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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Front Cover
1338 Reviews
National Geographic Books, Dec 26, 2007 - Fiction - 320 pages
International Bestseller

#1 National Bestseller in Canada

Foreign rights have been sold to the UK, Italy, France, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Japan, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Holland and Brazil.

Film rights have been bought by Hey Day (the makers of Harry Potter) together with Brad Grey (producer of The Sopranos) and Brad Pitt in their first acquisition for Warner Bros.

Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions.

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. At fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbour’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 favourite 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 Christopher tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers 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 emotions. The effect is dazzling, making for one of the freshest debut in years: a comedy, a tearjerker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.


From the Trade Paperback edition.
  

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User ratings

5 stars
417
4 stars
373
3 stars
149
2 stars
48
1 star
27

Charming and quick and educational. - weRead
Plot is predictable; narrator is stereotypical. - weRead
Great insight into autism - weRead
A very unique writing style. - weRead
I also feel the ending was utterly unrealistic. - weRead
Haddon takes characterization to a new level. - weRead

Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

User Review  - Cecily - Goodreads

First person tale of Christopher, a fifteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome or high-functioning autism and a talent for maths, who writes a book (this one - sort of - very post modern) about his ... Read full review

Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

User Review  - Gavin - Goodreads

Oof...well, there's not much to say about this one, no great insights, not great storytelling, and a crapload of literary devices that come across as contrived and meager, at best. I liked the idea of ... Read full review

All 1338 reviews »

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About the author (2007)

Mark Haddon is a writer and illustrator of numerous award-winning children’s books and television adaptations. As a young man, Haddon worked with autistic individuals. He currently teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and at Oxford University. He lives in Oxford, England.


From the Hardcover edition.

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