Greta G's Reviews > The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Excellent review, Greta. Thanks for challenging the way I considered and evaluated this read.

Thanks Carol. I've read your review too and it's nice. I don't mind if people love the book, it is special after all. But this book keeps popping up in lists of "best books on autism", "best science" books.. while it obviously is not. If it was the first thing I would have read about autism or asperger's, I maybe would have liked it more, but it was not.

Very interesting take on the novel. Wow, I had no idea he did not do any research on the subject. For me it was the first book with an autistic character so I did not know any better.

I read this when it came out and had some doubts about it being an accurate portrayal. Your reaction and the quote you've included chime with what I remember.

Excellent review. I've always taken this book as a simple story with an unusual character and one with not a very realistic portrayal of autism in general. I even had some doubts it's autism we're dealing here, but decided not to bother too much since it's a rather simplistic story. Had no idea the author didn't do any research at all - so lazy and even irresponsible of him. Unfortunately, the story has become part of a national exam in English in my country, so teachers analyse it to death and give it far more depth and nuance. My rating is thus partially coloured by those explanations, theories, and opinions. It's always easier to give higher ratings when you're told the story has something to offer.

Adina, Fionnuala and Matty-Swytla, thank you for reading my review and commenting.
In the review I've linked to, it is made very clear why it's dangerous to advise anyone to read it to learn about autism/asperger's. The main character, Christopher, is violent and lacks empathy. People who read it, thinking it is about autism, will find autistic people threatening and unsympathetic. Most autistic children aren't violent and are kind and empathetic. And they don't want to stab others with a knive, or dream that everyone they know would die. They also don't think they're smarter than everyone else.
The parents also treat Christopher with violence, and Christopher seems to be okay with it, 'because he has this problem'.
What kind of message is that, that it is okay to abuse your children when they have autism?
Anyway, Matty, I hope the teachers in your country do their homework themselves first, before teaching this stuff in school.

Excellent and very interesting review Greta. I MUST now re-read it.

John wrote: "Excellent and very interesting review Greta. I MUST now re-read it."

I'm glad you like my review John. But I'm also a little surprised because I saw it is one of your favorite books?

Greta, Amazing how this book continues to resurface, isn't it? :) You and I talked about this book before. You know, I read an interview with Mark Haddon some time ago in which he says he never meant it as a story about an autistic or asperger's boy... he just wanted to create a boy who had a different way of thinking. I believe he said he had "mild regrets' that the book was marketed as about a boy with autism. I don't know.... I suppose that is what happens when you write about something you know nothing about. I never reviewed this book. I read it and thought it was a strange mystery story. But I understand your feelings about it. I think the fact that Christopher(his name, I think) was not skilled in empathy encourages people to think that autistic people and people with Asperger's do not possess empathy. They couldn't be more wrong, in my opinion. My son is extremely sensitive. Where he runs into difficulties is determining those little subtleties that often take place in conversations between people. he is logical and often literal... so sometimes jokes pass by and he doesn't quite grasp them. He often doesn't understand satire. But he is excellent at reading people's emotions. I think people sometimes confuse this with lack of empathy and they think of sociopathy which in my mind, are different things. I know that writing books (fiction and non-fiction) about and by people who are autistic or who have Asperger's is popular but it seems there should be a way to distinguish between what is informative and sympathetic and what is simply based on stereotypical information.

(And I hope you don't mind my sharing my 'not asked for' opinion on this subject)! You wrote an informative review!! :)

Greta wrote: "John wrote: "Excellent and very interesting review Greta. I MUST now re-read it."

I'm glad you like my review John. But I'm also a little surprised because I saw it is one of your favorite books?"

Don't be! That's why I enjoy reading reviews - to get someone else's view. I may not necessarily agree with it. Your review is well reasoned and I enjoyed reading it. (I was particularly interested in the other book you refer to - must add that to my 'To Read' list) I now want to re-read the book to see whether or not I agree with you. That may mean shaving off a star or two!

