The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

by Mark Haddon

A novel that claims itself as a murder mystery yet, in fact, offers much more than that.

The story is written from the perspective of Christopher Boone, a 15 year old boy who lives in Swindon with his father and Toby, his pet rat. The success of his day is decided by how many red cars he sees in a row on his way to school in the mornings, four yellow cars in a row mean it wont be a good day at all. Christopher doesn't like going anywhere new, and has never been outside of his small town until he discovers his neighbours dog has been murdered and takes up the role of detective to solve the crime.

The real beauty of this novel is that Christopher's condition is never specified in the novel. For this is not simply a novel about disability. It is a coming of age tale that provides a unique perspective on family relationships from a boy who sees everything and remembers everything but cannot prioritise this large quantity of knowledge. Information that most would classify as very important is often lost in Christopher's mind beneath layers of fact and detail. When he is told his mother is dead, Christopher talks about the statistics and details of heart embolisms.

Christopher has Asbergers syndrome; he relishes routine, screams when he's touched and rarely interacts with others. Such a static character wouldn't normally make for a good story, but Haddon uses this innocence and naivety to create an incredibly compelling story.

This novel is a fantastic read. It is well written and consistently told from Christopher's unique perspective. Despite being an easy read, this is a highly complex novel that operates on several levels. An enjoyable and eye opening read.

This is currently a text in the NSW Standard English year 12 course.