The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Mark Haddon. Christopher Boone is an autistic boy who discovers his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, killed with a garden fork. He decides to investigate the murder, despite protests from Mrs. Shears (Wellington’s owner) and his own father. Along the way the story becomes much less about the dead dog, and much more about Christopher’s journey as a person.

I don’t know any people with autism, but from what I do know, I think Haddon does a remarkable job of illustrating the workings of an autistic mind, while still making Christopher a sympathetic human being. Although new places, people, and experiences overwhelm Christopher, he copes by doing math problems. He likes animals better than people (he keeps a pet rat), because animals can’t lie to you. I actually liked Christopher better than I liked his father or his mother, who both seemed selfish and not really interested in making the sacrifices necessary to parent a special-needs child.

This is a quirky, funny, touching, sad, and entertaining novel. I have to thank my friend Shari for suggesting I read it. I’ll definitely look for more work from this really engaging author.


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time