Darlene wrote: "Greta, Amazing how this book continues to resurface, isn't it? :) You and I talked about this book before. You know, I read an interview with Mark Haddon some time ago in which he says he never mea..."
Hi Darlene, on the contrary, I'm glad you contributed to the discussion because you have firsthand experience with the subject, although I'm aware there are more severe cases of autism that are totally different than the average autism/Asperger's.
In fact, I saw 2 reviews of people I know have a child with severe autism, who actually could relate with the book.
But in most cases, the portrayal of autism in the book isn't accurate. People wrongly assume the author has expertise in the field, and the book is wrongly listed as a (fictionalized) scientific work.
In my opinion, Jonathan Safran Foer did a better job in portraying a child with autism/asperger's in his book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Greta-another excellent review.

John wrote: "Greta wrote: "John wrote: "Excellent and very interesting review Greta. I MUST now re-read it."

I'm glad you like my review John. But I'm also a little surprised because I saw it is one of your fa..."

I'm glad my review challenged your thoughts on this book John, and the fact that you now want to reread it, couldn't be a greater compliment. Thank you.

Greta wrote: "Darlene wrote: "Greta, Amazing how this book continues to resurface, isn't it? :) You and I talked about this book before. You know, I read an interview with Mark Haddon some time ago in which he s..."

Yes, you're right, Greta. I have seen children with a wide range of challenges and skills. I suppose that is why it is called a spectrum disorder.. :) I agree.. 'Extremely Loud &Incredibly Close' seemed a more realistic portrayal.. at least of the children I have seen and know!

david wrote: "Greta-another excellent review."

Very kind of you david. (And just between us, which were the other excellent ones?;)

Peony was another of your 'thrilling' reviews. Ooh, I get chills thinking of the effort put into it.

david wrote: "Peony was another of your 'thrilling' reviews. Ooh, I get chills thinking of the effort put into it."
I'm glad you find my Flemish English reviews 'thrilling'. Yes, it's quite an effort to translate my thoughts in proper English ;)

Without doubt, I wither under your reviews which are both uniquely Flemish and Phlegm-ish.

david wrote: "Without doubt, I wither under your reviews which are both uniquely Flemish and Phlegm-ish."
I wasn't aware of the Phlegm-ish quality. You could be right though, I'm kind of a realistic and critical reader, so I don't get excited easily when reading a book.

Um, precisely.

Hear hear! The fact that everyone on the spectrum is unique is no excuse for not doing a drop of research, especially if you are going to allow the publisher to put autism on the book jacket!

I think that Haddon did apologize, and say Christopher is just Christopher. But he still profits massively from the association, parents buy it, adults on the spectrum do too, lecturers even recommend this book to first year psychology students!

And all this time people trust it and think it will give them some insight into asperger's.

I couldn't agree more, Rebecca. Thanks for commenting.

Unfortunately you are right on all counts. I am one of those persons who gave The Curious Incident a higher rating than I knew it deserved. The fact is that Mark Haddon had the good sense to realize that there was a demand for a book on autism so he wrote one. Arguably it was an honourable pioneering effort in the area but its shortcomings are become more apparent every month. Theoretically I could try as I have two sons with autism. You are right that we need much better than Haddon's book.

Excellent word of warning, Greta. However, it lures me even closer to the ravine that is this polarised novel...

Czarny, didn't it bother you that Christopher was depicted as a violent person, who dreams that everybody would be dead, and who wants to stab people with his swiss knife ?

Thanks Dimitri. I'm not sure I understand your second sentence though. I would be grateful if you explain it to me.

Greta: Czarny, didn't it bother you that Christopher was depicted as a violent person, who dreams that everybody would be dead, and who wants to stab people with his swiss knife ?
Unfortunately not. This is why many parents with autistic kids liked the book. They felt that someone had understood their predicament. When the child displays violent tendencies you put him on Zoloft (sertaline). After a couple of years, the behaviour goes away.

My apologies. I should not be recommending drugs on the Internet and have no medical training. Anecdotally, many parents choose to put their autistic child on Zoloft once the paediatrician suggests it is a possible means of controlling an undesirable behaviour.

Czarny wrote: "My apologies. I should not be recommending drugs on the Internet and have no medical training. Anecdotally, many parents choose to put their autistic child on Zoloft once the paediatrician suggests..."
I did read some reviews from people who have a kid with severe autism, who could relate. But what bothers me with this book is that there's no nuance. People who don't have experience with this, will think every autistic person is a threat. I don't think the majority is like that at all.
I also had a hard time believing someone like Christopher, with violent tendencies, was left on his own at home, wanders around alone, travels on his own, and has a swiss knife in his pocket all the time.

