The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

　　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. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

　　Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.

　　And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.

　　The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

　　午夜十二點零七分 ＋ 鐵叉 + 小狗屍體 + 一個自閉症數學天才少年

　　克里斯多弗，十五歲，患有自閉症的數學天才。他的偶像是福爾摩斯，最擅長的科目是數學，喜歡質數、邏輯與事實，討厭黃色和棕色，無法忍受被人碰觸。他獨自去過最遠的地方是住家附近的小店，最想去外太空，因為方圓數十萬哩都不會有人。

　　他原本孤獨而安全的世界一夕之間被一樁命案改變：深夜裡，隔壁鄰居家的小狗被鐵叉刺死。克里斯多弗決定自己來當偵探，然後將調查結果寫成一本書。所以這是本涉及謀殺案的偵探小說----只是偵探、兇手、受害者、真相，以及所有的一切都出乎人意料之外。

　　神經質的文字，異質的書寫，少年克里斯多弗誠實到讓人不安。他意圖解開謀殺案，卻意外發現自己家裡隱藏的真相。克里斯多弗令人好心疼，只是他的心靈就像他最想去的外太空，遙遠，難以觸及。

　　真實的人生有時跟數字一樣，複雜，而且一點也不明確。

作者簡介

馬克．海登（Mark Haddon）

　　作家、插畫家與劇作家，著有十五本童書，並曾兩度榮獲英國電影電視藝術學院（BAFTA）頒獎。

　　本書是作者的第一本小說，2003年一出版便獲得「惠布瑞特年度最佳好書獎」（Whitbread Book of the Year Award）以及「衛報獎」。2004年聖誕節登上暢銷排行榜冠軍寶座，這是七年來《哈利波特》首次位居第二名。

本書中譯本《深夜小狗神秘習題》由大塊文化出版。