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Book Review | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Rating

3 stars – an interesting insight into Asperger’s Syndrome – but the bad language lets it down

Description

Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions.

Why did you choose to read this book?

It’s been sitting on my book case for many months now – but a friend recommend I read it so I dusted off the cover and settled down…

The Book Review

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery narrated by 15 year old Christopher Boone. I have to admit that before reading this book I didn’t know a lot about Asperger’s Syndrome – so I had to look it up online:

Hans Asperger labeled this disorder “Autistic Psychopathy” in 1944, and the cause is still unknown. There is a possible relation to autistic disorder (autism). Some researchers believe that Asperger syndrome is simply a mild form of autism.

The child with Asperger shows below-average nonverbal communication gestures, fails to develop peer relationships, has an inability to express pleasure in other people’s happiness, and lacks the ability to reciprocate emotionally in normal social interactions. The condition appears to be more common in boys than in girls. There are likely genetic factors, but some theories suggest a prenatal infection may be to blame.

While people with Asperger syndrome are frequently socially inept, many have above-average intelligence, and they may excel in fields like computer programming and science. There is no delay in cognitive development, in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, or in curiosity about the environment. Generally, there is no language development delay.

The book is well written and gives an insight into how people with this Syndrome think and react to the wider world. The murder mystery that Christopher sets out to solve leads him to learn some scary things about his family and the way he is treated by his father. It also prompts him to take a journey from Swindon to London – something most of us would find quite simple but to Christopher is a mammoth and at times terrifying task.

I enjoyed this book and liked the way Haddon makes it sound like a book narrated by the main character right down to the illustrations. However, I did not appreciate the continuous bad language from the adult characters in the book – I can’t quite believe this was awarded the Guardian’s Children Fiction prize for that reason. I don’t have an issue with swearing – but in this case it really added nothing to the story at all and became quite offensive at times.

