The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

A single father. A child with special needs. Both of them trying to make sense of this world.

Let's have Christopher introduce the main characters:

Father:

He was shouting, “I want to see my son,” and “Why the hell is he locked up? And “Of course I’m bloody angry.”

I stepped outside. Father was standing in the corridor. He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other. We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me.

Siobhan:

Siobhan understands. When she tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what is that I am not allowed to do. And like this.

For example, she once said, “You must never punch Sarah or hit her in any way, Christopher. Even if she hits your first. If she does hit you again, move away and from her and stand still and count from 1 to 50, then come and tell me what she has done, or tell one of the other members of the staff what she has done."

Christopher:

My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057.

I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons.

The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using words…

After Christopher finds his neighbor’s dog dead he decides to write a book. That is why this is book is so great. The narrator is Christopher. So the reader gets a sense of how he experiences the world. Fortunately, Christopher is a very attentive kid so he provides plenty of details so we know exactly what is happening. Siobhan told him that when writing a book you have to include descriptions of things, and “it was best to describe things that were interesting or different.”

People are confusing. Strangers and change makes him feel unsafe. However, some events occur that force him out of his comfort zone. It is very intriguing to hear what Christopher believes to be “interesting or different.” Once I started reading I didn’t want to put the book down, and you won’t either. Be sure to check out Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.