The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and the Bildungsroman Genre

Curious Incident is a bildungsroman, only with a protagonist somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Christopher begins his development when he decides to write a mystery about his neighbor's dead dog. As he pursues the mystery, he learns unsettling things about his own family and eventually sets off on a journey by himself. 


It is unfortunately unclear what kind of development the protagonist achieves by the end of the novel. He does assert a degree more of independence from his family, and feel proud of himself for his actions during the novel, but it is unclear how he will fit into society and what his societal role is at the end of the novel. 


I think the most important thing to keep in mind is this is at least an attempt to incorporate a new type of perspective into the bildungsroman genre. Perhaps more similar attempts will be more successful.


Click Here for my review of Curious Incident


Click Here for a post about Mark Haddon and Aspergers 


Click Here for a continuation of the above debate