‘The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shears’ house. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. ‘ The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, & narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen & has Asperger’s, a form of autism. He knows a very great deal about maths & very small about human beings. He loves lists, patterns & the truth. He hates the colours yellow & brown & being touched. He has not gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down. Christopher is a brilliant creation, & Mark Haddon’s depiction of his world is deeply moving, very funny & utterly convincing. The novel is being released simultaneously for adults by Jonathan Cape & for children by David Fickling, publisher of Philip Pullman. We are convinced that both audiences will recognise it as one of those very rare books that change the way you see everything. Mark Haddon’s bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts–one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted & socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child’s quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, & is unable into sort out the strange behavior of his elders & peers.
Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor’s poodle, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork. Wellington’s owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, & has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves–against the objection of his father & neighbors–to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, into write a book about his investigations, & the result–quirkily illustrated, with each chapter given its own prime number–is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Haddon’s novel is a startling performance. This is the sort of book that could turn condescending, or exploitative, or overly sentimental, or grossly tasteless very easily, but Haddon navigates those dangers with a sureness of touch that is extremely rare among first-time novelists. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is original, clever, & genuinely moving: this one is a must-read. –Jack Illingworth, Amazon. ca
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Adult Edition
Mark Haddon has written a moving novel about love and bravery through the eyes of a British autistic boy. Christopher discovers his neighbor’s poodle dead, impaled by a pitchfork, and, because he adores puzzles, he sets out to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington . But Christopher is autistic, a boy who doesn’t like to be touched and cannot decipher emotions beyond the tools his teacher has taught him, and so the task requires the huge effort of testing rules and facing his own fears. A literalist by neurology, he deconstructs life into a set of mathematical equations and physical laws. This unique perspective makes him a good detective on one level, where clues and logic rule, but it also fails him on another, higher one because he cannot understand the magnitude of what he uncovers.
That Haddon was able to write a book from Christopher’s point of view with all his quirks and still make him lovable is extraordinary. By necessity, the writing is simple and unadorned, but the language of details elevates it from the mundane. The insertion of mathematical puzzles and drawings add to the reader’s understanding of how Christopher’s mind works. Haddon’s real skill is an understatement that allows the reader to comprehend what is going on even if Christopher cannot. Although Christopher cannot grasp subtlety and nuances, the reader can, and that’s where the true force of this exceptional novel lies.
This short, easy to read book can be completed in a couple of sittings, although its impact will last much longer. Highly recommended for a general readership.
Rating: 5 / 5
What I loved about this book is the graceful way Haddon uses the literal mind of Christopher to develop our understanding of his life. No neurotypical person may ever fully grasp the working of the autistic mind. We must rely on them to tell us, and as we see with Christopher, the viewpoint is told in language quite different from the words we neurotypicals usually use for description. Many books written by parents or teachers of autistic people tell what they see in their neurotypical words. Christopher tells us from his words and his descriptions. Very clever. Does Haddon get all the details precisely right? Perhaps people with autism in a book group discussion might be able to tell us that.
I must respectfully disagree with the parent of a child with Asperger Syndrome whose rating of this book gave it only a “1. “
I, too, have a child with Asperger Syndrome, and I found Haddon’s novel to be an entertaining read, a fine story, and a rare peek inside the workings of my son’s mind. Certainly Christopher isn’t my child — just as every literary hero or heroine is not an exact replica of a true life man or woman. I found surprising insight in how Christopher tells his story . . . and it is insight into my own son and the other people I know who have autism. Christopher’s eating preferences, literal thinking, sensory difficulties, and math facts as a calming technique seem quite accurate.
As to the comment about savant capabilities. People with Asperger Syndrome must have a perseverating interest; it is part of the psychiatric diagnosis. In creating a character whose interest is math, Haddon hasn’t done “rainman” sterotyping, nor is he creating a circus freak to entertain us. He’s shown us into one character’s world. This world fascinates those of us who are not quite so gifted. How many of us say, “I hate math,” or “I don’t do math?” Christopher, whose experience in the Tube station reads like a bad dream, effortlessly performs difficult “maths. ” His world is just opposite that of mine.
Christopher’s “maths” also represent hope. Math is what is good and constant and dependable to him. And, it is marketable! Dr. Temple Grandin, (a famous woman with autism) speaks about this at conferences. When an autistic person has a special interest, we are to nurture it . . . it may be their career one day.
As to the relationship of the parents. Anyone with a disabled or ill child will tell you that it takes a toll on your marriage. To ignor that is to hide your head in the sand. Do they all end chaotically? Certainly not. But, is that good drama? Would that draw us into a book? The parent’s broken relationship and the raging affect to which Christopher is oblivious illustrate beautifully how little the autistic mind picks up on what neurotypicals take for granted. But, by doing his methodical detective work, Christopher nearly independently walks through the minefield his Mom and Dad have created. How very, very clever he is!
