The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

reader response to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
written 1.14.06

So it goes. the work so far is incredibly tralfamadorian. It really reminds me of slaughterhouse five.... and girl, interrupted, and SLC Punk!- 1 novel and 2 movies that have a very schizophrenic feel to them. I noticed a few quirks immediately before the narrator explained them- like the prime numbers for chapter numbers. the main thing that i dislike about this book is its use of the F-bomb. I really don't like that and i don't think it's appropriate for my classroom- but kids are so jaded these days- it prolly wouldn't bother them. In fact, they'd probably gain a sense of literary freedom from it: "OOH! I can get away with reading a book that says 'fuck' in it!" Anyways. As far as the rest of the story goes- it's pretty interesting. In quest/adventure stories, the protagonist is usually questing for something wholly opposite or different from that which he thinks he is questing. The thought at this point is: will he return to his investigation concerning wellington? How will this newly acquired info about his mother affect him? exactly WHAT kind of man is his father? I'm also wondering where Haddon gleaned the inspiration for this character- it says he used to work with autistic kids. It's difficult to understand mental problems- some of them are just not justifiable to me- perhaps because I don't understand. hopefully this book will shed a little light on me.

written 1.22.06

WHAT THE HELL? No wonder this kid is so screwed up! He has a lying, dog-killing father, and a mother with a temper problem. What amazes me about Haddon is how he portrays christopher. I've worked with some autistic kids, and christopher certainly shows signs of autism- either that or OCD. The novel was overall a quick read, but it did drag in points because of the math/science babble. didn't like that much. And i also did NOT like the use of the C-word. but that's how they speak in London. They throw that around about as much as we throw "dumbass."- anyone who's seen a Guy Ritchie film will attest to that. and I like that. I don't want any watered-down version of any colloquialisms.... that's why i was so pissed off when i heard that I'd been reading the "americanized" versions of harry potter.... i'm really pissed that I have to re-buy all of those books so I can get the local flavor- it just adds so much to the reading! I'm insulted that the publishers think that I won't "get it." assholes. anyways. we're getting off the subject here. The only thing that caught my attention was the length of chapter 223. I think it might be the longest chapter. it's 21 and 1/4 pages long. I think Haddon did this to illustrate how incredibly LONG the journey was for christopher. This book really reminded me of slaughterhouse five. it's all over the place. I really don't think that I would teach this in my classroom- the language is a little harsh- i don't think i'd be allowed.... not sure. I think the situations are applicable and teens can certainly relate to the parental problems- and the quest theme... but the language is just too extreme for my taste. I've read about 4 books on the list now... and this one is OK. It's not my favorite, but I don't hate it, either.