Book Review the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

chillibreeze writer — Renuka Mani

So we’re bibliophiles and we love books. We love to read and muse and discuss and wonder and hope and query about the books we’ve read. And then once in a while we are asked or ask ourselves, ‘Which are your/my favorite books, or, can you/I name the Top 10 of your/my favorite books?’ Your mind then casts itself to the legions of books, turning the pages of time and filtering the memories of those that have left an indelible impression, to answer the question.

I know I won’t have trouble remembering The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time by Mark Haddon. Among the plethora of books that adorn the bookshelf of my memory, this is one that stands out. It left me wondrous and full of admiration and respect not just for the author, but also for the protagonist, Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old child – a special child. What many would term an autistic savant.

It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears' house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog.

Right from that opening paragraph of the book, I got increasingly curious until I was completely engrossed - hook, line and sinker.

It is a story about Chris Boone and his very simple, and oh so plainly truthful and soul-searching, premise to write a book, which begins with the death of Wellington, a neighbor’s dog. The journey for Chris thus begins when he decides to emulate his favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, and investigate the murder. The layers that he begins to discover in a startling, sometimes funny, sometimes plain and sometimes enquiring manner make the book a wonderful read. Life at a small sleepy town called Swindon, Chris’s love of math, his orderly mind, his horror of being touched, his inability to express or identify with emotions makes The Curious Incident an unforgettable read.

I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk.

Passages like this and the tone adopted by the author for Chris is curiously detached and yet extremely compelling. The style of narrative, which is through the eyes of a 15-year-old child with special needs (nowhere does he mention that he is an autistic savant, but the reader gathers this as he journeys the breadth of the book with its young, curious and extremely intelligent writer) has been remarkably handled and maintained by Haddon.

For a writer of children’s books, this foray into a genre that is curiously in-between (it did win the Whitbread Book of The Year award) is handled skillfully, the book straddling the two worlds extremely gracefully. I have tremendously high expectations of Mark Haddon’s second book, which he says is underway.

As you read the book you are left wondering how the end of it will turn out. You have to read the book to discover that it turns out not quite as you’d expect it to. Thank God for that! Of course I will spare you the trauma of saying it’s a soppy, teary ending, and leave you to find out how Wellington’s death was solved by Chris Boone. Savor the book for its rich tapestry of wonderful narrative and a perspective that strangely enough does not elicit anger or detachment for its protagonist, but on the contrary makes you want to hug him! I can almost hear him groaning at that confession!

Many might draw parallels to J D Salinger’s main character from the Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, though the styles are different. In many ways The Curious Incident is also a commentary on the social mores and compels us in a very subtle way to think about who we are and why we are the way we are.

Read it. Enjoy it. And like me, maybe, you will list it as a book that made an impression.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Renuka writes for chillibreeze.

Book Review the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers: