A review by spootilious
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 

 

Read: April 6, 2024
 Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
 Author: Mark Haddon 

Genre:  Young Adult Fiction 

Rating: 3/5
 Review: 

If I had to choose one word to describe this novel it would be… Overhyped. 

It wasn’t bad by any means, but it certainly wasn’t as good as everyone that has recommended it to me has made it seem. It seems that the recommendation was more of a “You’re Autistic? You should read this book!” Kind of recommendation. 

To be honest, the autistic representation in the novel is refreshing though I wouldn’t call it accurate, at least in my opinion (though accurately describing what it is like to be autistic is difficult in itself because there is not a ‘norm’ within the global experience (i.e. autism is different for each person)). Still, the fact that Christopher is not written poorly or negatively (despite how he is treated) is a nice change of pace compared to the rest of the fiction stories I have read with autistic characters. Though this says more about our standard of literature than it does about the author. Regardless, I enjoyed the novel. 

From a plot standpoint, the book was a bit bland, there was no real mystery or suspense. All in all, this was a novel that is a novel whose fame comes from the fact the main character is autistic and not the story itself. There is no shame in that, and I would love to see more of this kind of representation through genres and mediums. 

QUOTES: N/A