The narrator and main character of the novel is Christopher Boone. He is fifteen years old and has autism. He knows mathematics and knows almost nothing about people. He cannot stand being touched, hates the colors yellow and brown, and has never gone farther than the end of the street where he lives. However, after discovering that the neighbor’s dog has been killed, he begins an investigation and sets off on a journey that soon turns his whole life upside down. Mark Haddon portrays the emotionally unbalanced consciousness of an autistic person with disturbing conviction, opening up new territory for literature.
Mark Haddon’s novel became a national bestseller in England, was nominated for the Booker Prize, and has been translated into many languages of the world.