Christopher Boone is 15. He knows "all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507". He lives in Swindon with his father and Toby, his pet rat. He abhors all yellow and brown things, thinks he would make a good astronaut, and has never been further than the end of the road on his own until his discovery of the "murder" of his neighbour's dog turns him into an amateur detective.
Christopher has Asperger's syndrome, though this is never specified. Mark Haddon's study of the condition is superbly realised, but this is not simply a novel about disability. Haddon, rather like Daniel Keyes in his 1959 classic Flowers for Algernon , uses his narrator's innocence as a means of commenting on the emotional and moral confusion in the lives of the adults around him. Christopher sees everything, remembers everything, but cannot prioritise - cannot sift out what most of us regard as important. On the day he is told his mother is dead, he records his Scrabble score, and notes that supper was spaghetti with tomato sauce. But he isn't callous or indifferent. He can cope with facts, with concrete detail; emotions confuse and alarm him.
Autistic people are not easy subjects for novelists. Their interests are prescribed, their experiences static, their interaction with others limited. Haddon ingeniously uses Christopher's admiration for Sherlock Holmes to lead him out of this stasis, not to effect some miraculous "cure", but so that a story can happen. Detective fiction, relying on the accumulation of material facts, is the only fiction that makes sense to Christopher. As he collects facts relating to the death of the dog, he unwittingly pieces together a jigsaw that reveals to the reader the lies, grief and evasions of his parents' lives.
There is, of course, a great novelistic tradition of children as observers of the darker side of adult behaviour - What Maisie Knew , To Kill a Mockingbird . But The Curious Incident is no out-of-Eden fable. The pathos of Christopher's condition is that he can never understand the havoc his very existence has wreaked in the lives of those around him, however many facts he uncovers. I don't want to give the story away, but the scene in which he reads his mother's letters is one of the most affecting things I've read in years.
But there is comfort as well as sorrow. Christopher's innocence makes him vulnerable, but it protects him too. At the end, when order is restored, we see that he is a touchstone for adult behaviour. Those concerned with his welfare have to learn to temper their emotional needs round his autistic inability to compromise.
"This will not be a funny book," says Christopher. "I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them." But it is a funny book, as well as a sad one. Christopher's compulsive noting of mundane facts provides comedy reminiscent of the best of Adrian Mole, especially in his dealings with the police and his special-needs classmates. And Haddon's inclusion of diagrams, timetables, maps, even maths problems, extends the normal scope of novel-writing and demonstrates the rich idiosyncrasies of the autistic brain. The Curious Incident is published simultaneously for adults and older children; despite its clarity and simplicity, it operates on several levels. I'd love to know what a reader with Asperger's thinks of this book. I think it's brilliant.
By Charlotte Moore, columnist in the Guardian newspaper in England. Published in The Guardian in 2003.
I like how Charlotte Moore mentioned "To Kill A Mockingbird." We studied that novel earlier in the year and it's a bit ironic that what we're reading now is, in a way, relatable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that is both a sad book and funny at the same time. It's a romantic comedy, minus all the romance: dark, emotional aspects with moments that you can't help but laugh. With moments like the list of things he doesn't like (like Melissa Brown, who isn't really brown like Anil or Mohammed) mixed in with the emotional trauma of reading the letters of his "dead" mother, you can't help but feel so many emotions throughout the entire book.
I only have one problem with the book. When I finished it, I felt the ending was extremely rushed. I had the same feeling when I finished "Mockingjay" from the Hunger Games series. There was so much room for detail at the end that with all the missing information, you could have wrote a few extra chapters instead of the super long and not-very-exciting chapter that rapidly concluded all the events.
Chris is a super detailed-oriented character, so I was sort of shocked by the lack of detail.
However, despite the rushed ending, it was a good book. It was funny, suspenseful, emotional, heartbreaking, and educational (I learned about several math theories and random scientific stuff). I suggest it to everyone who wants a new and interesting read. The book also reveals a new perspective on the life of an autistic individual.
Honestly, Charlotte Moore couldn’t have summed up the premise and general storyline (if you can call it that) of the book better. The few details and examples she gave about Christopher give the outsider a perfect image of his general attitude and going-ons. I may sound ridiculous, but that first paragraph was brilliant.
ReplyDelete“As he collects facts … he unwittingly pieces together a jigsaw that reveals to the reader the lies … of his parents' lives. …’This will not be a funny book,’ says Christopher. ‘I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them.’ But it is a funny book, as well as a sad one.”
It’s true. Christopher is both funnier and more socially profound than he gives himself credit for. However, the mixture of funny and sad was a bit… harsh at times. I’ve said it before, but this book is difficult to react to. I’ve finished it, but I don’t know what it means. I don’t know what I’ve read. I mean, I know what happened, but I don’t know what I’ve learned.
There was lack of detail in some of the most important parts, and over-usage of detail seemingly unimportant parts. Is this the author or Christopher? Either way, it’s distracting. The humour and diagrams and maps save it.
I agree with Moore that this novel is not only about Christopher overcoming his own fears, but how he taught his caregivers lessons as well. They understand him better now, know how to better communicate with him, and attempt to better reason with his autistic self.
All in all, although this review was brilliantly written, I don’t agree with Moore that the book was as well.
I think Moore did an excellent job of describing Christopher, but the review tells me nothing about the book and certainly would not affect my decision to read it or not if I was trying to decide. I know the story line was practically inexistent, but she could have touched on it better.
ReplyDelete“As he collects facts … he unwittingly pieces together a jigsaw that reveals to the reader the lies … of his parents' lives. …’This will not be a funny book,’ says Christopher. ‘I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them.’ But it is a funny book, as well as a sad one.”
I agree with Elliott on this one. Christopher is better than he puts himself out to be. The book WAS funny, but quite dark in a terribly portrayed way. I had a seriously hard time figuring out what I thought of the book, and how I felt after reading it.
Although, what Moore said was true. She summed up what happens.. kinda... But there was no.. I dunno. SOMETHING is missing in the review. I don't know what. Moore just kinda talks... and writes.. I dunno. I have no feelings towards anything regarding this book for some reason.
This is an excellent review for the curious incident of the dog in the night time a dark, light, happy and sad book. The first paragraph was a perfect summary of the whole book. I love how Charlotte Moore made references to all the books that reminded her of this book, such as the kill a mocking bird, because I was having trouble relating this book to others. I also found that this summary covered a couple things that I had never even thought of such as when she explained how Christopher cannot priorities. When Charlotte made this statement it made me realise that the reason he cannot express his emotions is because "he cannot sift out what most of us regard as important”. Like she said emotions are too much for him to handle, they scare him.
ReplyDeleteI love the way this book was written with all the maps, math problems and diagrams. This book is unlike any I have ever read. Even the language used in this book made so interesting. All of these things made the dark story line a little lighter and funnier.
The writing of this book was an excellent demonstration of the autistic mind however I felt like it lacked in detail. The setting in the book was a bit week. I was also a bit disappointed with the ending of the book as it was abrupt and I was left with answers.
If you are looking for a happy book I would not recommend this book as it does contain some heavy subject. All in all as Charlotte said "I think it's brilliant". Readers will experience different emotions throw-out this book.