THIRD THURSDAY BOOK CLUB...
 
...will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 16th at the home of Berkeley and Mike McCaleb
 

In July we will be discussing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by author Mark Haddon.  If you haven't read this delightful book that was first published five years ago, you will be in for a treat.  The hero of Haddon's debut novel is 15-year-old Christopher Boone, an autistic math genius who has just discovered the dead body of his neighbor's poodle, Wellington.  Wellington was killed with a garden fork, and Christopher decides that, like his idol Sherlock Holmes, he's going to find the killer. 

Wellington's owner, Mrs. Shears, refuses to speak to Christopher about the matter, and his father tells him to stop investigating.  But there is another mystery involving Christopher's mother, who died two years ago.  So why does Siobhan, Christopher's social worker, react with surprise when Christopher mentions her death?  And why does Christopher's father hate Mrs. Shears' estranged husband?  The mystery of Wellington's death begins to unveil the answers to questions in his own life, and Christopher, who is unable to grasp even the most basic emotions, struggles with the reality of a startling deception.  

Narrated by the unusual and endearing Christopher, who alternates between analyzing mathematical equations and astronomy and contemplating the deaths of Wellington and his mother, the novel is both fresh and inventive.  Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book.  I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor.  The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice.
 
This book is a selection of Santa Barbara Public Library's Book Club in a Bag, so we have ten copies to hand out to the first ten people who respond.  To sign up for the discussion and to pick up your copy, email Polly Clement or call her.  Directions will be given in response to your email.  We'll meet at Berkeley and Mike's Hope Ranch home.  Snacks, sweets and wine will be served and a donation of $3 is requested to cover costs.  We hope to see you there.