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Dave Schaafsma's Reviews > The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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Dave Schaafsma's review
bookshelves: best-books-ever, fiction-20th-century, best-ya-ever, autism, ya-autism, ya-spring-2014, eng-240-sum-14, eng-240-spr-15, ya-fall-2016
Feb 23, 2009
bookshelves: best-books-ever, fiction-20th-century, best-ya-ever, autism, ya-autism, ya-spring-2014, eng-240-sum-14, eng-240-spr-15, ya-fall-2016
Read 2 times. Last read October 24, 2017 to October 30, 2017.
Re-read for my Fall 2017 YAL class.
One of the best YA books ever, wonderful and surprising on so many levels. Very moving. As a parent of a kid with autism and another kid who is spectrum-y, it hits home for me in ways it might not for others. As with many mysteries, it features some misdirection; it appears to be about a kid with Asperger's Syndrome investigating a mystery about a dead dog in the manner of his hero (and also Aspergerish) Sherlock Holmes, but becomes an even richer and ever widening investigation of human tragedy and mystery and the complex nature of love and grief. I find it very moving, having read it several times.
My feeling this time? That almost half of the book is about the London trip when Christopher goes to see his estranged mother, and maybe that's a little too long; it makes the story into a kind of movie thriller of sorts, when the heart of the book for me is about mysteries, a dog murdered and just what that means for Christopher and his family, relationships, love, the grief and despair of dealing with a kid with special needs, that heartbreak, all stuff I have been through. I was divorced in the process of trying to deal with the anguish and despair and grief of discovering my son had autism, at the same time trying to do everything we could to try to reverse the process. So I could empathize with the parents.
One thing that is different in recent readings is that I have watched and rewatched the BBC Sherlock and the American Elementary and I have this as background for a very Sherlock-focused book (it's Christopher's favorite set of stories). I also have been reading Agatha Christie Poirot mysteries, so I have that related background. And, one course I have been teaching focuses on the relationships between psychiatry, the psychic/supernatural, horror/fantasy, spirituality, the literar vs the rational and logical, and some of that figures very much in this book. I had forgotten Christopher talks of faith and ghosts in this book with respect to logic and Reason. There's a consideration of metaphor and story for the purpose of making meaning, since this first person story is told by Christopher for a school project, a story of ever widening mysteries of life. I admit to tears in several places, earned tears from Haddon.
One of the best YA books ever, wonderful and surprising on so many levels. Very moving. As a parent of a kid with autism and another kid who is spectrum-y, it hits home for me in ways it might not for others. As with many mysteries, it features some misdirection; it appears to be about a kid with Asperger's Syndrome investigating a mystery about a dead dog in the manner of his hero (and also Aspergerish) Sherlock Holmes, but becomes an even richer and ever widening investigation of human tragedy and mystery and the complex nature of love and grief. I find it very moving, having read it several times.
My feeling this time? That almost half of the book is about the London trip when Christopher goes to see his estranged mother, and maybe that's a little too long; it makes the story into a kind of movie thriller of sorts, when the heart of the book for me is about mysteries, a dog murdered and just what that means for Christopher and his family, relationships, love, the grief and despair of dealing with a kid with special needs, that heartbreak, all stuff I have been through. I was divorced in the process of trying to deal with the anguish and despair and grief of discovering my son had autism, at the same time trying to do everything we could to try to reverse the process. So I could empathize with the parents.
One thing that is different in recent readings is that I have watched and rewatched the BBC Sherlock and the American Elementary and I have this as background for a very Sherlock-focused book (it's Christopher's favorite set of stories). I also have been reading Agatha Christie Poirot mysteries, so I have that related background. And, one course I have been teaching focuses on the relationships between psychiatry, the psychic/supernatural, horror/fantasy, spirituality, the literar vs the rational and logical, and some of that figures very much in this book. I had forgotten Christopher talks of faith and ghosts in this book with respect to logic and Reason. There's a consideration of metaphor and story for the purpose of making meaning, since this first person story is told by Christopher for a school project, a story of ever widening mysteries of life. I admit to tears in several places, earned tears from Haddon.
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Reading Progress
February 23, 2009
– Shelved
September 17, 2012
– Shelved as:
best-books-ever
September 17, 2012
– Shelved as:
fiction-20th-century
September 25, 2012
– Shelved as:
best-ya-ever
September 26, 2012
– Shelved as:
autism
December 23, 2012
– Shelved as:
ya-autism
November 18, 2013
– Shelved as:
ya-spring-2014
June 1, 2014
–
Started Reading
June 1, 2014
– Shelved as:
eng-240-sum-14
December 28, 2014
– Shelved as:
eng-240-spr-15
November 9, 2016
– Shelved as:
ya-fall-2016
November 9, 2016
–
Finished Reading
October 24, 2017
–
Started Reading
October 30, 2017
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-25 of 25 (25 new)
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Sarah
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 01, 2015 07:26AM
It is now a play in New York.
