The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Author: Mark Haddon

Year Published: 2003
Publisher: Random House Adult
ISBN#: 1400032717
Pages: 226
Media Type: Book
Classification: Fiction
Subject: Autism, England
Reader's Annotation:
The 15-year-old narrator is an autistic boy named Christopher Boone who is obsessed with (among other things) Sherlock Holmes. When a neighbor's dog is killed, he decides to track down the real dog-killer. As the events are filtered through the mind of an autistic, they take on their own logic--and are often hilarious. Eventually, by his own eccentric methods, Christopher uncovers truths that are profoundly disturbing, and in the process is forced to extend himself well beyond his usual boundaries.

Plot Summary:
Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of the book, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into a journey in which he find his place in the world.

Christopher must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. Christopher is a fascinating case study and, above all, a sympathetic boy, but too open-overwhelmed by sensations. He filters out his surroundings. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary mathematical patterns. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," this novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice that every reader will enjoy

Reading Level:5
Interest Level: 9+
Awards Won:A New York Times Notable Book for 2003
Author Website:http://www.markhaddon.com/home_alternative.html