Source: www.amazon.com |
As I finished this book I decided I would talk about the format of the book and the layout. The book was written as if it was Christopher, so it has a very quirky layout. For example all of the chapter numbers are prime. he says that he prefers this because he loves math and his favorite numbers are prime numbers. This choice adds a personal aspect to the book and shows how this book is almost written in Christopher's point of view. To explain his choice of prime numbers he said, "Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them." (Haddon 12)
Another thing about this book which makes it more personal to Christopher's life is the use of drawings and diagrams. Throughout the book the author adds pictures of the things Christopher is seeing and experiencing to make it feel as if you are there with him. In addition to adding to the ability for the reader to connect to the book, it also shows some of the ways in which he thinks differently than other people. Christopher has a different brain than other people, he has a nearly photogenic memory and can do complex things all in his head such as advanced math or even creating maps. To show some of his skills the book includes illustrations of some of the things he does in hid mind and some of the things he sketches. Below is an example of one of the maps he made while visiting the zoo. He did not complete this while he was there rather off his memory afterwards.
Source: www.slideshare.net |
I like books that are interactive like this. It's a cool approach.
ReplyDelete