The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Mark Haddon

Jonathan Cape
2003
£10.99
224 pages
ISBN 0 224 06378 2
Rating:****

This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them." Christopher Boone is the unlikely narrator of this ambitious and innovative novel. Christopher has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism; he is extremely adept at mathematics yet unable to interpret anything but the simplest of facial expressions. Without the capability to interact normally with the world, Christopher is forced to live his life by rules and logical arguments. For instance, he refuses to use metaphors because they are essentially lies, and he dislikes anything that is yellow. This results in a very matter of fact style of writing, unencumbered by conventions of modern etiquette.

The plot centres around the death of Wellington, a neighbour's dog, whom Christopher finds at seven minutes past midnight killed with a garden fork. His decision to investigate this murder mystery causes repercussions that take him on a daunting journey and force him to reconsider his relationships with those around him.

The author, Mark Haddon, manages to avoid the opposing pitfalls of either offending people with autism and their families or turning Christopher into an object of pity. Instead of becoming the focus of the plot, the autism enhances it. The unemotional descriptions amplify many moments of observational comedy, and misfortunes are made extremely poignantly.

This book raises issues beyond autism. Christopher's life, hopes, and ambitions are worlds apart from those of the average doctor. While not as extreme, many of our future patients will inevitably come from different backgrounds and cultures. We would do well to keep this in mind when we think we know what is best for them.

The greatest triumph of the book, however, is that the author not only compassionately facilitates the descrambling of the boy's mind but also that you become extremely attached to him. I felt great empathy with a boy who knows no emotion, and by the end of the book I wondered who really has the bigger problem—Christopher or the people he meets during the course of his adventure. Indeed, Haddon makes no mention at all of the word autism in the text, merely a matter of fact statement regarding Christopher's abilities and limitations. Christopher's story is, however, far more enjoyable and likely to stay with you for far longer than any medical textbook.