Amazon.com Price: $3.99 (as of 2010-07-30 12:28:02 GMT) Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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Product Description
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 and 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, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and 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, and has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his investigations, and 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, and genuinely moving: this one is a must-read. --Jack Illingworth, Amazon.ca
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Customer Reviews
Such a Delightful Read!   Review Date: July 28, 2010 Reviewer: Bobby T, South Riding, VA Seeing as this is the 1,620th review, I'll spare the details of the book that by now you've already seen. I will simply tell you that this particular reader couldn't get enough of this story. It was simply delightful. This little boy is quite the character! DEFINITELY pick this book up if you're wanting to be entertained from beginning to end!!!! Curiouser and Curiouser   Review Date: July 23, 2010 Reviewer: Eric A. Klee, Charlotte, NC USA I read an article that this novel was originally intended to be marketed as a Young Adult novel. I'm so glad it wasn't. I don't think teenagers would get the nuances and perspective of the novel. They would just think it was poorly written. The novel is from the perspective of an autistic 15-year-old boy named Christopher. He speaks and thinks in literal terms; everything to him is factual-based or in black-and-white terms. Of course, he wouldn't understand the concept of "black and white" because to him they're just colors; he can't quite grasp the concept of that phrase because it can't be taken literally. Details are also very important to him, and everything is mathematical or scientific. He has trouble with emotions, but can recognize when people are happy, sad, or mad. The novel opens with Christopher discovering his neighbor's dog dead on the lawn, stabbed with a gardening fork. He takes it upon himself to discover who killed neighbor's dog like a modern day Encyclopedia Brown. What follows are his discoveries about the people in his life and his adventures to places and subjects unknown to him. He gets the answers he was seeking, but also gets many more answers than he bargained for. I enjoyed the book and the simplistic, yet scientific, manner in which it was written, but got a little tired of it by the end. Thankfully, the book is fairly short for a novel and a quick read. Christopher is the only character that is truly fleshed out, but that's because everything is seen only from his point of view, and he only views people empirically. His "development" throughout the novel is impressive, though, in that significant events change around him, yet he remains the one constant. So while that's good for the stylistic approach of the novel, it also dampened my interest a bit because I didn't really get very emotionally invested in the story...much like Christopher. It is so rare that I read a book a second time.   Review Date: July 23, 2010 Reviewer: M. Emrich, Denver, Co. I love to read and read everyday. The problem is I mostly read just before going to bed and have conditioned myself to fall asleep reading. Not the most intelligent thing to do, I know, but it is what it is. As a result, I almost never read a book twice. I would call "100 years of Solitude" my favorite book of all time. I have only read it once about 35 years ago. So the other day I am at the library with my 11 year old daughter and this book is in the young adult section. Now my daughter has a photographic memory and reads more than any child I have ever seen. She is scary smart. I had not read a book to her in many years. I was talking about how much I loved this and she asked me to read it to her. Yeah, I knew there was some inappropriate stuff in it, but I had not read it since it was first released, and my memory is the polar opposite of my daughter's. So I skipped most the F words, but it was hard to make it PG. Who cares the book is unique, Christopher is one of the greatest fictional characters of my lifetime, and reading it aloud with the Unique emotions of Christopher was a hoot. I would not recommend reading this book to your eleven year old, but I would recommend that you read it. I have not had a wealth of experience with autistic children, but I truly felt that Mark Haddon captured what it is like inside the fascinating mind of an autistic child, almost as well as Temple Grandin was able to do in her first person writings. Excellent read   Review Date: July 21, 2010 Reviewer: Jaime R. Smith, United States This is an excellent read. It really brings to light about how the autistic mind works. I have an autistic son and this illustrated alot of his own abilities. Great read but like with an autistic child, you must be patient and take your time to understand the book and the child as a whole. Pleasant and interesting mystery. It's a nice change of pace to experience the world through the eyes of an autistic person.   Review Date: July 14, 2010 Reviewer: Jane Stewart, Illinois USA STORY BRIEF: Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone has autism and is gifted mathematically. He screams if someone touches him. He groans and withdraws when he's around too many people. He refuses to eat yellow or brown food. The story is being told by Christopher in his own words of his experiences after he finds his neighbor's dead dog. The dog Wellington was killed with a gardening fork. Christopher wants to know who killed Wellington, and Christopher begins talking to people he normally would not talk to - to ask questions. He writes this book about his investigation. REVIEWER'S OPINION: Christopher does not really change in the story, but he learns some things. Don't expect any emotional relationship development between Christopher and others. It's different. It's a pleasant escape. The ending is satisfying. DATA: Story length: I listened to the audio version which was 6 hours. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual content: none. Setting: current day England. Copyright: 2003. Genre: pleasant autism mystery. dissapointed!   Review Date: July 11, 2010 Reviewer: shana, within a week of recieving this book, the whole binder fell apart-apparently it was not made very well. very dissapointed, all the pages are out of the book. Review on a no so good book.   