The world of books is large and diverse. Books give us the opportunity to escape reality and
to just relax. The book that I have chosen to speak on today is The curious incident of the
dog in the night time by Mark Haddon. If I were to describe this book in a few words it
would be a clever twist on a murder mystery novel. The novel is set in present times in a
small town and follows a 15-year-old genius named Christopher who finds his neighbour’s
dog, who he cared for deeply, brutally murdered. He then decides to investigate further and
find the culprit.
As a character, Christopher is quickly able to attract any reader’s attention. From the very
first page you cannot help but keep on reading page after page to find out more about this
curious character. Much like many teenagers with high IQ’s, he is incapable of perceiving
human emotion and takes everything people say as literal. He uses logic to substantiate all
of his choices in life and this makes it near impossible to argue with him. This adds some
humour to an otherwise serious plot and managed to keep me interested and attentive
throughout the entire novel. Something that seemed very apparent to me whilst reading the
novel was that Christopher’s reactions towards incidents in his life was almost like that you
would expect of a robot. His incapability of processing emotion is what leads him to being
intrigued by the dog’s death rather than sad. He is a soft, gentle soul when not interfered
with but can get quite defensive when he feels scared or attacked.
Another prominent character who caught my attention and interest was Christopher’s best
friend, Siobhan, who is a friendly, gentle girl who translates the world for Christopher when
he is unable to understand it. She is there for him every time he feels lost or confused. She
encourages him, comforts him and motivates him, and personally, I think that Siobhan is
Haddon’s way of informing the reader that no, not everyone treats children with special
needs badly or as if they’re useless. There are those few people who do understand them
and even go out of their way to help and comfort them.
Christopher’s father however has a much shorter temper. At first, he seems quite caring and
protective over Christopher but I soon learnt of his concealed anger, causing him to quickly
gain my displeasure. He loves his son but often loses his patience with him to the point
where he repeatedly swears at him and even physically abuses him.
The themes include friendship, loyalty and, most importantly, the challenges faced by
special needs children in their everyday lives. The novel emphasises the drastic difference in
relationship between Christopher and Siobhan and Christopher and his father. We learn
that around Siobhan, Christopher is able to let his guard down and be honest whereas it is
the complete opposite with his father. In fact, it is Siobhan who Christopher turns to when
his father acts out in fits of anger and frustration. The novel also shows how so many people
act indifferently to children like Christopher, forgetting that they are people too. Haddon
manages to depict with absolute accuracy society’s view towards children with special
needs but does it in a very clever manner. By making the primary idea of the novel a murder
mystery and the secondary idea the challenges faced by the child himself, Haddon is able to
address realistic problems in a subtle and passive-aggressive manner. This structure also
adds much more interest to the book and gives it a much lighter atmosphere.
to just relax. The book that I have chosen to speak on today is The curious incident of the
dog in the night time by Mark Haddon. If I were to describe this book in a few words it
would be a clever twist on a murder mystery novel. The novel is set in present times in a
small town and follows a 15-year-old genius named Christopher who finds his neighbour’s
dog, who he cared for deeply, brutally murdered. He then decides to investigate further and
find the culprit.
As a character, Christopher is quickly able to attract any reader’s attention. From the very
first page you cannot help but keep on reading page after page to find out more about this
curious character. Much like many teenagers with high IQ’s, he is incapable of perceiving
human emotion and takes everything people say as literal. He uses logic to substantiate all
of his choices in life and this makes it near impossible to argue with him. This adds some
humour to an otherwise serious plot and managed to keep me interested and attentive
throughout the entire novel. Something that seemed very apparent to me whilst reading the
novel was that Christopher’s reactions towards incidents in his life was almost like that you
would expect of a robot. His incapability of processing emotion is what leads him to being
intrigued by the dog’s death rather than sad. He is a soft, gentle soul when not interfered
with but can get quite defensive when he feels scared or attacked.
Another prominent character who caught my attention and interest was Christopher’s best
friend, Siobhan, who is a friendly, gentle girl who translates the world for Christopher when
he is unable to understand it. She is there for him every time he feels lost or confused. She
encourages him, comforts him and motivates him, and personally, I think that Siobhan is
Haddon’s way of informing the reader that no, not everyone treats children with special
needs badly or as if they’re useless. There are those few people who do understand them
and even go out of their way to help and comfort them.
Christopher’s father however has a much shorter temper. At first, he seems quite caring and
protective over Christopher but I soon learnt of his concealed anger, causing him to quickly
gain my displeasure. He loves his son but often loses his patience with him to the point
where he repeatedly swears at him and even physically abuses him.
The themes include friendship, loyalty and, most importantly, the challenges faced by
special needs children in their everyday lives. The novel emphasises the drastic difference in
relationship between Christopher and Siobhan and Christopher and his father. We learn
that around Siobhan, Christopher is able to let his guard down and be honest whereas it is
the complete opposite with his father. In fact, it is Siobhan who Christopher turns to when
his father acts out in fits of anger and frustration. The novel also shows how so many people
act indifferently to children like Christopher, forgetting that they are people too. Haddon
manages to depict with absolute accuracy society’s view towards children with special
needs but does it in a very clever manner. By making the primary idea of the novel a murder
mystery and the secondary idea the challenges faced by the child himself, Haddon is able to
address realistic problems in a subtle and passive-aggressive manner. This structure also
adds much more interest to the book and gives it a much lighter atmosphere.