Thanks, Greta, for a very sensitive and measured review that really got to me.

HBalikov wrote: "Thanks, Greta, for a very sensitive and measured review that really got to me."
Your comment got to me too, HBalikov. I honestly wasn't aware my so so review would cause such a stir. Thank you.

Greta; You asked about the "swiss knife in his pocket all the time". We once ate frozen vegetables for two years because we were afraid to have vegetable knives in the house. We may have over-reacted.
It is of great help to parents of autistic children that people now assume the best of them and go out of their way to be fair with them. If you expect them to be good, generally they will be.

Our fears are often unrealistic, Czarny. It is hard to deal with them. Everybody can relate, I guess.
Concerned about their safety, I took precautions too, when my children were little.

This is the basic problem. You never know whether you are dealing with a conventional problem that could occur with a neutro-typical child or if the behaviour is rooted in the autism.

My thoughts: Why would we put the burden on Mark Haddon, that he must, in a short novel, create an accurate portrayal of autism? What would that be I wonder? This is just a novel (an excellent one in my opinion) about one child, with unnamed issues, who is probably on the spectrum. And if you've seen one person with autism....well that's what you've seen. One person.

Lisa wrote: "My thoughts: Why would we put the burden on Mark Haddon, that he must, in a short novel, create an accurate portrayal of autism? What would that be I wonder? This is just a novel (an excellent one ..."
Hi Lisa. You've raised an important question.
The reality however, is that this book is being considered as a quasi scientific book on autism, recommended to everyone who wants to learn about autism/asperger's, schools included.
If I were the author, I would take my responsability and include some sort of disclaimer or preface in the book.
However, the opposite happened. On the book jacket is printed that Christopher has asperger's syndrome. Readers and students who have no experience, believe it's an accurate portrayal of asperger's/autism. The community of autistic people, their families and friends, aren't happy about this. In my opinion, they have the last word on this issue.

I have two children with autism--one with sever autism, who no longer speaks, one with Aspergers Syndrome--and this has become a very important and moving book for me. I've read it several times and never fail to weep, in several places, as I see myself in the various characters. I understand the mother, and father, and care much for the boy who can express so much more than textbooks suggest kids with Asperger's Syndrome can express. I understood Haddon worked for years with kids with various disabilities in a group home to support himself as he worked as a writer. But whether he did or not wouldn't be the point for me about whether or not the novel as a fictional entity works or not. I think it is fascinating but not surprising that two people see the same book in such different ways. But that's the nature of reading. Maybe I feel that book up with the meaning that I have myself made from my experience, and others just see it differently with their experiences.

David wrote: "I have two children with autism--one with sever autism, who no longer speaks, one with Aspergers Syndrome--and this has become a very important and moving book for me. I've read it several times an..."
David, I was aware of the fact you have a child with severe autism and that you loved the book. That's the reason I wrote in one of my comments that I read the reviews of 2 people I know that have a child with severe autism, that loved the book and could relate.

I just didn't like the writing and I found the story highly unbelievable (e.g. Christopher running around on his own with a pocket knife) and so it left me cold. Whereas when I read a memoir from an autistic person, I felt emotionally drained. Two totally different reading experiences for me.

David. I also have two children with autism. It is not surprising that I reacted the same way you did to the book. Haddon may not be a psychologist or pediatrician but clearly he has spent some considerable time with children having autism. When you read the book you feel less alone.
I have had problems with knives in my house. We have also disposed of my father's fine collection of hunting rifles.
Nonetheless I am sympathetic with Greta and her two star rating. I found Christopher's resourcefulness and initiative inconsistent with his described condition.
Fundamentally I see the Dog in the Night as an excellent starting point in the literary discussion. I only regret that I cannot see the way to organize my own memories into a similar book.
If you are able to do so, please write your novel. I would read it with pleasure.

Here's an article on Mark Haddon and the origins of this book :
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/on...

He perfectly worded why readers have different reading experiences : "It’s also a novel about the act of reading. It contains huge gaps that readers fill without noticing. Christopher, for example, never says what he looks like, the clothes he wears, the way his hair is cut, whether he is skinny or fat, tall or short. In spite of this most readers have a vivid image of him. And this, I suspect, is one of the many reasons why so many of them feel a peculiar sense of ownership about the book, for when they close the final page they have had an experience which is, to a large extent, of their own making."

