The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Title: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time
Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: Random House
Released: July 31st 2003
Pages: 272 (Hardback)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.


I can safely say that this book is completely unique. At first I was worried that I wouldn't like it - from flicking through it had graphs and mathematical equations (yeah, no, Nina no likey maths) and seemed quite quirky, and I'm never good with those reads. But Haddon completely proved me wrong; I adored the story, and I found that I was actually able to relate to Christopher more than I thought I would.

Christopher has Asperger's Syndrome, so immediately a lot of reader's aren't able to find a connection to the character, because we don't know what that feels like. But Haddon writes the story in such a way that by the end, even the most mentally stable person will be able to relate to him, one way or another. I think maybe I was able to relate to him easier than some others because I have OCD - which isn't the same as Asperger's, but when Haddon wrote about certain things, I just understood it. For example, Christopher hates the colours yellow and brown, and will go about avoiding anything to do with it. There isn't a rational explanation for this, it's just how he feels. See, I hate the number 6 - not 66 or 60 or -6, but just 6. I can't have the TV on a volume ending with 6, I refuse to have six things together - no rational reason why, I just don't like it.

I liked how Haddon explored every aspect of Christopher's life through him investigating the killing of his neighbours dog. I think the title for the book is both perfect and misleading - the story is about so much more than the mystery, but the title gives it an innocent, child-like twist and just sets the scene for everything that is to come.

There is so much that I could say about this novel, so much so that I think I've been rendered speechless. I think that The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is just one of those books that everyone has to read at least once in their lifetime. I don't care whether you love sci-fi or if your favourite genre is romance; read this book now.
Rating: 4/5