The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is an adult fiction novel that was written by Mark Haddon. This novel is written in first-person and follows the thoughts of a young boy named Christopher John Francis Boone whose symptoms suggest that he has Autism (Asperger's Syndrome). The story is set in 1998 in and around Swindon, and London England. The first time I read this novel was in grade 12 and I fell in love with it right away. Shockingly, reading this was my first learning experience regarding people with Asperger's Syndrome and I found it so interesting.
This novel opens with the narrator, Christopher, finding Wellington, a poodle belonging to Mrs. Shears, dead on her lawn with a golden fork stuck through its side at seven minutes past midnight. Finding this dog made Christopher very intrigued as to who would do this, and why. Christopher frequently leaves the story and explains things about himself or situations. It is never stated that he has Asperger's Syndrome but it is very obviously suggested by his hobbies, characteristics, lack of interest regarding any socializing, etc. He states that he has difficulty reading people's facial expressions; he can only read "happy" or "sad," he can name every country in the world including their capital cities, and he knows every prime number up to 7,057. The story resumes to Christopher in Mrs. Shears's lawn where he pulls the fork out of the dog and lifts it up. Mrs. Shears shows up on the patio and screams at Christopher to get away from her dog, resulting in Christopher curling up in a ball and covering his ears (first behavioural sign of someone with Autism). Mrs. Shears seems to think that Christopher is the one who killed Wellington, so she calls the police and they arrest him. Christopher's father shows up at the station and greets him with his hand fanned out, so Christopher can fan his out as well, as they touch (this is what they do instead of hug because Christopher does not like to be touched), and he gets him out of the station and takes him home. At home, Christopher finds his father crying in the living room and asks him if he is sad about Wellington, his father stares at him and responds, "yes." Christopher believes this, which is another sign of his lack of social awareness. Leaving the story again, he mentions that his mother died two years ago from a heart problem and that his father never let him visit her in the hospital. The novel continues with Christopher investigating the murder of Wellington, and leaving the story to talk more about himself and his life, including arguments that his parents used to have, how Mrs. Shears would sleep over after his mother had died, and how his father would get very angry whenever Mr. Shears (who left Mrs. Shears) was brought up in conversation. Christopher discovered many things while investigating this murder, including that his mother and Mr. Shears had an affair, his father and Mrs. Shears had an affair, his father lied about his mother's death (he hid many letters that his mother had written to him); she is actually alive living in London with Mr. Shears, and that his father killed Wellington. Christopher does not trust his father after finding this out and runs away on a train to London where on his journey, he overcomes many obstacles. The novel concludes with Christopher reuniting with his mother in London, rebuilding a new relationship with his father, and coming to the realization that he can do whatever he sets his mind to, regardless of his limitations.
I loved reading this book. The abrupt opening with Wellington's death caught my attention right away and Christopher's writing style kept my engaged. I like reading things that are straight to the point and blunt on occasion and that is what this novel consists of because of the fact that Christopher has Autism. He mentions that he can list every prime number up to 7, 057, so, every chapter is numbered as a prime number, therefore the chapter numbers do not go in normal numerical order starting from one. I also really liked all of the hidden meanings behind the story, which for me were that Christopher was struggling with his own independence, the way in which he handled situations, and loss. There is an extremely noticeable difference in Christopher's independence and the way in which he handles situations from the beginning to the end of the novel. There were a few times where when Christopher felt uncomfortable because of social situations he would cover his ears, lay on the ground, and curl up into a ball. He made it very clear that he does not like being around people or being touched. His father would have to greet him with his hand sprawled out like a fan so they could touch palms but later in the novel when Christopher finds all of his mother's letters, he is sick to his stomach and his father's touch does not effect him at all. His adventure at the train station and on the train resulted in many overcomings. There are obviously many people at a train station, and instead of curling into a ball on the ground, Christopher pretended like he was in a video game and that all of the people around him were guards. This action shows that he has matured a little bit and had enough courage to think of a way to deal with something that was very difficult for him. I really enjoyed learning about his character development, and it was so very refreshing to read about someone with Autism learning to cope; many people do not find the courage to do this. Lastly, Christopher had to cope with the emotional torment of learning that both his parents were having affairs, his mother was not in fact dead, and that his father was lying about his mother and also killed Wellington. It must have been hard enough thinking that his mother had passed away, never mind finding out that his own father lied about it. Showing emotion is not something Christopher does, so he copes in very unique ways (as I imagine many people with Autism would). He likes to get his mind off of things by engaging himself in activities he enjoys and thinking of logical explanations for everything. For example, Christopher's pet rat, Toby, dies in the novel and he copes by acknowledging that Toby lived a long life, and he is getting a new dog named Sandy. This way of coping is quite wonderful actually and many people can learn from this mindset. Thus novel was a light read but also a read that taught me a lot about people with Autism and I loved it.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone and everyone above the age of about 12. It is a great adult fiction with so many opportunities to interpret it in different ways. I learned a lot about people with Autism (specifically Asperger's Syndrome); it definitely expanded my knowledge. The plot is interesting, engaging, and entertaining, and Christopher's thoughts are so interesting to read about.
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