The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Ace

 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

The ending At the end of the novel, Christopher says:

“And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything.”

Mark Haddon in an interview said:

“How readers react to Christopher’s last words, ‘I can do anything’ depends on them. Is it self-deceit? Is he going to become a university maths professor, or is he going to spend the rest of his life in social care?”

• What were your thoughts after reading the ending? What do you think will happen to Christopher?

I think Christophe would likely be a successful person, and I think that there's nothing wrong with Christopher's last words in the book, but either way the words "I can do anything" are always arguable but what Christopher did to say that considering he's not just an average person meaning like when he didn't expect to be able to fix his problems all by himself.

Is it a funny book?

Right at the beginning of the novel Christopher tells the reader ‘This will not be a funny book’ and yet there were probably lots of places that made you laugh. 

• What was your favorite funny moment from the novel?

I like the beginning of the book because it was more thrilling than in the middle of the book because the middle part was pretty much Christopher explaining his stuff, I like the part where Christopher was investigating the Dog Incident and his father yelling at him. It is a funny book in the middle part and unto the end because of Christopher's Humor and how his brain works.

Is it a sad book?

• Did you find the novel sad? 

In an interview, Mark Haddon said:

“People have said to me that it’s a desperately sad book and they wept most of the way through it. Other people say it’s charming and they kept laughing all the time. People say it has a sad ending; people say it has a happy ending. Because Christopher doesn’t force the reader to think one thing or another, I get many different reactions.

• What do you think Mark Haddon is saying about why there are so many different reactions to the book? What was your response to the book?

People have a different approach to reactions or opinions on a person that has a brain that doesn't work like ours, Christopher's brain was like a lawyer's one where his pretty argumentative about what's best for him and for the people around him, so when someone argues to your desitions because he found a better way of putting or doing it the person his arguing with would react either he'll go with Christopher's argument or not and it pretty much what kind of person Christopher was arguing to. 

How Christopher's mother reacted differently than his father reacted to him when he was being an argumentive or philosopher kind of person. 

A book for adults, children or both? 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is what is known in the publishing industry as a ‘crossover book’. This means that the publishers decided it would appeal to both children and adults – in this case to teenagers and adults. The book was produced in two different editions, with different covers, one of which was marketed for teenagers and one for adults. (The Harry Potter books were also marketed in this way, as was Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights trilogy.)  

• In what ways do you think the book appeals to teenagers? 

• In what ways do you think the book appeals to adults?

• Some people have said that the book is not very suitable for teenagers because it contains a lot of swearing and because it deals with depressing subject matter. Do you agree? Why?

I think teenager's appeal to the book would be the same as the 19 - 25 aged adults, but the middle adults obviously have different appeals because they're like 40 

I don't think it deals with the depressing subject matter and I think its ok for teenagers to read this book because it's an entertaining and content book which is what teenagers seek these days, and a lot of teenagers do swear a lot so I wouldn't think they'll feel uncomfortable reading it.

A first-person narrator – advantages and disadvantages 

Some of the advantages of writing from the first-person point of view are: the reader feels more sympathy with the character who is telling the story, and a first-person narrator can make the story seem more realistic. 

The main disadvantages of writing in the first person are: the narrator can only tell the reader about what he or she is aware of or has experienced, and the reader really only gets to know the narrator.

• Why do you think Mark Haddon chose to write this novel from a first-person point of view? 

• How has he tried to overcome some of the possible disadvantages?