Curious Incident of the Dog at Nightime

Book Club #4!

About the Book:

Summary: 

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. He is quite picky about the way he lives his life and his parents must adapt to his quirks. When his neighbor's dog is killed, Christopher goes on a quest to investigate the suspicious death and is encouraged by a mentor to write a book about the mystery. The quest ends up causing him to uncover much more about his neighbors and family.

Characters:

• Christopher
• Christopher’s father (Ed Boone)
• Christopher’s mother (Judy Boone)
• Mrs. Shears (Eileen Shears)
• Mr. Shears (Roger Shears)
• Siobhan
• Mrs. Alexander
• Wellington - Mrs. Shears’s black poodle
• Toby - Christopher's rate
  

Questions:

1. Dogs are often used as therapy animals, including for autism. Why do you think the main character was so concerned about Wellington? How are animals able to connect/benefit individuals with autism?
2. Do you think the main character was more concerned about the death of the dog than the disappearance of his mother? Discuss reasons.
3. Which character were you able to empathize with most and which situation in the book highlights that sentiment?
4.  The author used an 15 yr old autistic boy as a narrator for the book. The book is not exactly linear and is filled with diagrams. How did you like this writing style?
5. Christopher is articulate about his feelings and why or why not he prefers certain things. How do you feel about this kind of honesty/interaction?
6. How do you think things might have been different if the protagonist had been an adult?

Conversation Summary:

Discussion topics:

• author's writing style
• what did you know about autism before reading the book and what is your current perspective on treatment and care of autistic individuals
• Christopher reacts strongly to different triggers such as colors, did his behavior improve as he grew older or did people around him simply adapt better to his preferences
• how his parents adapted and reacted differently to his behavior
• why his mother left
• which character did you empathize and/or sympathize for most 
• what would you do similarly or differently from the parents if you had an autistic child
• current scientific thinking about autism and causes of autism

3/3 bears happy to have read this book.

References:

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Official Trailer
A tony-winning play!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O704ld5WQnk