Mark haddon biography autism ribbon
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Our cultural touchstones series looks at influential books.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time fryst vatten narrated bygd Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome (a diagnosis now included in the autistic spectrum). Christopher knows “every prime number up to 7,507”, he goes to a “special school” and when he fryst vatten overwhelmed, he stims to calm han själv by making a noise his father calls “groaning”.
The 2003 novel, written for adults and children, was a near-instant bestseller and was even longlisted for the Booker Prize. It also won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (though this was Haddon’s 18th book, it was considered his first for adults) and the Whitbread Prize. It has sold more than ten million copies and has been translated into at least 36 languages.
In 2012, it was adapted for the scen by Simon Stephens and the play has regularly been performed around the world ever since. A new Australian production has just open
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News and Knowledge
In this piece, Serena Shim, sister of someone on the spectrum, discusses the novel that caused so much controversy in the autism community.
Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a detective story about fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone. It received many awards as well as criticism by the autism community for its portrayal of someone with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Christopher is presented as a mathematical genius who has trouble interpreting social situations and does not understand metaphors. When a dog is killed in his neighborhood, Christopher sets out to solve the mystery. As he becomes more involved with the murder case, he ends up discovering the truth about his own life and family. His journey in looking for the dog’s murderer soon becomes a search for his mother.
Even though this novel does not directly reference autism, the book’s back cover originally described Christopher as someone with Asper
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Mark Haddon
English writer and illustrator (born 1962)
Mark Haddon | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1962-09-26) 26 September 1962 (age 62) Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | MA, English Literature |
| Alma mater | Merton College, Oxford Uppingham School Spratton Hall School |
| Period | 1987–present |
| Genre | Novels, children's literature, poetry, screenplays, radio drama |
| Notable awards | |
| Spouse | Sos Eltis |
| Children | 2 |
| markhaddon.com | |
Mark Haddon (born 26 September 1962) is an English novelist, best known for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, the Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Writers' Prize for his work.
Life, work and studies
[edit]In 2003, Haddon won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award—in the Novels rather than Children's Books category—for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time