Thanks for the link to the article. Haddon indicates that he never wrote the book with the idea of it being taught in schools. Perhaps the problem with it is that people are taking to be something that it isn't and which he never intended it to be. In encourages empathy for those on the spectrum which of itself is good.

I appreciate your thoughtful analysis of whether the depiction of autism in this book is damaging. I rate this book highly (a few years ago now,) and I am now wanting to re-read it with this perspective in mind. I have a mental illness and I certainly don't appreciate when those with a mental illness are depicted as dangerous or scary, it certainly does not help the stigma. Thanks again for your insight. I am going to read the article you suggested.

Thanks for your courageous comment, Laura.
Of course my review reflects only my feelings, but I'm really proud these feelings are shared by several people who know much better what they're talking about.

Nice review Greata. Heartfelt.

Thank you for your kind words Fred.

It’s amazing how people can get two totally different experiences out of a book. I personally never found Christopher to be portrayed as particularly violent or dangerous. I mean, sure he punched the officer, but he also genuinely seemed remorseful (as remorseful as he could be) and knew that it was wrong. And he stopped himself from doing it again later when he felt overwhelmed again. As far as the Swiss Army knife, he may have talked about using it (always as a form of protection) and did threaten the one lady, he never actually used it. I don’t even recall him pulling it from his pocket. If it makes him feel safe and he hasn’t actually used it as a weapon or brandished it about, I don’t see the issue. It obviously was important for him - like a life line. If he was that dangerous even a pencil could become a deadly weapon. But I could very well be alone in that take on it... And as far as the accuracy of someone on the autistic spectrum, I agree with the woman who said it portrays one specific person with it. My brother has aspergers, tho he’s extremely high functioning, and Christopher is nothing like him. I also know several others with aspergers and again they’re very different. He does remind me tho of a boy I knew in high school who had high-functioning autism. I was in speech therapy and they would have me talk to him to practice my ‘Rs’ while he got more time/experience communicating with other people. He wasn’t as severe as Christopher in many ways, but the thought processes and social interactions were extremely similar. But again, everyone is going to be different. And the author might not have researched for this book, but he did work with autistic children for a time and I think that’s readily evident, at least imo (my mom is also a special ed teacher, so I am well educated on the various attributes of autism, as well as many other major disabilities/disorders). I agree with you about not having autism or aspergers mentioned on the book. My copy didn’t, so I wasn’t even aware that some did til I read about it in some of the reviews. That prob was a mistake and if they were going to do that I agree that they should have a note about the diversity along the autistic spectrum at the beginning. The variances are just too great and many people wouldn’t necessarily know that.

Debra H wrote: "It’s amazing how people can get two totally different experiences out of a book. I personally never found Christopher to be portrayed as particularly violent or dangerous. I mean, sure he punched t..."

Yes Debra, I agree that it is amazing that people can experience a book very differently.
I am a little surprised though that you didn't think that Christopher was rather violent.
Here's what I found in the book about the violence :

- He hit the policeman in the first chapter.

- When he was in jail, he fantasizes about starting a fire and escape.

- "If a strange man touched me I would hit him, and I can hit people very hard. For example, when I punched Sarah because she had pulled my hair I knocked her unconscious and she had concussion and they had to take her to the Accident and Emergency Department at the Hospital. And also I always have my Swiss Army Knife in my pocket and it has a saw blade which could cut a man's fingers off".

- "But I don't take any notice because I don't listen to what other people say and only sticks and stones can break my bones and I have my Swiss Army Knife if they hit me and if I kill them it will be self-defence and I won't go to prison."

- He broke his mother’s toes by throwing a cutting board at her after she threw food across the room.

- "These are some of my behaviour problems. D. Screaming when I'm angry or confused. F. Smashing things when I am angry or confused. O. Hitting other people. "

- "I don't like it when people grab me. And I don't like being surprised either. So I hit him, like I hit the policeman when he took hold of my arms and lifted me onto my feet. But father didn't let go, and he was shouting. And I hit him again. And then I didn't know what I was doing anymore. I had no memories for a short while...It was like someone had switched me off and then switched me on again. And when they switched me on again I was sitting on the carpet with my back against the wall and there was blood on my right hand and the side of my head was hurting ..."