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I believe it's the recent portrayal of Sherlock Holmes by BBC Sherlock that had lead us to believe he may be Asperger. From my understanding, the original books do not indicate this as much as this recent tv adaptation. However I love the tv series as this interpretation makes the character seem fresh and alive. Making the lead character in this book as a 15 year old boy with Asperger has been a joy to read. Hopefully we will see other various types of PDD characters other than Asperger written in this way.
Edward wrote: "I believe it's the recent portrayal of Sherlock Holmes by BBC Sherlock that had lead us to believe he may be Asperger. From my understanding, the original books do not indicate this as much as this..."I hope so, too. There are more coming out, actually, but this is one of the very best.
As to Holmes and Asperger's, I don't know where I heard Doyle had Asperger's and/or depicted Holmes as having it. Could just be a Facebook "fact," but I agree, the original Holmes wasn't as Aspergerish as the Cumberbatch and also the American version, Elementary, with Lucy Liu as Watson, and Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes. Actually, they started an autism thread recently on Elementary! Holmes begins a relationship with a woman who self identifies as autistic!
Have tickets to the traveling show here in Chicago. . .
Ivana wrote: "sounds like a great YA book!" Tis!
It's good to see this story through very different and very personal eyes.As to the stage show, which originated at the National Theatre in London, it was filmed, so you may be able to find it online. It was a very creative and incredibly powerful production.
I'll see a production next month here in Chicago and report on it here... but will look for the film, too, thanks!
I enjoyed this book. Looks like you did too.
Leo wrote: "I enjoyed this book. Looks like you did too." Yep! Thanks for reading my review, Leo!
Terrific review--this is going on the to-read pile, thanks.
thanks, yes, read it!
Moving review, David. Thanks for letting us see the story from your point of view.
Well, I went through a divorce in the process of the shock, grief, despair of finding my kid had autism and seemed to be rapidly losing his brain. You take it out on each other. 80% of couples who face a child diagnosis break up, I read. Similar stats for pediatric cancer, I read then. So I feel empathy for mom and dad in this story. And for Christopher, as the big reveal happens and we see in fact that a kid with Asperger's can in fact feel deeply, of course.
Marriages break up over less than this, so it's not hard to understand that there's too much excruciating pain to deal with in a situation like yours. How can parents still support each other, when they're both suffering so much? I truly hope that parents with similar experiences feel comforted and understood when they read the book.
I find that students (with no children) can be very hard on the parents. How could she? How could he? And there are indeed lapses, shall we say, in good parenting practices! But they are human, and there is evidence that they love Christopher. They don't know how to do it, parenting a kid with special needs, and you need but don't get special training in how to do it when you suddenly have one of these kids. Now, I think back and see I was in a daze, was just lost.
Oh well, young people tend to be too idealistic, which is nice but often not realistic. They'll soon learn that the world is more grey than black&white. "Bachelor’s wives and maid’s children are well taught."
Wait, that quote isn't another one from The Prophet, is it. . . you are having one quoting time here. . :)
Good review.Getting a personal interpretation for the book is like shining a light on a work of art from an unexpected angle and seeing new things.
I agree with the high praise you lavish on this book. The basic idea of the murder mystery is extremely good. After all Autism is a disorder in one the otherwise innate skills to detect social cues (a.k.a. clues). I think the literary premise is very good. In addition of course it does a very good job of putting the reader in the shoes of the person on the Spectrum.
David wrote: "Wait, that quote isn't another one from The Prophet, is it. . . you are having one quoting time here. . :)"Ha no, it's an old British English expression. I found it when I was searching for an equivalent for a Dutch expression "De beste stuurlui staan aan wal". Literal translation: "The best helmsmen stand on shore".
Such a wonderful review. Thank you for sharing with us.
JimZ wrote: "Such a wonderful review. Thank you for sharing with us." I only saw this now, a year later, Jim, but thank you, anyway.
Dave wrote: "JimZ wrote: "Such a wonderful review. Thank you for sharing with us." I only saw this now, a year later, Jim, but thank you, anyway."You are quite welcome. In keeping with your exchanges with Greta and sayings/expressions, I came across a saying last week I think in English Pastoral by James Rebanks thatI found to be clever....I guess it's Irish: You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind
