Uncharted Books

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a novel about a young boy, Christopher, that is neurodivergent. The story follows Christopher a 15 year old boy gifted at math, who writes a book about his investigation off the murder of a neighborhood dog, Wellington. He is amazingly observant, but his lack of insight into other people’s emotional life hampers his investigation. Throughout the story Christopher has to overcome some of his deepest habits and fears as he uncovers some unexpected secrets.

The structural format and style of the novel are quite different than any other book I have ever read. The chapters are listed in prime numbers, as they Christophers favorite numbers. The narrative style is quite literal, avoiding the use of metaphors, excessive logic, and an extreme attention to details. The chapters are not completely linear, separated by snippets of math and explanations of his condition: how it affects him, and what coping strategies he adopts. This effect is sometimes unnatural and occasionally breathless, which is a little reminiscent of people that I know who are nuerodivergent.

Christophers condition makes him very literal- something that he is aware of. Truth is supreme, so he hates situations where he can’t tell the truth and the fact that “everything you tell is a white lie” because you can never give a fully comprehensive answer to anything. Many novels are fixated on finding the truth, but Christopher’s journey takes the idea to a deeper level. Even though we know Christopher is almost pathologically truthful, his condition means that the observations sometimes miss the real truth of a situation. Most of the humor throughout arise from Christopher’s misunderstandings of situations and the conflict between his lack of embarrassment and desire to be unnoticed by unfamiliar people.

Christopher loves math because it is safe, straightforward and has a definite answer, unlike life. He’s also good at explaining some aspects, ending an explanation of calculating primes with “Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away”. His apparent deviations from logic are justified with ingenious logic, having favorite and hated colors reduces choice and thus stress. He notices and remembers every detail of everything, and can recall it at will, whereas other people’s brains are filled with imaginary stuff, Christopher’s brain contains everything that has happened since he was 4.

Christopher never explicitly says anything beyond “behavioral problems” for him being different than other kids. Christopher talks about the special school he is enrolled in, being the first student in his school to take an A-level course, and his particular tendencies. He hates the colors yellow and brown, does not like to be touched, and doesn’t understand emotions too well. For not wanting to assume anything that is not explicitly told to us, I am going to just say that he is nuerodivergent.

Mark Haddon won Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Overall Best First Book for his novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in 2004. Haddon’s knowledge on Asperger’s Syndrome and autism comes from his work with nuerodivergent people as a young man. Although he is no expert when it comes to special needs, Haddon’s unique character design and perspective brings awareness towards people with mental disabilities. The novel has also been adapted as a play in Britain, making its way in Broadway for a while.

This is the first book that I have ever read that has a character with a mental disability, let alone the protagonist of the novel. This new perspective allows a reader to feel less normal, and explore the differences between people around us. A lot of the population has some sort of mental disability, whether it be autism, anxiety, depression or down syndrome. Like any other minority in country, it is nice when you can read about people different from yourself and understand them a little bit more.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time would be a good book to use in a classroom setting for a multitude of reasons. One being the perspective from a person that is nuerodivergent, most books are from nuerotypical people so this would be a new experience for students. This perspective also changes the way that people think about others with mental disabilities, they are not very different than you and me. Another important issue that arises throughout the book is the way that people around Christopher are affected by his condition. Many people fail to realize the strain and difficulties that can arise from raising a child with a mental disability. Like any drastic change in life, a mental disability can put tension on relationships and disrupt a family’s “normal” way of living. Haddon writes an enthralling novel, keeping the reader entertained and attached throughout its entirety. The new frame of mind from a character that is nuerodivergent, the effects on familial and external relationships, and the battle to overcome fears and habits.