Book Review:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: Vintage Books, 2003
Page count: 226

By Rev. Dee Dee Azhikakath

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”

(Sir Walter Scott)

For Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15 year old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism), life is best understood in black and white. He only knows three jokes and does not comprehend idioms. He does not like to be touched or to hear people shouting. He detests the colors yellow and brown, but likes the color red. He loves science and math and knows every country in the world and its capital. But most importantly, he does not tell lies.

It was “7 minutes after midnight” one night when Christopher discovered his neighbor’s giant poodle, Wellington, had been murdered. Accused of killing Wellington by the dog’s owner, Mrs. Shears, Christopher was determined not only to solve the case of the dead dog, but also to chronicle the events as he penned his own murder mystery novel. His account is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Uniquely written with prime numbered chapters and the occasional, and at times comical, tangent, Christopher begins to investigate Wellington’s murder by questioning other neighbors. Despite knowing he is not supposed to talk to strangers and does not particularly like to talk to them, Christopher decides solving the mystery is more important and is willing to overcome any obstacle—even his father’s forbiddance.

As he talks to neighbors and puts clues together, Christopher begins to unravel not only a murder mystery, but a world full of grays, half-truths, secrets and lies. This unpredictable “real world” turns his organized and constant reality upside down. Curious soon reveals that his father killed Wellington, and that his mother, who he was told was dead, is very much alive and living in London. Suddenly, Christopher no longer knows who to trust and what is truthful. With his world crumbling from the lies unraveled, he ventures out with his pet rat, Toby, in his pocket to find his mother.

For a boy who “does not like new places,” Christopher’s naïve and fearfully-motivated decision pushes him to discover his own courage and consequently cope with an unorganized and hurtful world. Along the way, there are some predicable, but amusing, encounters with strangers and strange places. While some adventures will make you laugh at loud, it is never at the expense of Christopher or others with Asperger’s Syndrome.

In fact, author Mark Haddon carefully twists “normality” to become Christopher’s world of trust and honesty, causing the reader to question the warped, deceptive world that those who are not like Christopher have created. Having worked with Mencap and other organizations that work with children and adults with variety of mental and physical handicapping conditions, Haddon clearly draws on his own experience to bring a spectrum of realism to his first fictional novel. In his own way, Hadden allows Curious to tenderly empower Christopher and others whom society often does not understand and underestimates.

As Haddon has Christopher pull on the loose thread of carefully spun lies, it is hard for the reader to escape an inner debate around the necessity of deceit. Certainly, the Bible strongly denounces false and lying prophets, but it also contains examples of “necessary” lies being used to raise up or hide those whom God is protecting. Yet, Proverbs still exclaims to us that “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (12:22). No wonder Christopher is confused.

As one enters Christopher’s mind in Curious, the reader cannot help but to be left with the thought that perhaps it is not his mother, father or even neighbor who is “normal.” Perhaps it is actually Christopher who faithfully upholds the ideal of truthfulness and trust between people.

As you sit down to read Curious, do not be easily fooled by the quickness and ease of its writing style. It offers deeper philosophical questions if you let it. And if you are lucky, you might just begin to understand how Christopher could see the world and act as he does…and truly just how confusing and complicated everyone else is.

The Rev. Dee Dee Azhikakath is The United Methodist Campus Minister at The University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.

This feature was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Study Questions

• “People say you always have to tell the truth. But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell people they are old and…if they smell funny…or if a grown up has made a fart” notes Christopher in a footnote. Should there be limits to telling the truth? If so, how do you determine those boundaries? Are there times when it is acceptable to tell an untruth? Knowing how lies have affected Christopher, are there boundaries to lies? Are lies needed at all?
• Christopher’s “project” with his father might be the most difficult of all the challenges he faces in this book. How do you rebuild trust in someone? Can you?
• Christopher explains, “Prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” What does he mean by this paradoxical statement?
• What simile or metaphor would you use to describe life?
• Christopher challenges Rev. Peters on questions of God and heaven in the beginning of the book, and also confronts the reader with these same questions in chapter 199. What do you think about Christopher’s comment about heaven? How would you describe where God is to him?
• “People break rules all the time. For example…in the Bible it says Thou shall not kill but there were the Crusades, and two world wars and Gulf War and there were Christians killing people in all of them” rationalizes Christopher. Do people break rules all the time? Do we as Christians have some rules we choose to obey and some we do not? How does the context of the situation affect our decisions?
• Christopher did not understand why his teacher, Siobhan, forbid the words spaz, crip or mong and only allowed them use certain words to describe the students at his school. After all, people were already treating those kids derogatorily when they shouted, “special needs, special needs,” as the kids got off the bus. What is most hurtful: the words themselves or the way they are said? Is the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” true? Why or why not? Discuss the power that words have to both hurt and heal.
• Christopher takes the time to look at every detail of the world around him and criticizes most other people for only “glancing” at things. What do we miss by not paying attention to detail?
• At the train station Christopher becomes sad because he realizes he cannot be an astronaut. What profession do you think Christopher will have? Where do you think he will be 15 years from now?
• Christopher would allow his parents to touch only the tips of his fingers with their outstretched fingers. His reaction to touch is very different from most children, who like to be hugged. What effect does touch have on a parent’s relationship with their child?
• What really killed Wellington?

Group Activities

Idiom List: Christopher could not understand idioms because most of them do not make sense in 2005. However, most idioms have roots in reality somewhere. (For example, one possible origin of the phrase, “raining cats and dogs,” comes from a time when people had thatched roofs and the cats and dogs would sleep on the roof. When it rained, the roof became slippery and the animals would slide off the roof.) As the group is coming together, try to list as many idioms as you can think of and see if anyone knows the origin of the saying.
Make ‘em laugh: Christopher knew and understood three jokes and took the time in his book to share one with us. Take some time to share your best joke with each other. Consider offering an award for the best one or the one Christopher would most likely understand. (Special points if it is math or science related.)

Refresh your skills : Ask a local school or teacher for some math or science tests or homework assignments. Have fun sharing what you remember or appreciating Christopher’s mathematical abilities.

Organize: Christopher hated vacations because there was no routine for the day. Make Christopher comfortable by creating a detailed schedule of events for everyone when they arrive. (Be creative. Remember creating a schedule is meant more for fun than to provide a rigid order for your time together.)

Rank: Christopher classified each day by counting cars. For example, 4 yellow cars meant a Black Day, and 5 red cars in a row made it a Super Good Day. Create your own method of ranking your day and share with each other what your measurement was and how you ranked your day.

Maps: Go to your local store, library or auto club and pick up some maps of the London Underground (“Tube”) system and a train schedule for England. Use a marker or sticky-notes to map out Christopher’s journey. If the maps are large enough, offer other notes or markers so group members who have been to England can mark their journeys, too.

Resources
Mark Haddon's Web site
Mark Haddon profile
B is for Bestseller
NPR Interview with Mark Haddon