Books

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

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a story about Christopher Boone, a 15 year old boy who finds the body of his neighbour’s dog and is determined to find out who killed him. Sounds simple doesn’t it? If you read the book, you will see that it is anything but.

For starters, according to the blurb on the back, Christopher suffers from Aspergers Syndrome (although this is never explicitly stated within the book). For those of you who are unaware, Aspergers is a form of autism that causes people to see the world in a completely different light to others. This fact is made clear perfectly within the chapters, as the language Haddon uses is simple and at times childlike, but at the same time lets the reader see into the tortured and complicated mind of a teenager who “knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings” – so much so, that the chapters are given prime numbers (something fun for any maths lovers who want to read this)

curious incident of the dog in the night time cover

Secondly, Christopher seemingly lives at home with his father, after his mum died of a heart attack. However, some chance findings lead him to discover that there is more to things than meets the eye, sending him on a journey that will change his life forever. The fact that Haddon makes Christopher such a loveable and vulnerable protagonist means that the readers will be there with him every step of the way, seeing things through to the very end – despite the fact that the switching of chapters from story to random snippets of Christopher’s thought processes are slightly unorthodox. But then again, so is Christopher!

In conclusion, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a book unlike any other, and is a must for any reader who wants to open their mind to a way of thinking that can sometimes be misunderstood. A brilliant and refreshing read!

2 Comments
To Top