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

If you don’t mind reading about math, logic, and personal beliefs about the world, then The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will be a smooth read.

I picked up this book because the title was a reference to a Sherlock Holmes short story, The Adventure of Silver Blaze by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which Sherlock was able to solve the issue of the missing horse and its dead trainer. After all, the dog didn’t bark when the incident occurred.

So I assumed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was a murder mystery; it is, but most unusually, our detective for this mystery is a 15-year-old, exceptionally gifted mathematician with autism spectrum disorder.

Thoughts

When Christopher Boone discovered Mrs Shears’ dog (Wellington) dead in her garden, and decided to solve the murder, he didn’t know that it was going to lead to him discovering his family secrets, making him leave his haven and start a journey of self-discovery.

We saw the world through the lens of someone living with ASD and the challenges they face. Through his first-person narrative, we discover that he doesn’t understand social cues and emotional interpretations; he also doesn’t get the concept of metaphors. He was literal, so whatever you wanted done must be expressly stated. He lives by rules, patterns, maps, and diagrams that help him stay rooted.

When he discovers his father’s betrayal and manipulation of the truth, it shakes his trust in him and makes him start relying on himself. He learnt to overcome his fears and find a path to what he believed was his future. From looking for Wellington’s murderer, it soon became a search for his mother.

Verdict

If you don’t mind reading about math, logic, and personal beliefs about the world, then The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will be a smooth read.

But if you are more concerned about the plot, it might drag for you. The author was, however, able to balance both emotion and logic in the book, which might make you end up laughing. It ended well, so just keep at it.