THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME BOOK NOTES

SHORT SUMMARY (Synopsis)

Christopher Boone is a mathematically-gifted autistic teenager who one night discovers the dead body of Wellington, the large poodle of his neighbor Mrs. Shears. After a misunderstanding with the police that gets him arrested, Christopher decides to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington despite his father's order that he stay out of other people's business. Christopher's mother died of a heart attack two years earlier, leaving Ed the sole caregiver of his son.

Christopher decides to write about this mystery for an assignment at school; the book he writes is the one we read as the novel. He is also preparing for his A-level math exam, which has never happened at his school before. Regarding Wellington's demise, Christopher investigates around the neighborhood and eventually finds out from Mrs. Alexander that his mother Judy had an affair with Roger Shears, Mrs. Shears' former husband. Ed Boone grows angry when he discovers Christopher's book: they get into a fight and Ed throws the book away. Later, Ed apologizes to his son and takes him to the zoo, making sure Christopher knows he loves him.

Christopher wants his book back and searches for it; when he discovers it in his father's bedroom, he also finds letter that seem to be from his mother. With his father unaware, he reads several of the letters and realizes his mother isn't dead but is living in London with Roger Shears. She had run away with Mr. Shears two years ago, unable to care for Christopher any longer. Christopher's father had lied to him by telling him she was dead. The trauma of this discovery causes him to black out, which is how his father finds him.

Ed apologizes to Christopher for this lie, then also tells his son that he was the one who killed Wellington. He did so in a fit of frustrated rage against Mrs. Shears, with whom he thought a romantic relationship was possible. Christopher panics at this news, equating his father's ability to kill Wellington with the possibility of being murdered himself. He hides behind the shed that night and decides to go to London to live with his mother. With some difficulty, Christopher goes to the train station and takes the rail to London, throwing off the police twice along the way. However, traveling the rail system is traumatic for him, and he almost dies when he tries to recover his pet rat Toby on one of the tracks. His mother Judy is surprised when she sees Christopher waiting for him at her door, and even more surprised to find out he had thought her dead all this time. The presence of Christopher strains Judy's relationship with her now-longtime lover; she finally decides to leave Roger Shears and return with Christopher to Swindon.

Christopher is able to take his A-level math exam despite his mother trying to delay it a year while they were in London. He and his mother find a new place to live in Swindon as she resumes caring for her son. Toby dies of old age, and Ed gives Christopher a gift as part of a project to regain his trust: a golden retriever puppy that Christopher names Sandy. Christopher finds out he earned an A grade on his A-level math exam and will take more A-level tests in preparation for college. He believes he can become a scientist - or do anything else - based on all he has accomplished as described in his book.

THEMES

Major Themes

The Search for Order and Stability

The search for order and stability is the first major theme of the novel. That is, the entire novel is an account by narrator Christopher Boone of how his world is upended by chaos - the death of a favorite dog, the discovery of a deception regarding his parents - and how he restores order. For Christopher, the desire for order and stability is actually a necessity of living: as he suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, he needs an ordered and stable life to be happy and safe. Anything that jeopardizes this not only damages his mental state, but also brings him physical pain.

The Role of Absences in Life

The title of the book - a reference to the Sherlock Holmes mystery "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" - points to the other major theme of the novel: the role of absences in life, and how people often fail to see the significance of what isn't there. The novel is a double mystery, and the second mystery deals with the absence of his mother, which Christopher had accepted the way the silence of the dog in "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" was mistakenly accepted as normal in that story.

Minor Themes

The Stability of Family

The minor themes in the novel involve specific ways stability can be found, especially as relevant to Christopher's life. First, there is the stability of family: something which seems evident in Christopher's life at first, but is shown to be a lie and must be re-established by the end of the novel.

Mathmatics and Science

Secondly as a minor theme, there is the importance of mathematics and science - an essential motif, but also of thematic significance as Christopher uses these fields of study to help understand the world around him.

MOOD

The primary mood of the novel is serious, reflecting Christopher's own seriousness as narrator and character. He actually writes early on, "This will not be a funny book," which isn't exactly true - humor often arises inadvertently in the story - but makes clear his intention.

There is also a mood of erudition - that is, a constant flow of new information, much of it theoretical and mathematical in nature. Part of this seems to be an attempt to educate the reader (at least on Haddon's part), but it more obviously stems from the way Christopher deals with the world around him. The flow of theories and facts work with the seriousness of the narration by emphasizing the importance of logical and ordered thinking for Christopher, as well as the importance of focus in maintaining a sense of stability.

Mark Haddon

Mark Haddon - BIOGRAPHY

Mark Haddon was born in Northampton, England on September 26, 1962. He earned a BA in English at Oxford University in 1981 and later studied for an MSc in English Literature at Edinburgh University. As a young man, he worked with autistic individuals, an experience which helped shape The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

A writer and illustrator with many magazine publication credits, Haddon's first children's book, Gilbert's Gobstopper, was published in 1987. More would follow, including the Agent Z and Baby Dinosaurs series. He also worked in television, winning BAFTA awards for episodes in the series Microsoap.

In 2003 his novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, was published. Originally intended as a children's book, the potential for a larger audience led to the unusual decision of publishing the book simultaneously in two imprints - one for children and one for adults. It won a string of prestigious awards, including England's prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year as well as prizes in other countries.

Haddon's first book of poetry, The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, was published in 2005.

LITERARY / HISTORICAL INFORMATION

The most important literary reference in the novel is Sherlock Holmes, who functions as a kind of role model for narrator Christopher Boone. Sherlock Holmes was the creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who serialized stories of the detective in English magazines - primarily The Strand - starting in 1887. In all, Doyle wrote fifty-six short stories and four novels, the third novel being The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was originally serialized in 1901-1902.

In the 1892 Sherlock Holmes story "Silver Blaze," "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" is an example of a clue whose importance is based on its absence. The curiousness of the dog's behavior is that it did nothing on the fateful night of the story - that is, the fact that it did nothing is unusual given the circumstances that supposedly were occurring at the time. In this way, Holmes was able to solve the case.

Sherlock Holmes has emerged as the quintessential example of the master detective and has been the basis for numerous adaptations and homages, including Haddon's novel.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Summary Notes

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