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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | GrrlScientist My review of Mark Haddon's first novel, a fascinating and humorous coming-of-age murder mystery narrated by a 15-year-old autistic boyA few days ago, I discovered a book sitting on my spouse's bookshelves that I have long wanted to read. This book, Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (London: Jonathan Cape/Random House; 2004) [Amazon UK and Amazon USA], is a fascinating and humorous coming-of-age story narrated by a 15-year-old autistic boy who uses his passion for mathematics and puzzle-solving to track down the person who murdered his neighbour's poodle with a pitchfork. The author uses his narrator's revelations to provide the tone of this book, which reads like a diary. For example, the reader has barely started the book when the narrator, Christopher John Francis Boone, explains why he cannot tell a lie and doesn't understand jokes. While Christopher acknowledges that he is different from most people, he invests a tremendous amount of thought into trying to comprehend those differences, which is made plain through statements such as: "Prime numbers are what is left after you have taken all the patterns away. I think that prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your life thinking about them." [p. 15]Early in the book, we learn that Christopher's mother died two years ago, so the story primarily focuses on the growing tension between him and his father, who inexplicably forbids Christopher from trying to learn who killed Wellington, his neighbour's poodle. We also learn that Christopher is determined to prove he "is not stupid" by taking his A level maths exam and predicting he will get an A grade and go on to attend university. Christopher discusses his great admiration for Sherlock Holmes (but not Doctor Watson) and for Holmes' "power of detaching his mind at will" when concentrating. Explaining the plot devices in his favourite Sherlock Holmes book, The Hound of the Baskervilles, serves as a way for Christopher to explain the progress of his own detective work. As the story progresses, we are introduced to those who are important to Christopher; his teacher Siobhan, who is his bridge to a world that is both mystifying and terrifying; Toby, his pet rat; and his neighbours, Mrs Shears (Wellington's owner) and Mrs Alexander. It is through Christopher's dispassionate and elaborate observations of these people that the reader soon becomes aware of the complex web of human relationships that is hidden from him in plain view. Christopher is aware of his blind spot, so his observations emulate his determination to closely examine what he cannot understand. His attention to detail throughout the novel is astonishing, ranging from quietly numbering each chapter with sequential prime numbers to mentioning that one of the story's characters "smells of soap and wears brown shoes that have approximately 60 tiny circular holes in each of them." [p. 5]But despite Christopher's powers of observation, he misses a lot, too. He dutifully reports everything he sees, undeterred by his knowledge that some details are important, whilst others are trivial. I found his lack of descriptions of people's faces to be quite striking (he states that he doesn't like looking at people's faces, and that they don't interest him). Emotions are foreign concepts, so Christopher's reports of emotional outbursts are detailed but lack insight, so I was surprised to read that Christopher "felt happy" because he was "being a detective and finding things out" [p. 41]. Throughout the novel, the straightforward writing beautifully captures the underlying and growing tension between Christopher and his father and the world they inhabit, and this creates a similar tension in the reader.As Christopher's detective work continues, puzzles and diagrams are included in the book. These provide additional insight into Christopher's thought processes and how he approaches his limitations. Yet, even though the reader becomes aware of the unfolding situation long before the narrator does, it is Christopher's reasoning and ingenious methods for dealing with the challenges encountered during his quest that surprise and delight. Subtle changes in the prose deftly capture Christopher's ongoing transformation during his journey. Sometimes, the reader glimpses Christopher's seeming wonder at how easy some tasks were to accomplish after he decided to face his fears. This powerful novel gives the reader an appreciation for the tremendous struggle that Christopher is waging against the invisible impediments that hold him prisoner, his frustration with his inability to understand or to even perceive the subtleties of human behaviour, and his eventual triumph over his fears. This fascinating and amusing book is a captivating read for a commute or for a longer journey, but don't start reading it before you go to bed because you won't put it down until you've finished it! But even after you've closed this book, Christopher and his engaging story will stay with you far longer than it will take to read the book. Mark Haddon is an an English screenwriter, novelist, children's book writer and poet. He wrote the "Agent Z" book series, one of which, Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars, was made into a 1996 Children's BBC sitcom. He also wrote the screenplays for several BBC programmes. In 2003, Haddon won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and in 2004, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Overall Best First Book for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – his first novel. His second adult novel, A Spot of Bother [Amazon UK and Amazon USA], was published in September 2006. His third novel, Boom! was just published on 11 May 2010 [Amazon UK and Amazon USA]. Haddon lives in Oxford with his wife and their two young sons.Read an excerpt from this book.