THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

Haddon, Mark

ISBN 10: 0224063782 / ISBN 13: 9780224063784

Published by Jonathan Cape, London, 2003

About this Item

True first edition of acclaimed mystery, the story of an autistic boy who uncovers uncomfortable family secrets when he sets out to solve the murder of the neighbor's dog inscribed by Haddon to the daughter of his agent, Gillon Aitken. This mystery was longlisted for the Booker Prize and received a number of other major awards and critical nods; in 2012 it was adapted for the stage. The book has received criticism for reliance on stereotypes of autistic people to construct the main character of Christopher; in later editions, the jacket copy no longer describes Christopher as autistic, though the term is explicitly used in this first edition. Sherlock Holmes fans will recognize the book's title as a quote from the famous detective in "The Adventure of Silver Blaze," in which Holmes focuses on a key piece of evidence during his investigate: "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." A beautiful copy of this modern classic, which a warm association. 8.25'' x 5.75''. Publisher's full black cloth. In original unclipped color pictorial jacket. 272 pages. Inscribed by Haddon on title page: "To Charlotte, / With love / from / Mark Haddon." Bit of wear along the top edge of jacket. Else bright, clean, and sharp. Seller Inventory # 50898

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE ...

Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London

Publication Date: 2003

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine in a near fine jacket.

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: First printing.

About this title

Synopsis:

'The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shears' house. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog.' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's, a form of autism. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down. Christopher is a brilliant creation, and Mark Haddon's depiction of his world is deeply moving, very funny and utterly convincing. The novel is being published simultaneously for adults by Jonathan Cape and for children by David Fickling, publisher of Philip Pullman. We are convinced that both audiences will recognise it as one of those very rare books that change the way you see everything.

Review:

The title The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (or the curious incident of the dog in the night-time as it appears within the book) is an appropriate one for Mark Haddon's ingenious novel both because of its reference to that most obsessive and fact-obsessed of detectives, Sherlock Holmes, and because its lower-case letters indicate something important about its narrator.

Christopher is an intelligent youth who lives in the functional hinterland of autism--every day is an investigation for him because of all the aspects of human life that he does not quite get. When the dog next door is killed with a garden fork, Christopher becomes quietly persistent in his desire to find out what has happened and tugs away at the world around him until a lot of secrets unravel messily.

Haddon makes an intelligent stab at how it feels to, for example, not know how to read the faces of the people around you, to be perpetually spooked by certain colours and certain levels of noise, to hate being touched to the point of violent reaction. Life is difficult for the difficult and prickly Christopher in ways that he only partly understands; this avoids most of the obvious pitfalls of novels about disability because it demands that we respect--perhaps admire--him rather than pity him. --Roz Kaveney