The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
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| Author | Mark Haddon |
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| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Mystery |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Released | 2004 |
| Media Type | |
| Followed by | A Spot of Bother |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (ISBN 0-09-945025-9) is a novel written by Mark Haddon which won the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year. Its title is a quotation of a remark made by the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1893 short story, "Silver Blaze".
The story is written in the first-person narrative of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy living in Swindon, Wiltshire in 1998.
Contents |
[edit] Main character
Christopher John Francis Boone goes to a school for children with "special needs". The publisher's blurb on the back cover states that he has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.
Christopher is a mathematical savant (which sets him apart from the other students), has a photographic memory, and is extremely observant. However, he has difficulty understanding human behaviour, gestures and relationships. He has many particular habits: for example, he hates the colours yellow and brown, but loves red. If he sees three red cars in a row it is a good day whereas three yellow ones means a black day. If a food is yellow and he likes its taste, he dyes it with red food colouring, and he especially enjoys Indian meals due to its "strong flavour". He dislikes eating in public places so his father packs him food wherever they go. The red dye is kept along with other items in a food box, which no one else can touch. He also dislikes the furniture being moved. He prefers things to be in a certain order and also loathes being touched. He is extremely proficient at maths and is taking an A-level in the subject. He wants to become a scientist, and his desire to be alone leads him to believe that he could also be an astronaut. In addition, he owns a pet rat named Toby.
[edit] Other characters
- Siobhan: a teacher at Christopher's school. She encourages Christopher to write his account.
- Ed Boone: Christopher's father
- Judy Boone: Christopher's mother
- Roger Shears: referred to throughout the book as "Mr Shears." He has an affair with Judy, with whom he lives in London.
- Eileen Shears (Mrs Shears): a woman whose dog, Wellington, is killed by Ed. For a period, Ed tries to assimilate her into the family.
- Rhodri: one of Ed's colleagues
- Mrs Gascoyne : a schoolteacher who (reluctantly) allows Christopher to take A-level maths
- Reverend Peters: the invigilator for the A-level maths exam. He becomes involved in a discussion with Christopher regarding the existence of God.
- Mrs Alexander: one of Christopher's neighbours, who tells him about his mother and Mr Shears having an affair
[edit] Plot
Christopher discovers the dead body of Wellington, his neighbour's dog, speared by a garden fork. Having been blamed for it, the boy decides to investigate to clear his name. However, he is severely limited by his own fears and difficulties when interpreting the world around him. Throughout all his adventures, Christopher writes of his experiences in the form of a book, and its title is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
During his investigation into Wellington's demise, Christopher meets people whom he has never before encountered (even though they live on the same street). He eventually discovers that Mr Shears, who used to inhabit the house opposite from his, had an affair with Judy, his mother whom he believes to be dead, as his father, Ed, had explained that she died of a heart attack. Christopher chronicles this and other discoveries, and his father becomes angry with him when he eventually discovers the book and its contents. Ed hides it and forbids Christopher to continue his investigation.
In his search for the hidden book, Christopher discovers a series of letters from his mother, dated after she allegedly died — which his father had also concealed. He concludes that she is still alive and that his father had lied to him. At this point, Ed admits that he killed Wellington, stating that he did so because after Judy left, he wanted Mrs Shears to take care of both of them and move in, but he was angry at her for putting Wellington above him and Christopher. Following a heated argument, Ed killed the dog. Christopher then fears that his father may also try to do the same to him, and so he embarks on an adventurous journey to London, where his mother lives with Mr Shears.
[edit] Literary techniques
Author Mark Haddon weaves into the book several concepts from contemporary research and theory on autism. For instance, one incident described is in fact a recreation of a famous experiment regarding theory of mind. Christopher's first teacher uses it to test him for autism when he is still a child. She shows him a Smarties tube, asking him to predict the contents of the tube. After Christopher answers "Smarties", she shows him that the tube actually contains a pencil and closes it. She then asks him what his mother would guess, if she entered the room at that moment; Christopher answers, "A pencil." The older Christopher understands his mistake.
Also the book's narrator, Christopher is gifted at and focused on mathematics: this is reflected by his inclusion of several famous puzzles of maths and logic. The book's appendix comprises a reproduction of a question from an A-level examination for which the protagonist sits, with annotated answers within the text. The book also includes the extremely unlikely incident of seeing four yellow cars in a row, an event which holds significance to the narrator, who has an aversion to the colour yellow. The inclusion of these details establishes character and supports Haddon's conceit that the book is actually written by Christopher himself.
Christopher's mathematical interests are also reflected in his numbering his chapters strictly with prime numbers, ignoring composite numbers such as 4 and 6. So the first is Chapter 2, followed by 3, then 5, 7, 11, and so on. In addition, the contents in consecutive chapters alternate: Chapter 2 is about the unfolding story; Chapter 3 explores some aspects of the narrator's inner life not necessarily directly relevant to the immediate action; Chapter 5 returns to the narrative. This alternation continues throughout the book with the story often digressing into seeming unconnected things such as Christopher's non-belief in God and the Cottingley Fairies.
Another unusual method used to emphasise the different perceptions of the world experienced by people with autism is the switching between fonts and using long, run-on sentences when describing the surroundings. Thus the book's overall structure as well as its content supports the literary device that what we are reading is a novel penned by the autistic narrator, Christopher, rather than the author. This general technique of fictional autobiography was exploited by Daniel Defoe in what is regarded as the first novel in English, Robinson Crusoe.
Christopher's narration is very precise and reliable with regard to objective facts but his view of the events of the story is often very different from what might be expected. For example, in one scene, Christopher is nearly killed by an oncoming train as he retrieves his pet rat, who has scampered onto the tracks of the London Underground. Through his narration, we see the scene unfold completely, but he himself remains totally unaware of the danger he is in, and of the closeness of his brush with death. This is also an example of dramatic irony, in which the reader understands more about a situation than the character in the situation does. But often this is reversed with Christopher seemingly understanding much more than the reader.
[edit] Cultural references
- Haddon's protagonist, Christopher, misquotes Virginia Woolf's line: "Veined as I am with iron, with silver and streaks of common mud, I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend upon stimulus", which is from her work The Waves[1]. Christopher actually says, "I am veined with iron, with silver, and with streaks of common clay. I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend on stimulus."