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Psychiatric experts assess parental alienation By DAVID CRARY 2010-10-02T03:38:23ZNEW YORK (AP) -- The American Psychiatric Association has a hot potato on its hands as it updates its catalog of mental disorders - whether to include parental alienation, a disputed term conveying how a child's relationship with one estranged parent can be poisoned by the other.... hosted.ap.org |
Global temperatures continue to rise By 2010-10-18T21:35:59ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- The government's monthly climate report is beginning to sound like a broken record.... hosted.ap.org |
Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans Harvard scientists were surprised that they saw a dramatic reversal, not just a slowing down, of the ageing in mice. Now they believe they might be able to regenerate human organsScientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the ageing process after rejuvenating worn out organs in elderly mice. The experimental treatment developed by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies.The surprise recovery of the animals has raised hopes among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans – or at least to slow down the ageing process.An anti-ageing therapy could have a dramatic impact on public health by reducing the burden of age-related health problems, such as dementia, stroke and heart disease, and prolonging the quality of life for an increasingly aged population."What we saw in these animals was not a slowing down or stabilisation of the ageing process. We saw a dramatic reversal – and that was unexpected," said Ronald DePinho, who led the study, which was published in the journal Nature."This could lead to strategies that enhance the regenerative potential of organs as individuals age and so increase their quality of life. Whether it serves to increase longevity is a question we are not yet in a position to answer."The ageing process is poorly understood, but scientists know it is caused by many factors. Highly reactive particles called free radicals are made naturally in the body and cause damage to cells, while smoking, ultraviolet light and other environmental factors contribute to ageing.The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening. Most cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry our DNA. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called "senescence". The process is behind much of the wear and tear associated with ageing.At Harvard, they bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged prematurely and suffered ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. But when DePinho gave the mice injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of ageing."These were severely aged animals, but after a month of treatment they showed a substantial restoration, including the growth of new neurons in their brains," said DePinho.Repeating the trick in humans will be more difficult. Mice make telomerase throughout their lives, but the enzyme is switched off in adult humans, an evolutionary compromise that stops cells growing out of control and turning into cancer. Raising levels of telomerase in people might slow the ageing process, but it makes the risk of cancer soar.DePinho said the treatment might be safe in humans if it were given periodically and only to younger people who do not have tiny clumps of cancer cells already living, unnoticed, in their bodies.David Kipling, who studies ageing at Cardiff University, said: "The goal for human tissue 'rejuvenation' would be to remove senescent cells, or else compensate for the deleterious effects they have on tissues and organs. Although this is a fascinating study, it must be remembered that mice are not little men, particularly with regard to their telomeres, and it remains unclear whether a similar telomerase reactivation in adult humans would lead to the removal of senescent cells."Lynne Cox, a biochemist at Oxford University, said the study was "extremely important" and "provides proof of principle that short-term treatment to restore telomerase in adults already showing age-related tissue degeneration can rejuvenate aged tissues and restore physiological function."DePinho said none of Harvard's mice developed cancer after the treatment. The team is now investigating whether it extends the lifespan of mice or enables them to live healthier lives into old age.Tom Kirkwood, director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, said: "The key question is what might this mean for human therapies against age-related diseases? While there is some evidence that telomere erosion contributes to age-associated human pathology, it is surely not the only, or even dominant, cause, as it appears to be in mice engineered to lack telomerase. Furthermore, there is the ever-present anxiety that telomerase reactivation is a hallmark of most human cancers."AgeingGeneticsMedical researchBiologyUnited StatesCancerCancerIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |