The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time

WARNING: I wrote this few months ago for an English course so I could pass it, though I did really like this book. The warning is that it will come very much off as a school report so be prepared. But read the book! It’s real good trust me! And now to the report.

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

Fifteen year old Christopher Boone is autistic and very smart. He engulfs us readers in a story full of mystery, mathematical equations and lies. We unravel a story of who killed the neighbor’s dog, Wellington, only to find out about other mysteries on the way. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a thrilling novel that takes you with it and though it is written in a quite interesting way, you will find yourself not capable of pulling away. You not only will want to figure who killed Wellington but what other mysteries are hidden from Christopher’s not-as-simple-as-it-seems life.

Plot:

Christopher stumbles upon his neighbor’s dead dog Wellington while out on a walk during late hours of the night. He is immediately willing to figure out who killed the dog, though he has no idea how. As he sets out to find the killer he finds out that his mother, who he has thought to be dead, is actually alive and has ran away with their neighbor’s, Wellington’s owner’s, husband. And as more lies come up and unravel Christopher finds himself not feeling safe at home anymore. In attempt to escape Wellington’s killer, his father, he flees to London where his mother is holding residence. The poor boy has never been further away than at the end of the street on his own, so the travel is frightening. And as Christopher continues his journey he is forced to change some of his beliefs. In the end he ends up going back home with his mother and starts to re-build his trust towards his father who is in the end pretty much the only calm and likable character in the book, aside of Christopher of course, who is extremely likable in my opinion.

Christopher Boone:

Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He is very smart and is planning to be the first person from his school to write an A-level’s math. He is afraid of being touched and doesn’t like the colors yellow and brown but likes red. Christopher dreams of going to university and becoming an astronaut. Though he is special in more than one ways, he is extremely likable and every time he finds out something horrible you feel very sympathetic towards him.

Other Characters:

Father:

Christopher’s father is quite lovable though you do begin to question how he manages to hold his cool. He takes care of his son in the best ways he can, even if they include lying very badly.

Mother:

Christopher’s mother comes in towards the end and truth to be told, I did not like her at all. She has a short temper and she is quite selfish in her choices.

Siobhan:

She is Christopher’s teacher and though she is never really brought up she is there in all the things he recalls from the school. She helps him understand and encourages him to write the book on Wellington’s death.

Writing Style:

The book is written amazingly well. It is like nothing I have ever read. The text is simple and hard to understand at the same time and takes you with it as it makes its way towards solving the mysteries. The text is written so that it would seem like Christopher has written it himself and it would easily seem so. The chapters are written so that one chapter is on the story, the other is something extra, like recollection of something that has happened and then another chapter on the story and so on. These extra chapters are there to help us understand more about Christopher and his life.

My Own Opinion:

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. My mom actually recommended it to me a while back but I didn’t read it because it seemed sort of boring at the time. And I am happy that I didn’t read it then because I think I wouldn’t have understood it fully then but now I just got so much out of it. Without even realizing it I got lost in the book and it was a nice and quick read. It is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to read something that is both funny and also a very interesting mystery, though truth to be told, I really didn’t care about the dog’s death, more over all the things going on in Christopher’s life. Mark Haddon captures this story in an incredible way and gives us an absolutely amazing reading experience. I recommend this book to pretty much anyone though the youngest to read should be around fifteen or sixteen to get all of it out of it.

-      Hope you liked the report and will go read the book! 

    All the best, Kim