- "I wondered if he (father) was asleep downstairs or whether he was waiting to come and kill me. So I got out my Swiss Army Knife and opened the saw blade so that I could defend myself."

- "And then I heard father coming down the garden and I took my Swiss Army knife out of my pocket and got out the saw blade and held it in case he found us."

- "I tried to open the kitchen door but it was locked. So I picked up a brick that was lying on the ground and I smashed it through the window and the glass shattered everywhere. Then I put my arm through the broken glass and I opened the door from the inside."
"And I picked up his wallet and I took his (father's) bank card out because that was how I could get money..."

- On his way to the train station, he's afraid of asking someone how to get to the the train station ("Stranger Danger") : "So I got out my Swiss Army Knife and I flicked out the saw blade and I held it tightly in the pocket that Toby(his rat) wasn't in so that I could stab someone if they grabbed hold of me..."
Then he saw a lady and decided to ask her : "And I could feel the hand that was holding the knife shaking even though I wasn't shaking it."

- Several times, during his trip, he says he kept his hand on his Swiss Army Knife because he was frightened and it made him feel safe.

- "And a man came up to me... and he said, 'You look lost'. So I took out my Swiss Army knife. And he said, 'Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa', and held up both his hands..."

- When he was saved from being overrun by a train, a lady asks him if he's OK and if there's anything she could do to help him. "so I said 'Stand further away' because I didn't like her being so close. And I said, 'I've got a Swiss Army Knife and it has a saw blade and it could cut someone's fingers off'. And she said, 'OK, buddy, I'm going to take that as a no'..."

- One of his favourite dreams and daydreams is when he dreams nearly everyone on the earth is dead, because they have caught a virus. "And in some versions of the dream the virus makes them crash their cars or walk into the sea and drown, or jump into rivers, and I think that this version is better because then there aren't bodies of people everywhere. And eventually there is no one left in the world except people who don't look at other people's faces...and these people are all special people like me."

- When he's back at his father's home, he sleeps with the knife!

- During his exam : 'And I wanted to hit somebody or stab them with my Swiss Army knife, but there wasn't anyone to hit or stab with my Swiss Army knife except the Reverend Peters and he was very tall and if I hit him or stabbed him with my Swiss Army knife he wouldn't be my invigilator for the rest of the exam."

We read the same book, Debra. There's a lot of violence in the book, also from both parents. I didn't find remorse, or any other empathic feeling, anywhere in the book.
For me, this would have worked better as a book on a dysfunctional family. The parents are abusive, and that could -at least partly- explain Christopher's defensive and violent attitude.

The Hollywood-like happy ending didn't work for me either.

People keep saying the author worked with autistic children, but I haven't found any proof of that anywhere. On his own blog, the author states he has no experience and did very little research.
Nevertheless, this book is THE book on autism, topps every list, is being teached in schools and is a handbook in some police stations.

This is one take on Autism. Those with it are extremely individualistic and I think it was a great book and to say it was perceived negatively by the ‘autistic community’ is a strong generalisation, and wrong as a whole. I know someone who read this and connected so deeply to the character and his experiences. Again, you can’t possibly ever represent such a vast scale in one character. I agree this isn’t a novel to ‘learn’ about Autism, but that wasn’t the intention.

Hi Claire.
I wasn't generalizing, but referring to this article : http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/04...
Whether people can relate or not, has a lot to do with how they fill in the emotions, based on their own experiences. I think we all read in a selective way, and we see in a book what we want to see and ignore what we don't want to see. Like the previous discussion about the violence for instance.
I also think it's a bit irrelevant to discuss the author's intention, now the book has gained a near-mythic reputation as a book on asperger's/autism.
I'm not an expert either ; I only expressed my thoughts and I sympathize with everyone who felt offended ... or could relate, based on their own personal experiences.

Claire wrote: "This is one take on Autism. Those with it are extremely individualistic and I think it was a great book and to say it was perceived negatively by the ‘autistic community’ is a strong generalisation..."

And assuming you're right about 'those with it are extremely individualistic', doesn't necessarily imply they're violent and dangerous people you would rather want to avoid having contact with.