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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Timeby Mark Haddon
Awards2003 Whitbread Book of the Year Award
2003 Whitbread Novel Award Powells.com Staff Pick"It's not just the hook, though the hook is peculiar and oddly affecting. 'When I was writing,' the author allows, 'I really thought to myself, Who on Earth is going to want to read about a fifteen-year-old kid with a disability living in Swindon with his father? And I thought, I better make the plot good.' The hook, the plot, is significantly better than good, but it's the irresistible voice of Mark Haddon's fifteen-year-old narrator that elevates this literary debut to fantastic heights." Dave Weich, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review) "It is a perfect book to make you feel good about the underdogs of the world. This book makes you feel like anyone can be a hero." Jonathan, Powells.com Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions.
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions, and cannot stand to be touched. Gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. "I do not always do what I'm told," he admits. "And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense. For example, people often say 'Be quiet' but they don't tell you how long to be quiet for..." At fifteen, Christopher's carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork and is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents' marriage. As Christopher tries to deal with this crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers into the mysterious workings of Christopher's mind. At once deeply funny and heartbreakingly poignant, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years. Review:"Though Christopher insists, 'This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them,' the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice." Publishers Weekly
Review:"This original and affecting novel is a triumph of empathy; whether describing Christopher's favorite dream...or his vision of the universe collapsing in a thunder or stars, the author makes his hero's severely limited world a thrilling place to be." The New Yorker
Review:"[A] bittersweet tale....A kind of Holden Caulfield who speaks bravely and winningly from inside the sorrows of autism: wonderful, simple, easy, moving, and likely to be a smash." Kirkus Reviews
Review:"For Haddon to have created such a superbly realized autistic world-view is, in itself, remarkable. Brilliantly inventive, full of dazzling set-pieces, unbearbly sad, yet also skilfully dodging any encounters with sentimentality, this isn't simply the most original novel I've read in years...it's also one of the best." The Times (London)
Review:"[S]tark, funny and original....
Review:"Moving....Think of The Sound and the Fury crossed with The Catcher in the Rye and one of Oliver Sacks's real-life stories." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
Review:"Superb....Bits of wisdom fairly leap off the page." Newsday
Review:"Narrated by the unusual and endearing Christopher, who alternates between analyzing mathematical equations and astronomy and contemplating the deaths of Wellington and his mother, the novel is both fresh and inventive." Booklist
Review:"A stroke of genius, as the advantages of having a naive, literal-minded boy in the driving seat are manifold... we do learn what it might feel like to have Asperger's Syndrome." David Newnham, T.E.S.
Review:"A kind of Holden Caulfield who speaks bravely and winningly from inside the sorrows of autism: wonderful, simple, easy, moving, and likely to be a smash." Kirkus Reviews
Review:"Mark Haddon's portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement. He is a wise and bleakly funny writer with rare gifts of empathy." Ian McEwan, author of Atonement and Amsterdam
Review:"I have never read anything quite like Mark Haddon's funny and agonizingly honest book, or encountered a narrator more vivid and memorable. I advise you to buy two copies; you won't want to lend yours out." Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha
Review:"The Curious Incident brims with imagination, empathy, and vision — plus it's a lot of fun to read." Myla Goldberg, author of Bee Season
Review:"Brilliant....Delightful....Very moving, very plausible — and very funny." Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings
Review:"In this striking first novel, Mark Haddon is both clever and observant, and the effect is vastly affecting." The Washington Post Book World
Review:"The book gave me that rare, greedy feeling of: this is so good I want to read it all at once but I mustn't or it will be over too soon" Kate Kellaway, The Observer
Review:"Haddon's book illuminates the way one mind works so precisely, so humanely, that it reads like both an acutely observed case study and an artful exploration of...the thoughts and feelings we share even with those very different from us. (Grade: A)" Entertainment Weekly
Review:"The novel is being marketed to a YA audience, but strong language and adult situations make this a good title for sophisticated readers of all ages. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review:"One of the strangest and most convincing characters in recent fiction." Slate
Synopsis:Narrated by a 15-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions.
Synopsis:Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.
This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years. About the AuthorMark Haddon is a writer and illustrator of numerous award-winning children's books and television screenplays. As a young man, Haddon worked with autistic individuals. He teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and at Oxford University. He lives in Oxford, England. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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