The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Book description
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.
Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.
And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally. Published in 2003; 226 pages.
Description from book jacket.

Research the author and the book using library resources
Information on the author’s life and works is available through our library’s online resources. Recommended online resources for The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time by Mark Haddon include Academic Search Premier, MasterFILE Premier - Ebsco and Literature Resource Center. Enter your library barcode and then use the author’s name or the book title to search for full-text encyclopedia or magazine articles.

Discussion questions
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time discussion questions from readinggroupguides.com

Additional information
The book’s hero, Christopher Boone, is obsessed with Sherlock Holmes.

Readalikes
As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway
10th Grade by Joseph Weisberg