I have a new insight into the fascinating way that my son’s mind might work. This novel fits well into both my literature and my autism resource bookshelves. A must read for everyone, but especially for people who live and work with people who have autism.
Rating: 5 / 5
I doubt my review will be worth anything, what with there being 1,400-plus reviews already. But I thought I should tell of my opinion seeing as I am mildly autistic myself, & have interacted with other autistic beings from all across the spectrum.
I’m sure you already know what this book is focused on: a 15-year-old boy named Christopher, plagued by a case of autism more severe than my own, & he plays the literal-minded narrator. Indeed the author pulls very hard to make Christopher sound like an authentic autistic person, & I can’t say he failed. This story is more about him than the murdered dog, his family’s turmoil, anything.
& yet I had a very hard time liking Christopher. His character never shines a single moment of empathy for others. Very bluntly he tells his audience of the people surrounding him, but his voice holds such devoid distance as if these people are hollow shells not quite alive. At one point in the story, a torn person pleas for Christopher to hold their hand. . . just this once, & Christopher refuses apathically.
I strongly dislike being touched, however I will suck it up & allow myself to be touched or even reach out to hug someone if I feel they truly need it.
As much as I know that these are the lines that separate the mild from the severe cases, it still remains hard for me to feel for Christopher knowing that he cannot feel for others beyond himself. (On another note, some people with autism are known to feel physical pain with skin to skin contact. Christopher never mentions such a thing, so it seems clear that he `feels’ like me when it comes to touching. )
Despite this stoic nature, the story unfolds in such a way that others’ emotions bleed through the pages via bits of dialog & in their simple actions. The situation is a tender one & very raw at its root.
At the same time I found the other characters unlikable as well. While it becomes lucid later, Christ’s father seems to cage his son, banning his curiosity. In a turning point of the mystery behind Wellington the poodle’s murder, something harsh is revealed about the father that places him in a very ugly light.
- – spoiler – -
As for Christopher’s estranged mother, let me spell for you a summary of her explanation letters: `I’m so sorry I had to leave you Christopher, but you must understand that you are an unbearable child. I hated my life & it was all your fault. ‘ Not to mention the fact that she flatly abandoned him in the first place.
But all this ugliness makes for a very raw & potent read. Each of these characters in their flaws feels very real.
& the simplistic, blunt writing style itself feels very fresh & novel.
I just wish people would stop saying `this book is an insight into the autistic mind. ‘
This book is an insight into ONE autistic mind. We are each very different people. Just from this review you should be able to understand that.
Rating: 3 / 5
This book will knock your socks off! I guarentee you’ve never read anything like this before. Christopher gives Rain Man a run for his money!
Mark Haddon has done a superb job of creating the character of Autistic Christopher. What’s more, as you start reading, he’s not a character any longer, he’s real. . . In this book Christopher has found his neighbor’s dog murdered, so he decides to play detective, like his idol Sherlock Holmes, and find out who killed him. So begins the journey, which actually leads into ta much larger adventure, as Christopher begins to uncover that things in his life are not as they seem. You see, Christopher may be autistic, but he’s a wiz at math and science and he’s also unusually perceptive. The way Haddon goes through Chris’s thought process and daily activities is pure genius. And to add depth to the story, I found his parents & some of the other characters in this book, also very “real”. There aren’t any perfect people in this book, this is real life.
I sincerely recommend this book to you. It’s a quick read at only 220 pages, and the wit at which Haddon writes, makes those pages fly by. Very rarely does a book make me laugh out-loud, and this book did that several times. Bravo!
Rating: 5 / 5
Mark Haddon has written a moving novel about love and bravery through the eyes of a British autistic boy. Christopher discovers his neighbor’s poodle dead, impaled by a pitchfork, and, because he adores puzzles, he sets out to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington . But Christopher is autistic, a boy who doesn’t like to be touched and cannot decipher emotions beyond the tools his teacher has taught him, and so the task requires the huge effort of testing rules and facing his own fears. A literalist by neurology, he deconstructs life into a set of mathematical equations and physical laws. This unique perspective makes him a good detective on one level, where clues and logic rule, but it also fails him on another, higher one because he cannot understand the magnitude of what he uncovers.
That Haddon was able to write a book from Christopher’s point of view with all his quirks and still make him lovable is extraordinary. By necessity, the writing is simple and unadorned, but the language of details elevates it from the mundane. The insertion of mathematical puzzles and drawings add to the reader’s understanding of how Christopher’s mind works. Haddon’s real skill is an understatement that allows the reader to comprehend what is going on even if Christopher cannot. Although Christopher cannot grasp subtlety and nuances, the reader can, and that’s where the true force of this exceptional novel lies.
This short, easy to read book can be completed in a couple of sittings, although its impact will last much longer. Highly recommended for a general readership.
Rating: 5 / 5