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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, reviewed by Max G.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a heartwarming story about a boy with dreams of being an astronaut, getting an A on his A-level Math test, finishing his book, uncovering the mystery of who killed their neighbor’s dog, and all the while facing his fears and conflicts with determination and courage.

His name is Christopher John Francis Boone. He is fifteen years old and he is blessed with a remarkable gift of an extraordinarily logical mind and a strong aptitude for math. He has dreams of becoming an astronaut or an astrologist and he knows a great deal about the stars and the universe. However, Christopher is autistic, and everyday social interactions are hard for him to deal with. He hates to be touched and has little understanding of human emotions. The book starts when Christopher finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, killed with a pitchfork. Immediately, Christopher is blamed for the killing. He then turns to his favorite fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration and decides to investigate who the real killer is. This investigation ultimately leads to many unexpected twists as we see how he deals with the crisis within his family as Mark Haddon helps us to understand the mechanics of Christopher’s mind.

This is a very interesting novel that dives deep into the mind of an autistic child and demonstrates how he thinks and reveals the logic of his actions, as well as portraying life as shown through Christopher’s eyes. The reader watches him strive to achieve his goals and mend his life back together. It is an emotional novel narrated by a boy who can’t understand emotion, producing a brilliant story that is funny, moving, and fascinating.

Many readers might find that the constant portrayal of Christopher’s reasoning and logic as well as the many math problems and formulas that Christopher uses are annoying and confusing. Also many readers may feel uninterested in the parts of the novel where Christopher dwells on topics that may not appeal to the reader.

I would rate this book a nine on a scale from one to ten. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is heart wrenching and enlightening. It teaches its readers that even children with disabilities are capable of achieving their dreams, and that they can do anything too.