Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 9780385512107
Reading Level: Adult
Interest Age: Grade 9 and up
Genre: Issues--Disability
Reader’s Annotation: Christopher (who can't understand facial expressions but does math problems in his head for fun) investigates the murder of the dog across the street and uncovers secrets relating to his own life.
Plot Summary
Christopher Boone has a very literal, logical mind. So much so that he dislikes most fiction and considers metaphors to be lies. He is, however, a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, so when the dog across the street is murdered with a pitchfork he decides to solve the mystery (and write a book about it). This is complicated by his inability to navigate normal social interactions. When he talks to a neighbor about the mystery, he notes, "Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting, where people say things to each other which aren't questions and answers and aren't connected. . . . I tried to do chatting by saying, 'My age is 15 years and 3 months and 3 days.' " Nevertheless, he learns from Mrs. Alexander that his mother had an affair with the man across the street. Christopher believes his mother died of a heart attack two years before. He goes home to look for clues and finds letters from his mother that his father never gave him. When his father comes home and discovers Christopher in great distress, he admits that it was he who killed the dog and that Christopher’s mother is alive. Appalled by his father’s actions and afraid that he will be his next victim, Christopher decides that he will go to London to find his mother, braving the overwhelming stimuli of the train and city.
Critical Evaluation
Christopher’s disability isn’t identified in the text, but it seems to be something on the autism spectrum. Haddon has made clear that he is not an expert on autism and makes no claims as to the accuracy of his portrayal. However, some autism associations, such as the National Autistic Society of the UK, list Curious Incident as recommended reading (see http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/parents-relatives-and-carers/siblings/useful-reading.aspx). Whether or not he portrays the experience of having autism accurately, Haddon brilliantly captures the mind of his character. Christopher is an engaging and memorable narrator. Haddon maintains his very unusual voice with wonderful consistency. The narrative is very funny and (sometimes simultaneously) distressing: "4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks." Haddon is also to be congratulated for eschewing both sentimentality and condescension. Christopher is the agent here. He knows what he wants, and he takes the logical steps required to get it.
The plot ticks along at a good pace, as Christopher doesn’t get bogged down in description. (Here’s what he thinks of metaphors, specifically "he’s the apple of my eye": "When I try and make a picture of the phrase in my head it just confuses me because imagining an apple in someone's eye doesn't have anything to do with liking someone a lot and it makes you forget what the person was talking about.") Though the book is quite short, Christopher is satisfied with his ending, and readers will be, too.
Curriculum Ties: Health--autism
Booktalking Ideas: Explain Christopher's likes (dogs, math, Sherlock Holmes) and dislikes (yellow, brown, metaphors) and read related passages.
Challenge Issues: Language
In the defense file, I will include my library's selection policy, ALA's Library Bill of Rights, ALA's guidelines on free access to libraries for minors (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/freeaccesslibraries.cfm), and ALA's strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips/index.cfm). I will also include my library's reconsideration form, in case challenges to this book cannot be defused with "tea and sympathy." I'll include positive reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Book Review.
About the Author
Mark Haddon was born in Northampton in 1962. He graduated from Oxford University in 1981, returning later to study for an M.Sc. in English Literature at Edinburgh University. He then undertook a variety of jobs, including work with children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. He also worked as an illustrator for magazines and a cartoonist for New Statesman, The Spectator, Private Eye, The Sunday Telegraph and The Guardian (for which he co-wrote a cartoon strip).
His first book for children, Gilbert's Gobstopper, appeared in 1987 and was followed by many other books and picture books for children, many of which he also illustrated. These include the 'Agent Z' series and the 'Baby Dinosaurs' series. From 1996 he also worked on television projects, and created and wrote several episodes for Microsoap, winning two BAFTAs and a Royal Television Society Award for this work.
In 2003 his novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, was published and has been hugely successful. It has won a string of prestigious awards, including the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year. His second novel, A Spot of Bother, was published in 2006 and shortlisted for the 2006 Costa Novel Award.
His first book of poetry, The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, was published in 2005.
His latest books are a new novel, Boom! (2009) and a picture book, Walking on The Moon (2009).
Mark Haddon teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and Oxford University.
http://literature.britishcouncil.org/mark-haddon
Why is this title included?
Cart identifies Curious Incident as an adult book that is a crossover hit with teens. It's also received great critical acclaim, including winning the Whitbread Award.