The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime christopher

The narrator of this novel is Christopher Boone, an autistic teenager who is trying to figure out who killed his neighbor's dog. Although Christopher is very good at math, he is not very good at understanding people or their motivations. Consequently, he is caught off-guard by the secrets he learns about the adults in his neighborhood.

Math arises in the book in a few different ways. For example, the chapters numbers are prime and there is a detailed discussion of the Monty Hall Problem. And, in an appendix of the book, Christopher gives his answer to a question on the "maths A-level" exam that he took. In particular, he shows that a triangle whose side lengths are equal to n2+1, n2-1, and 2n (for n>1) must be a right triangle. And, furthermore, he has to show that the converse is not true in that not every right triangle has side lengths of that form. (Since this proof is contained in an appendix, it is likely that many readers skip it all together.)

Playwright Simon Stephens adapted this novel for the theater in 2012. As expected, some of the math was cut from the book for the play, but some also remains. In fact, the dramatic finale of the play is Christopher's explanation of the proof he wrote for his "A-Level maths exams". Its prominent placement in the play, and the fact that it "breaks the fourth wall", probably means that a greater percentage of theater goers see it than readers..

Towards the end of the play, Christopher is taking his "maths A-levels" exam and is asked to show that a triangle whose side lengths are equal to n2+1, n2-1, and 2n (for n>1) must be a right triangle. (The part about demonstrating that the converse of this statement is false is not included in the play.) Christopher seems ready at that point to explain to the audience how he proved this claim, but one of his teachers convinces him to wait until after the curtain call so that those who are not interested can leave. And so, at the very end of the play, after we have learned that he earned a grade of A-star on the exam, after the conclusion of the storylines, and after the actors have come out for their bows, Christopher explains (with many theatrical flourishes) his use of the Pythagorean theorem to answer the question. In particular, he walks the audience through the algebraic computation that the square of the largest of these three numbers is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two. It then follows from the converse of the Pythagorean Theorem that the triangle must be a right triangle. (Note: The converse of the Pythagorean theorem is true. A triangle is a right triangle if and only if the sum of the squares of two of its side lengths is the square of the remaining side. The part in the book about showing the converse to be false has left some readers under the misconception that the converse of the Pythagorean theorem is false, but that is not what it says. It is only this statement about side lengths written in terms of the number n whose converse is false!)

Contributed by Karen Anglin

This book is a delightful read. You won't want to put it down. It is like nothing you have ever read. A murder mystery where the victim is a dog. A lead character with autism that is passionate about mathematics. A mathematical proof is given in the appendix...and the list goes on. Even the chapters are numbered differently, but I don't want to give too much away.

Books whose characters have a unique voice are always intriguing. But getting into the brain of a character who truly processes the world in a novel way is a true treat. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is just such a book. Its main character, and the narrator of the book, is Christopher Boone, a 15 year old with autism.

Mark Haddon, the author of The Curious Incident, never lets Christopher stray from his unique interpretation of the world around him, which is what allows the readers to feel they are within his mind. Haddon teaches creative writing in England, but as a young man he worked with autistic individuals. He clearly illustrates his familiarity with an "autistic world view" in The Curious Incident.

At some points, the autistic world view can become disconcerting because audiences come to expect much more emotion in a good story. But this fact does not detract from the story, it enhances it. The reader is forced to give in to Christopher's logical and concrete way of looking at everything around him. The book's tone reminds one of Temple Grandin's autobiographical account of what it is like to process the world as an autistic individual.

From a disability image standpoint, The Curious Incident has power because the running undercurrent in the book is that it is less that Christopher's disability causes challenges, than it is the disabling environment in which he lives. This disabling environment includes a number of adults in his life who don't know how to deal with Christopher and his many unique requirements and rituals. (He only eats food of certain colors, for example). Also, the conflicts that begin to swirl in Christopher's family arise from the adults' frustration and lack of acceptance of the teen's differences. Mostly, Christopher himself manages his disability perfectly well through a set of strategic rituals such as doing complex math problems in his head. But his family causes his autistic symptoms to erupt through their own collective inability to cope.

Christopher calls the book a "murder mystery" as he sets out to discover who killed his neighbor's dog, Wellington. His single-minded, Sherlock-Holmes-style pursuit of the "killer" sets in motion a bigger mystery that affects his own life. And the book lives up to Christopher's characterization excellently; it is such a compelling mystery that one has difficulty putting the book down. But The Curious Incident functions as a coming-of-age story as well, one in which this teen with autism must confront his deepest fears to solve the larger mystery.

Another insightful aspect to the book concerns Christopher at his "special school," which he reluctantly tolerates. His true goal is take his A levels in math so he can one day pursue a career as an astronaut. In a wonderful deconstruction of the term "special needs," Christopher refuses to be lumped into any categories just because he is different.

All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I'm not meant to call them stupid, even though that is what they are. I'm meant to say that they have learning difficulties or that they have special needs. But this is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties because learning to speak French or understanding relativity is difficult and also everyone has special needs, like Father, who has to carry a little packet artificial sweetening tablets around with him to put in his coffee to stop him from getting fat, or Mrs. Peters who wears a beige-coloured hearing aid, or Siobhan, who has glasses so thick that they give you a headache if you borrow them, and none of these people are Special Needs, even if they have special needs (pp. 43-44).

Reading about Christopher's investigation of a world that calls him different is pure joy. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time also infuses much humor into the serious mystery Christopher is trying to solve. As a reader, Christopher's constant questioning causes one to take pause at, for example, the many metaphors that litter the English language, and when considered by someone with autism, they become quite ridiculous. What does "the apple of someone's eye" really mean? Christopher would ask what do apples and the human eye have to do with liking someone. And that's the fun of the book, considering how the habits and practices of non-disabled people can be interpreted as "weird or different," too.

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