Awards
| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction | Winner | [15] |
| Book Trust Teenage Fiction Award | Winner | [5][16] | |
| Booker Prize | Longlist | [17][16] | |
| Guardian Children's Fiction Prize | Winner | [18][5][16] | |
| Whitbread Book of the Year | Winner | [19][5][16] | |
| 2004 | Alex Awards | Top 10 | [20][21] |
| Boeke Prize | Winner | ||
| YALSA Best Books for Young Adults | Top 10 | [22][23] | |
| 2009 | Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners | Selection | [24] |
Critical reaction
A 2006 survey in Great Britain, conducted by the BBC's literacy campaign for World Book Day, found Curious Incident to be among "the top five happy endings, as voted on by readers" in novels (the others were Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre and Rebecca, the last of which Curious outranked).[25]
School Library Journal praised it as a "rich and poignant novel".[26] The San Jose Mercury News said: "Haddon does something audacious here, and he does it superbly. He shows us the way consciousness orders the world, even when the world doesn't want to be ordered", adding that "the great achievement of this novel is that it transcends its obvious cleverness. It's more than an exercise in narrative ingenuity. Filled with humor and pain, it verges on profundity in its examination of those things—customs, habits, language, symbols, daily routines, etc.—that simultaneously unite and separate human beings."[27] A reviewer for The Christian Century described it as "an absorbing, plausible book": "The reader becomes absorbed not only in the mystery of a murdered dog and a missing mom, but also in the mysterious world of an autistic child."[28]
A reviewer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that the story is "a touching evolution, one that Haddon scripts with tenderness and care ... a unique window into the mind of a boy who thinks a little differently, but like many kids his age, doesn't quite know how to feel."[29] Professor Roger Soder called it "visceral" and a "delightful story", declaring, "All of us in our Spokane Book Club are special education professionals and so have considerable experience with kids with this disability, and we found the story believable."[30]
Cathy Lowne of the Encyclopædia Britannica wrote that "Haddon's skill lies in writing so that, although Christopher may be unaware of emotional undercurrents and nuances of mood, the reader is made aware of them."[31]
In 2019, the book was ranked 19th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century.[32]
Medical professionals' reviews
Alex McClimens, whom Muller quoted above, also wrote: "This magnificent essay in communication is compulsory reading for anyone with the slightest interest in autistic spectrum disorders. This book is also required reading for those who simply enjoy a fascinating story ... we are offered a first person narrative to match anything by contemporary writers. Mark Haddon has created a true literary character and his handling of the teenage Asperger's heroic adventure is brilliantly crafted. He uses the literal mind-set of his hero to mask the true direction of the plot."[33] Reviewer Paul Moorehead calls the book "a fairly ripping adventure story" and writes: "It's also quite a feat of writing. The actual use of language is somewhat austere—an unavoidable consequence of having a boy with autism as a narrator—but it has its own beauty, and it works. So persuasive and so effective is the construction of Christopher, not only is he a character you're rooting for, he's also the character in the story you understand the best. It's startling how believably and comfortably this story puts you into what you might have thought were likely to be some pretty alien shoes."[34]
Reviewer David Ellis, naming The Curious Incident an "ambitious and innovative novel", wrote that Haddon "manages to avoid the opposing pitfalls of either offending people with autism and their families or turning Christopher into an object of pity. Instead of becoming the focus of the plot the autism enhances it. The unemotional descriptions amplify many moments of observational comedy, and misfortunes are made extremely poignantly." He concludes that Christopher's story is "far more enjoyable and likely to stay with you for far longer than any medical textbook".[35]
Challenges
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has frequently been challenged due to its offensive language, supposed unsuitability for younger readers, and religious viewpoint.[36] On the American Library Association's lists of the most banned and challenged books, the book landed in the 51st spot between 2010 and 2019,[37] and the fifth spot in 2015.[36]