Review Date: July 11, 2010 Reviewer: "Phantom's Lover", New Jersey The author sussefully captured how an autistic person might think, but I still really didn't like the book. In the beginning, the main character was happy with his life. After the events in the book, it becomes evedent that the main character won't ever be happy with his life again. A book should be about growth, and I fell the character does the opposite. Refreshing and insightful   Review Date: July 7, 2010 Reviewer: J. Norburn, Quesnel, BC, Canada The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is a refreshing, insightful, and effectively touching story about an autistic teenager's efforts to solve the mystery of who killed a neighbor's dog. The unintended consequence of his detective work is that he exposes some secrets about his own life that are painful and confusing to him, and ultimately challenge him to face his fears. The strength of the novel is in how Haddon portrays Christopher, telling his story in a first-person narrative from the perspective of an autistic boy. It would be incorrect to suggest that all autistic people view the world the same way as Christopher does but I think Haddon does a remarkable job of presenting the world as seen through the eyes of this particular autistic boy, and he does so in an utterly convincing manner. Christopher does not like to be touched, struggles to understand emotions in other people, and interprets language in a very literal way. This results in some amusing moments as he conducts his investigation into the dog's rather grizzly death. Much of what makes the novel succeed is in how Haddon allows Christopher's narrative to reflect his own lack of understanding of many of the subtle nuances of human behavior, while at the same time allowing the reader to comprehend what Christopher can not. I really enjoyed this novel and really liked Christopher, who manages to be endearing even though his condition results in his being emotionally detached from the people in his life. My only minor complaint about the novel is something that most people would disagree with and probably consider a positive aspect of the novel (I'm strange that way). For me, the ending is a little too sentimental and uplifting - everything works out too nicely for everyone. (I'm cynical by nature and usually prefer unhappy, messy endings - but that's just me). The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is quick and engaging read that I think most people will find rewarding. ***Note: I do have one other quibble with the novel that I am going to discuss in the comment section. It is more of a `curious side-note' than an actual complaint and it was not a factor at all in my rating or review. I am curious to know though if other readers felt the same way about it.... LOVE!   Review Date: July 2, 2010 Reviewer: Sara S. Pearce, New Smyrna Beach FL Another great read! This one is very similar to 600 HOURS OF EDWARD, in that it also has a main character with autism. Christopher is not quite as high-functioning as Edward was, but very gifted in math. he too is obsessive-compulsive, but with little control over his emotions. He is trying though. I only hope the rest of my books to be read are as good! In My Top 10 List   Review Date: June 25, 2010 Reviewer: Gabby, I bought the audiobook version and I had a hard time turning it off. The narrator was absolutely fantastic as Christopher. Such a simple story premise that immediately sucks you right in to the story. Excellent writing from start to finish! this is where the clockwork grows   Review Date: June 15, 2010 Reviewer: G. Mulder, Seattle, WA A stunning masterpiece. Takes you inside an Autistic child's mind. In fact, it makes the world new again. Read this book if you have ever read a book and enjoyed the experience. Because. This is where the clockwork grows. Little book with lots of content   Review Date: June 9, 2010 Reviewer: Sylvia Wadlington, Sunnyvale, CA The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon is a different kind of mystery. The dog Wellington is dead, stabbed with a pitchfork and fifteen year old Christopher has decided to be a detective and discover who the murderer is. Unlike the usual mystery hero, Christopher is autistic and the story is told from his point of view. At first Christopher himself is a mystery because of the way he perceives what's happening around him. The things he finds difficult, unpleasant and frightening and how he deals with them creates the suspense that makes this simple tale a marvel of complexity. As he gathers his clues you come to know a different kind of person and can't help but to admire his courage and steadfastness. This is a story about strengths and weaknesses and how people cope with life. By the end you discover that at his core, Christopher is really not so different than the rest of us. Deeply moving   Review Date: June 8, 2010 Reviewer: Alice Fielding, Norman, OK USA First off, I have to say that nowhere in the text of this book does it ever say what Christopher's diagnosis is. It never says Asperger's, and the only place the word "autism" appears is in the blurb on the jacket (and in the suggested subject headings). This book is fiction, and Christopher is a fictional character, not meant to be the totally realistic representative of every single person with a certain neurotype. I was profoundly moved by this book. I thought it was a fascinating and touching portrayal of the inner workings of a mind so different from mine that I would never otherwise be able to see in. Yes, Christopher was kind of horrible and so were both of his parents, even though both of his parents really loved him, and I do believe he loved them, in his own way. But I thought, more than anything, that this was a book that could teach us a lot about having tolerance for people who are different. This sounds like a platitude unless you're different, in which case you get what I am saying. Error?   Review Date: June 6, 2010 Reviewer: Yusuf Wijaya, Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, ID For a kid as smart as Christopher, I don't really understand why he'd give the train conductor 50 pounds to buy a train ticket (all of his money that he took from the ATM, -- the machine dispersed 5 notes of 10 pounds --). He could just give him 2 notes of 10 pounds and still got the change (the price to go "one-way" to London is 17 pounds according to this book). Is this an error in the writing of the novel, or the author really wrote it in purpose? Wonderfully written   Review Date: May 31, 2010 Reviewer: Michael J. Lennon, Chicago Original, entertaining and well worth reading. Haddon captures the pathos of 'Flowers for Algernon', but with more humor and warmth. The book is accessible and funny without losing sensitivity or entertainment value. To maintain the proper tone throughout the length of the book without sacrificing readability or plot is a feat. The book is insightful without being pedantic. While the premise may seem like a writing workshop exercise this story really works and, above all, it is immensely readable. The ending, which some may quibble with, is realistic.
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