Join the HCSF Reading Group to discuss The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
In-Person Meeting
Sunday, March 8, 2026
4:30-6:00 pm Pacific
In-Person, San Francisco
Address emailed to registrants the week of the meeting
HCSF Members: Free, but RSVP required
Non-Members: $10 Not a member? Register here for membership!
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Registration ends Friday, March 6
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon 240 pages 2003
Named in The Times' "The 25 best novels of the 21st century"
Whitbread Book Awards: "Best Novel" and "Book of the Year"
Not many books begin with the brutal murder of a hound with a gardening implement — “It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog.” — which is perhaps why Mark Haddon’s clever murder mystery stands out as one of the most fantastically original books of the past couple of decades. It’s narrated by a puzzle-obsessed 15-year-old who doesn’t like strangers or the colour yellow or being touched. Chapters are labelled with prime numbers instead of a normal 1, 2, 3.
In July 2009, Haddon wrote on his blog that "this is not a book about Asperger's ... if anything it's a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. The protagonist, being neuro-diverse, shows that."
The book’s title is a line of Sherlock Holmes’ dialogue from the short story "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Questions about our meetings or how we choose our books?
Contact Kirsten Miclau
HCSF Reading Group Organizer
readinggroup@harvardclubsf.org