The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

"The main character is a young boy who is completely confused by the social interactions of people in his community and in his family, but he’s also very precocious in mathematics. The book describes, albeit fictionally, the disconnect between his understanding of systems – in this case mathematical, numerical systems – and his major difficulties in understanding people. I think in fiction the writer has some licence to deviate from what is real – it’s a work of art, ultimately, for people’s interest and enjoyment, but I think that the character is very recognisable of many people on the autistic spectrum. I think the author has done a very good job. There’s also an extra element in that this boy is a victim of domestic violence , and that’s certainly not seen in most autistic children, so if the reader is trying to figure out what’s causing what, it’s quite difficult to disentangle. Are his difficulties just the result of his autistic spectrum condition, or the result of early neglect and abuse? The other appeal of this book is that the main character walks around his village looking at clues, to make sense of what has happened. In this sense, the autistic child is thinking like a detective, to get at the truth, and this speaks to autistic children’s strong interest in ‘systemizing’ or looking for patterns in the world that can be confirmed through evidence. It’s a book that I would recommend, because I think it has a very original style – it’s very engaging. The risk that this book carries is that people who read it might think that all children on the autism spectrum have strong mathematical talents, which is not the case – there’s a slight risk of misrepresentation. But as a work of fiction, it does a good job of engaging the reader through a character who is clearly different. Well, it is unclear what proportion of autistic people are savants. Savant syndrome certainly seems to be more common in people on the autistic spectrum, compared to any other group of people with a clinical diagnosis, so there’s definitely a link, but we need more research into the reason for this link and its prevalence."

"In The Curious Incident , a fifteen-year-old boy who struggles with social cues but excels at mathematics decides to turn his attention to solving the murder of a local dog—and in doing so also stumbles upon the truth about the disappearance of his own mother, two years previously. Protagonist Christopher is usually interpreted to be autistic, and this fictional representation has drawn praise from many directions, including Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, the Cambridge researcher, who recommended it to us as one of the best books on autism , describing it as “very original”: “as a work of fiction, it does a good job of engaging the reader through a character who is clearly different.” Haddon’s high concept mystery, which is enjoyed by adults and young adults alike, is one of our most regularly-recommended books on Five Books; it was also recommended to us by bestselling children’s author Robert Muchamore as a good book for a reluctant 12-year-old reader . It was longlisted for what was then the Man Booker Prize in 2013."

"Yes, I don’t want to ruin the book for your readers. The story, in this one, is very important. One thing I wanted to pull out in my own book is the impact on siblings. The siblings of children with special needs are really special people, who have to go through a process and a journey themselves. As a parent you are constantly trying to navigate the tension between your neurotypical child and your child with a need—because a child with a need often takes up all the space in the room, right? There are times when they have to. So one of the things I was focused on early on was making sure that my son was supported. He was seven when Chloe was diagnosed, and I really wanted him to understand, just like I was trying to understand. He is a big theatre and drama person, so when he was younger I looked for literature that he could access. The Curious Incident had been adapted as a play at the time, so I took him to see it. That’s how we first got into it. He loved it. This book is actually brilliant for any age. The story pitches the theme of autism implicitly. It’s set in a plot, a story, and the autism is not the main point. For me, that was a great way of presenting it. The story is sad, it’s funny, it has twists and turns. So I recommend it to everyone. Absolutely. It did a great job of raising awareness. And also, it helped me see that it could be an opportunity. I started the journey thinking: Oh god, this is terrible, it’s not what I planned. Then I moved to: What’s the opportunity here? What can I learn? How can I be a better person as a result? Finding these books was a big part of that process, and being able to share these books with other people makes me feel like I’ve not only helped myself but maybe somebody else out there as well."

"It does, and what’s really funny is that he wrote this spy series for eight- or nine-year-olds and then he suddenly comes out with this rather brilliant novel. It’s so wide open. Is it an adult book? Is it a kids’ book ? So many people can read it and approach it. My favourite story about it is that I went to a library at a very posh public school in Cambridge, and the librarian had a secret cupboard at the back of her library where she kept books that she only gave to her most trusted readers, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was in there. The governors of the school were such prudes, they wouldn’t let the kids read anything. I said to her: ‘What happens if they find out. Won’t you get the sack?’ Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . ‘Well,’ she said, ‘my husband’s quite well off and I retire in a couple of years anyway. I don’t care, they’re just a bunch of prudes.’ I expect she’s fully retired now, but that’s the kind of reaction that book inspires, I think. Well, h’m, I don’t remember that. But when you’re thinking about reluctant readers then, no, it’s not going to appeal to the same reluctant reader who’s going to pick up a CHERUB book or the Anthony McGowan or Acceleration . It’s a slightly higher-brow book, slightly different, but kids are different too. Maybe your son wouldn’t enjoy it now, but a slightly quirky 14-year-old girl would absolutely love it. I just think there’s not a prescription for a certain type of kid."