Point of View

Told in the first person, everything in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is seen through the eyes of Christopher, the fifteen-year-old genius but autistic narrator and is processed through his remarkable mind. The emotional outbursts of those around Christopher are told in a matter-of-fact style that makes episodes of rage somehow distant. The unique perspective of Christopher’s logic-seeking and selfish mind colors everything in the narrative. At the same time, Christopher’s own behavior is much more understandable from the point of view of his own mind than it might be to an outsider looking in.

Setting

The setting is modern England, first in the small town of Swindon, then in London and eventually back to Swindon. Although Christopher’s mind goes to the edge of the universe, the scope of Christopher’s physical world is sorely limited—at least in...