The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003)
Mark Haddon (1962)
226 pages
For those who love to read, the serendipitous discovery of a wonderful book can take many forms. One of the most magical for me is when a family member or friend recommends or gifts a book that I can with confidence say I was highly unlikely to have ever come across on my own – or to have selected even if I did – and to discover an enthralling story that I wonder how I had missed.
I experienced this most recently with Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a book I had not heard of before being gifted it by my friend Carilee. Haddon’s story begins innocently enough as an enjoyable read, before a heart-rending moment half-way through leads to a courageous and poignant journey of self-discovery.
The story opens with fifteen-year-old Christopher discovering a neighbor’s dog has been killed. Deciding to follow in the steps of one of his favorite characters, Sherlock Holmes, Christopher sets out to discover who did it.
Christopher narrates the story, and early on we learn that while he feels a special connection to animals, he has trouble understanding human expressions and emotions, and he hates being touched, or surrounded by crowds of people – stimulating environments causing his brain to effectively shut down to prevent a kind of information overload. On the other hand, he has a photographic memory and a profoundly logical way of viewing the world and solving problems, both of which help him manage the challenges he faces as he carries on with his investigation.
Perhaps most importantly, Christopher has a dogged persistence that keeps him pushing forward, even as obstacles, both external and personal, frustrate his progress at seemingly every step. This trait becomes most evident when his detective work eventually leads him to a shocking discovery, one that turns him onto a path of events that completely upend his life.
Haddon presents an unflinching but profoundly compassionate portrait of Christopher. By allowing him to narrate the story, as opposed to using the third person, Haddon allows readers a more subtle view into Christopher’s world. We see him as he views himself – his recognition of his own capabilities and limitations, and his acknowledgement of his impact on his family and others. We learn, too, the ways in which he has come to manage his life around the realities of his situation.
Perhaps most striking is Haddon’s portrayal of Christopher’s growth as the story evolves: though by the end of the story Christopher takes risks beyond what he could have imagined before, he remains essentially the same person. As readers, we are forced to confront our expectation that Christopher will be somehow fundamentally transformed by the growth he experiences – lose his fear of being touched for example, or no longer sink into himself or throw tantrums when confronted with an over-stimulating environment or a situation that challenges his expectations. But that is not in the cards; Christopher, like each of us, has his particular personality and way of dealing and interacting with the world, and as Haddon’s story makes clear, growth happens for each of us with these largely inalterable constraints.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time draws a reader into what is at first a seemingly quite straight-forward and comfortable relationship with its main character, Christopher … and then explodes that simplicity with a profoundly shocking and traumatic revelation. In its wake, we watch Christopher persevere in the face of both his own fears and the circumscribed expectations that his family and the world have for him.
Other notes and information:
Have you read this book, others by this author, or even similar ones by other authors? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts.
Other of my book reviews: FICTION Bookshelf and NON-FICTION Bookshelf
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