Book review: Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”
by Heather
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time tells the fictional story about a young boy, Christopher, who is determined to solve the murder mystery of his neighbor’s dog. Written from first person perspective, Christopher describes his detailed plans to find the criminal. As the story unfolds, Christopher discovers other mysteries along the way that force him to step outside the comfort of his small town community and into a world of uncertainties.
From his anecdotes of his dreams of becoming an astronaut to his extreme distaste for anything yellow, Christopher humorously provides insight into the inner-working of an individual with autism.
One part I found particularly interesting was when Christopher describes the plethora of “behavior problems” he had as a younger child. Specifically, he states that he said things that other people think are rude. In a footnote, he goes into more detail about the confusing nature of being an effective social human being:
People say that you always have to tell the truth. But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell old people that they are old…
As a behavior/inclusion specialist, I found this particularly enlightening because individuals with autism are often reprimanded for their “social behaviors” when as professionals we have done them a disservice by not giving them the road map to navigate our social world.
If wit, mystery and insight into individuals with autism interest you, read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
My book club read this book and it was a great eye opener for some of the members who were unfamiliar with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the impact it can have on the individual and their families. I highly recommend this for a book club selction.