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mj_james_writes 's review for:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
On one hand The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a well written piece of literary genius that uses a naive narrator to show very dynamic characters and build a world within that narration.
On the other hand The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a stereotype of Autism Spectrum Disorder. It characterizes the main character as emotionless and naive - at the age of 15.
Mark Haddon says on his website that he did no research for ASD before writing his book and it shows. He also says that “labels” are just a way of categorizing people. So because it is not his label he has the right to dismiss it?
I am Autistic. I have raised two children on the Autism Spectrum and I have a M.S. in Developmental Psychology where I studied. . . Autism. Haddon couldn’t even bother to do research before writing a book about my people and then has the audacity to dismiss my identity. This book is one big giant stereotype.
Here are my two biggest issues with Christopher.
One - his eternal monologue is emotionless. In the story he experiences great trauma and physically reacts to this trauma but his inner voice is that of a robot. Yes, autism comes across emotionless to neurotypical individuals. Talk to individuals on the spectrum and many will describe ASD as an overabundance of emotion. Just because you cannot read it on our face doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I have very little problem reading the emotional state of another individual on the spectrum but it is next to impossible for me to read a neurotypical individual.
Two - He destroys everything around him and not once does the narration show the positive aspect of autism. I am a single parent. I know how hard it can be to parent children on the spectrum. It is also wonderful, and actions at 15 do not quite match up the functioning level of the character. Every single person who interacted with Christopher - with arguably the exception of his elderly neighbor - said that his behavior was too much to handle and had them cussing.
The writing, the narration, the way the story was put together were all so beautiful. However, what was actually written was a horrible example of what it is like to be on the autism spectrum.
On the other hand The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a stereotype of Autism Spectrum Disorder. It characterizes the main character as emotionless and naive - at the age of 15.
Mark Haddon says on his website that he did no research for ASD before writing his book and it shows. He also says that “labels” are just a way of categorizing people. So because it is not his label he has the right to dismiss it?
I am Autistic. I have raised two children on the Autism Spectrum and I have a M.S. in Developmental Psychology where I studied. . . Autism. Haddon couldn’t even bother to do research before writing a book about my people and then has the audacity to dismiss my identity. This book is one big giant stereotype.
Here are my two biggest issues with Christopher.
One - his eternal monologue is emotionless. In the story he experiences great trauma and physically reacts to this trauma but his inner voice is that of a robot. Yes, autism comes across emotionless to neurotypical individuals. Talk to individuals on the spectrum and many will describe ASD as an overabundance of emotion. Just because you cannot read it on our face doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I have very little problem reading the emotional state of another individual on the spectrum but it is next to impossible for me to read a neurotypical individual.
Two - He destroys everything around him and not once does the narration show the positive aspect of autism. I am a single parent. I know how hard it can be to parent children on the spectrum. It is also wonderful, and actions at 15 do not quite match up the functioning level of the character. Every single person who interacted with Christopher - with arguably the exception of his elderly neighbor - said that his behavior was too much to handle and had them cussing.
The writing, the narration, the way the story was put together were all so beautiful. However, what was actually written was a horrible example of what it is like to be on the autism spectrum.