Mark Haddon
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Summary
The book is a murder mystery novel. The detective, narrator and also main character is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen, he is a great mathematician and he has an Asperger’s Syndrome. He is very special, because he is different from other children. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates yellow and brown colours, being touched and he knows very little about human beings. Christopher finds people confusing, because they use metaphors and they do a lot of talking without using any words. His home is Swindon, where he lives with his father and a rat.
The story begins with a murder of Mrs Shears’ poodle Wellington. Christopher is first who finds the dog. It was stabbed by a garden fork and he pulls out the garden fork. Christopher likes dogs, so he hugs the dog. At that moment Mrs Shears come out of her house and when she sees Christopher with the death dog, she calls a police. Police take Christopher to the police station, because they don’t believe him that he didn’t kill the dog and because he hit the policeman (Christopher didn’t want to be touched). His father takes him home from the police station. Later Cristopher decides that he is going to find the murderer, although his father forbade him to investigate it. For the first time he talks to strangers from his streets and for him the investigation becomes an amazing adventure. When his father notices, that his son is still investigating, he takes son’s book. One day, when father is not at home, Christopher starts to search for the book. While he is searching, he founds letters from his mother, which was written for him. He thought that his mother was dead, when he discovers that she is still alive and that she lives with Mr Shears. Christopher is so shocked that he is unable to move, curls up on the bed, vomits and groans for several hours until his father returns home. When father comes home and realizes that Christopher knows the truth, he confesses that he lied about Christopher’s mother and he also tells him that he was the one who killed the dog. Christopher is so frightens of his father that he secretly runs away from home in the middle of the night. He takes his rat, father’s credit card and Mum’s address with him. Then he decides to go to London to his Mum. This is his biggest adventure. He is alone outside his home street for the first time and he is travelling to London. On his journey he has a lot of problems, but on the end he manages to find his Mum’s flat. His mother is very delighted to see him, but Mr Shears isn’t. Christopher wants to go back to Swindon very soon, because he wants to do A-level maths exam. At the same time his mother has an argument with Mr Shears about Christopher, so she too decides to leave London and live in Swindon with Christopher in rented room. His father wants to see Christopher every day, but Christopher is still frightened of him and he doesn’t trust him.
The story ends with a present for Christopher from his father - a Golden Retriever puppy. They start to rebuild their trust. The book ends with Christopher optimism about his future, having solved the mystery of the murdered dog, gone to London on his own, found his mother, written a book about his adventures, and achieved an A in his A-level maths exam.
My opinion
I think that this book is outstanding! The book is funny and interesting. It shows us a way of thinking of a child with Asperger's syndrome. I was really fascinated with Cristopher's behaviour. He is so smart, but on the other hand he doesn't know anything about the real life. He goes alone on an adventure for the first time and he deals with all his problems and in the end he overcomes them. I also like the design of the book - the chapters. They are numbered with prime numbers. When I opened the book for the first time I saw that the first chapter in my book was 2. I started to search for chapter 1, but then I realised that there is none. Those chapters confused me in a funny way. Throughout the whole story there are many interesting facts, which have enlightened me.
Asperger’s Syndrome
Asperger syndrome is a disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication. The exact cause of Asperger's is still unknown. The mainstay of treatment is behavioural therapy, which tries to reduce poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness. Most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist.