The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-timeChristopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind. And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - Kristelh - LibraryThingStory of a boy who has autism set in London. The boy is bright in many ways except in how to relate to people and dislikes being touched. He dislikes the color yellow. The story is about his investigation into the death of a dog in the neighborhood. Read in 1997 Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - NanetteLS - LibraryThingThis book is written from the perspective of a boy with autism. In some places, it was difficult to read because his thought processes were so different from most people. It was a fascinating view on a portion of our society and I ended up really enjoying it. Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
Alexander answer asked bloody called carried cause Christopher closed coming couldn't dead decided didn't door eyes face Father feel front garden going hand happen hard head hear heard hurt inside keep killed killed Wellington knew lady letter live London looked lots maths means meant Mother move never night noise numbers opened park person picture playing pocket pointed police policeman question remember Road round Shears shouted side Siobhan smell someone sometimes standing stars started station stay stood stop street talk tell things thought ticket Toby toilet told took touch train train station turned walked wall wasn't watch wearing window writing
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time 2018 Great American Read Alex Awards Book clubs to go Multiple titles for book club discussion groups Vintage contemporaries |
| Author | Mark Haddon |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Doubleday, 2003 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | Jul 1, 2008 |
| ISBN | 0385512104, 9780385512107 |
| Length | 226 pages |
| Subjects | › › Fiction / Coming of Age Fiction / Family Life / General Fiction / Literary |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |