon is finally over – but the “Great White Hope” (read as Andrew Flintoff) is still there at the crease.
Sat 18/09/2004: You don’t drop Freddie and get away with it, as Mahela Jayawardene finds out. Soon it begins to rain sixes. The Lankans would have liked to go off citing bad weather. They do…but by then it’s too late. They are saved the blushes of being bowled out for a paltry total!
Somewhere else, South Africa seems to be applying the screws on the West Indies. Herschelle Gibbs comes good at last – thanks to a pizza he has eaten – but all the good work is undone by some “not-so-dangerous” bowlers – like Chris Gayle. And when everything seems to point to an interesting encounter, rain intervenes for the umpteenth time.
Sun 19/09/2004: Mandira is wearing the National Flag, and that means its D-Day!! Due to my lousy vacation plans, I’ll be traveling when the action takes place! In the bus, I’m forced to watch “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” (that too for the third time)! By the time I receive the shocking news, I take solace from the fact that watching anything is better than watching India lose to Pakistan.
Tue 21/09/2004: You just can’t understand the English! “Bring on the Aussies!”, they shouted throughout the summer. And when the Aussies are brought on, half the ground is empty. What begins as Flintoff v Aussies, soon turns into England v Australia. Freddie is lucky to get a bat in the middle. For England, it’s time to party. For the Aussies, the jinx continues…
Wed 22/09/2004: Forget India or Australia. There’s nothing better than to see Pakistan losing! Brian Lara can’t hide his smile after Inzamam-ul-Haq, lazily, opts to bat after winning the toss. It’s all over by the time I reach home.
Sat 25/09/2004: It’s the big day. It’s England’s party, and the West Indies is not invited. The celebrations have already begun at the Oval, as Shivnarine Chanderpaul holes out to Michael Vaughan in the covers. It’s just the bowlers - Ian Bradshaw and Corey Collymore - to come, and victory is just around the corner. But the West Indies have a last ace up their sleeves. Along with Courtney Browne, Bradshaw begins to plod around, picking up singles. Harmison and Flintoff come and go. Incredibly, the West Indians survive. Soon, confidence turns to desperation for England. Darren Gough comes in for a last hurray – for him, the world ends not in a bang, but a whimper. Alex Wharf is the last hope. And that’s exactly what he turns out to be – the ‘last hope’. Five balls later, the Bradshaw goes on his knees and thumps the air. What a win!!
But spare a thought for the others who tried…A magnificent century from Marcus Trescothick, which gave England a fighting chance; A stingy spell by Wavell Hinds, that broke the back of the English middle order; Brian Lara, who threw himself at every ball that came his way; Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s brave innings holding up one end; Andrew Strauss’s one handed effort to dismiss Ramnaresh Sarwan; Stephen Harmison and Andrew Flintoff’s fiery spells; and last, but not the least, spare a thought for ‘The King of Spain’ (as Ashley Giles was mistakenly referred to on the the mugs in the Edgbaston Shop), who after mounting that rescue act with Trescothick, never even got a bowl! A blazing finale to a damp(literally) tournament.
Sun 26/07/2004: The Champions’ Trophy is now forgotten. We are still not sure whether we’ll get to see any more cricket action this year, be it against Australia (courtesy BCCI-Zee-ESPN) or against South Africa (courtesy Gibbs-Boje). But then cricket’s no more the flavour of the day. The country is more interested in Tennis…yeah, me too.
Can someone tell me what the heck a “tennis elbow” is?
P.S: The opinions expressed in the above diary are those of a frustrated cricket fan, and cannot be generalized to any group of individuals
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