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. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher
is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning
for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy,
wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher's carefully constructed world
falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, impaled on a
garden fork, and he 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 he tries to deal with the
crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of
Christopher's mind.
And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon's choice of
narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a
boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a
novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal
of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world
literally*.*
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest
debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of
exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.
