The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
by Mark Haddon
Recommended with reservations
Autistic Christopher John Francis Boone lives with his dad (Ed) in a small England town. Christopher’s dad tells him mum went into the hospital for a heart problem and then died a few weeks later (although Christopher never was allowed to visit her in the hospital, but he likes hospitals and the uniforms). When Christopher discovers his neighbor’s dog (Wellington) impaled by a pitchfork, (the neighbor and police first blame him) he decides, against his dad’s wishes, to become a detective and book writer to solve the crime. Christopher does not like things and food that are yellow or brown (bananas, crust of a dessert) and won’t eat food that has touched other food. He likes food and things red like red cars and tomato soup. A bit of the book takes detours going into depth about Sherlock Holmes, prime numbers, solving equations or other things Christopher is interested in. It gives a glimpse into what everyday life must be like for an autistic teen. By talking to a neighbor and stumbling on some letters and his dad’s own confession, Christopher discovers his father is the one who killed the dog, his mom had an affair with the neighbor’s husband, moved away with him to London. Yes, in fact, mum is not dead! With mum’s address memorized, his dad’s cash card in hand, the last 1/3 of the book is about Christopher’s efforts to get to London-in his mind, if dad can kill a dog, he could kill his own son, too, so it would be dangerous to remain at home. He finds the train station, figures out how to get a ticket, boards the train, it is noisy with too many people, a police officer tries to get him to go home where his father is waiting for him, Christopher hides until police officer is gone. Arrival in London, confusing, loud, pet rat Toby escapes his pocket, C is almost killed by a train trying to catch him. Eventually he walks to mum’s area of the city, finds her flat, but no one is home. Later mum (Judy) comes home with Roger Shears-the neighbor’s husband. Roger does not like C and mum has no patience for him, doesn’t understand she has to speak straight forward and ask direct questions. Mum takes him back to his father’s so he can continue school and have someone to care for him. *During Christopher’s journey to London, he refers to something being 100 miles from his house. All other distances in book are in meters and kilometers. I wonder if the Brits use this phrase to express something very far away?
*People important to Ed leave him-his wife, Mrs. Shears who at first helped after her husb ran off with Ed’s wife, and then Christopher. Only Christopher comes back, since mom knows she can’t care for him. Dad truly loves boy, cooking foods he likes, carefully wording his questions, protecting him.

Review by Ms. Wilson