The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Today Show Book Club #13)
September 24, 2008
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.
Christopher 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. And he detests the color yellow. 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.
“Mark Haddon’s portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement. He is a wise and bleakly funny writer with rare gifts of empathy.”
IAN McEWAN, AUTHOR OF ATONEMENT AND AMSTERDAM
“I have never read anything quite like Mark Haddon’s funny and agonizingly honest book, or encountered a narrator more vivid and memorable. I advise you to buy two copies; you won’t want to lend yours out.”
ARTHUR GOLDEN, AUTHOR OF MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
“The Curious Incident brims with imagination, empathy, and vision — plus it’s a lot of fun to read.”
MYLA GOLDBERG, AUTHOR OF BEE SEASON
Customer Review: autism
A wonderfully written book. Very poingnent It gives a lot of insight to a child with a disability.
Everyone should read this.
Customer Review: A Fun Read!
I read this book years ago, and I have purchased many copies since then as gifts for others. I am an avid reader, but I have never read a book that was narrated in such a fresh and creative way. I give this book five stars, but I cannot say the same for Haddon’s other books… in fact, I don’t think I would even give “A Spot of Bother” ONE star. That’s okay though, because I am glad that Haddon was able to capture my interest with “the curious incident”! Buy from here…
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