Characters
Christopher Boone exhibits several behaviour traits that indicate he is a person that lives with?
Asperger's Syndrome
Where the novel is set
Swindon, England
What is unconventional about the opening scene of the novel?
Mainly, the victim of murder mystery is a dog.
What genre would this novel best be described as? There is more than one possible answer.
Multi-genred, Detective / Crime Fiction which transitions into a ‘Bildungsroman’ (Coming of Age
How is Christopher being neurodivergent revealed to the audience?
In Chapter 3, Christopher cannot read faces.
Who was Mrs Shears to Ed Boone?
A neighbour, a friend, a partner.
What are the two settings of the novel?
Swindon and London
What is significant about the complication of this story?
There are multiple (e.g. Dog dying, Christopher’s troubled interactions with people, Mother Story)
How is the use of humour a distinctive quality?
Christopher uses understatements, situational irony deadpan narration and his naïve voice to create humour in the novel. He is quite literal and cannot understand how the situations or views can be seen as humorous.
What classifies as a 'black day' for Christopher?
Four yellow cars in a row
What relationship did Siobhan have with Christopher?
His teacher
Christopher finds comfort in looking to the sky. What specifically is he looking at?
Stars
Why does Christopher jump onto the train tracks?
To get his pet rat Toby.
Why has Haddon used images to represent Christopher's ideas?
The images allow the reader to understand quickly how Christopher perceives the world. They reflect his logical, graphically oriented and visual mind.
What does Christopher do when his mother and Mrs Shears are arguing?
Tunes the radio between two stations to hear the white noise (pg 251)
Why do numbers and mathematics appeal to Christopher?
He likes their order, their structure and how they never lie.
In what setting does Christopher discover his independence?
London / Final third of the book.
What is revealed about Christopher’s mother?
She was still alive / had an affair and left Ed.
What is distinctive about the novel's font? (Frutiger as a sans serif font)
It's simple and does not have the tails and plinths that other fonts usually have. It's visually disconcerting by its lack of variation (thickening and thinning of letters for the eyes to catch hold of).
How can this novel be described as ‘metafiction’ (a novel about writing novels)?
Christopher is completing the novel as a school project / Refers to the fact he is writing a book.
Why did Ed Boone lie about his wife's death?
To save Christopher from feeling abandoned and confuse him further.
What did Christopher do in his mother's flat to make himself feel safe?
He walked around the flat to map it in his mind (pg 235)
What does Ed buying a new dog ‘Sandy’ for Christopher symbolise?
Their relationship is mending / Dogs symbolise safety for Christopher.
What is the central motif (recurring theme/idea/object) in the novel?
Christopher comparing his brain to a computer through a simile (Chapter 163 and 181).
What do the following symbols have in common: dogs, red cars, swiss-army knife, garden.
All represent safety.