The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is set in an ordinary suburban street in Swindon sometime in the late twentieth century. Christopher, the main character, suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and is confined to his house and his mainly scientific hobbies. He rarely ventures into his neighbourhood and his main venture each day is to attend a special school. However, later in the novel, he undertakes a major adventure, which leads to his exploring the city of London and discovering its ways.

Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, is an autobiographical murder mystery narrated from the
perspective of an autistic teenager, Christopher Boone.

1 in 70 Australians are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The word spectrum reflects the wide range of difference that people on the spectrum experience and the extent to which they may be affected. No two people on the autism spectrum are alike, and all have unique strengths and interests.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction. The symptoms are present from early childhood and affect daily functioning.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder most commonly involving problems with communication and social interactions. Children with ASD also often have abnormal behaviours, interests and play. ASD is an umbrella term that covers classic autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS) and Asperger's syndrome. Up until 2013, these conditions were considered separate, but they are now all grouped under the autism spectrum.

Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia (A4) formed in response to growing demands from people with an autism spectrum condition and their families who wanted more direct involvement in raising the profile of autism-related issues with decision-makers, government and through the media. A4's advocacy gives voice at national level for individuals and groups involved with autism/ASD across Australia.

Christopher Boone is 15. He knows "all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507". He lives in Swindon with his father and Toby, his pet rat. He abhors all yellow and brown things, thinks he would make a good astronaut, and has never been further than the end of the road on his own until his discovery of the "murder" of his neighbour's dog turns him into an amateur detective.

THE difference between literature and its imitations might be defined in any number of ways, but let's be reckless, even elitist, and propose that a literary novel requires new reading skills and teaches them within its pages, while a conventional novel -- whether it is about lawyers or professors or smart single girls -- depends on our ingrained habits of reading and perception, and ultimately confirms them as adequate to our understanding of the world around us.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon’s debut novel, was the sort of mammoth best-seller writers dream of, a work that garnered both near-universal critical acclaim and enormous commercial success.

Books whose characters have a unique voice are always intriguing. But getting into the brain of a character who truly processes the world in a novel way is a true treat. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is just such a book. Its main character, and the narrator of the book, is Christopher Boone, a 15 year old with autism.

The front door opens before I knock, and I'm halfway down the hall of Mark Haddon's house, off the Iffley Road in Oxford, when he jokes: 'I suppose you are Kate? I haven't just welcomed a stranger into my house?' He has a taste for the absurd (more of this later), an earring in his left ear, seriously bashed climbing boots, a clean T-shirt (until he splashes coffee over it), a cheerful face (laddish at 40) and a weakness for biscuits. I had already enjoyed a connoisseur's email exchange with him about the type of biscuit we planned to eat together ('How can one possibly turn back the clock,' he wondered, 'after sampling the Tesco's Finest range?').

From Of Mice and Men to Flowers for Algernon to the remarkable non-fiction of Oliver Sacks, authors have long looked for ways to convincingly and sympathetically portray the mentally disabled. All too often, in lesser hands, such characters suffer one of two fates: they become little more than maudlin stereotypes, or they are reduced to walking collections of simplistic tics and gestures – temptations that can be difficult for a writer to resist.

Christopher’s goal in the novel resembles that of many teenage protagonists in coming-of-age stories: to become independent and find his role in the world. Because of his condition, Christopher cannot be as independent as he would like.

A theme is an idea that runs throughout a text. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the themes of family, honesty and trust, and braving the unknown are explored.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is narrated in the first person from the perspective of Christopher John Frances Boone, an adolescent suffering from some form of autism, most likely Asperger's syndrome.