Chapter 37

Christopher explains his understanding of the truth. He believes that he doesn’t lie not because of moral implications but rather because if he were to try and comprehend the amount of scenarios available to replace the real event, the amount would be so great it would hurt him to think about it. In this way he also doesn’t enjoy fiction, because it is completely made up, and vows to tell the truth in his story. Christopher reflects on his mother, not explaining what has happened but simply remembering her fondly.

Chapter 37 Quotes

I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies. Chapter 37

A lie is when you say something happened with didn’t happen. But there is only ever one thing which happened at a particular time and a particular place. And there are an infinite number of things which didn’t happen at that time and that place. And if I think about something which didn’t happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn’t happen. Chapter 37

Chapter 41

Christopher is warned for the first of many times to stay out of people’s business by his father. This is probably for his own benefit as Ed, Christopher’s father, knows that Christopher doesn’t have the social skills to negotiate such intense interactions with the neighbours. It is little help for Christopher as he is determined that after the murder of the dog, an investigation must begin. Ed is upset by this. Later we will find out that he had good reason to try and keep Christopher away from the investigation due to his own involvement in the incident. Ed is angry and when Christopher goes to the kitchen at 2:07am, he sees his father has been crying. He assumes it is because of the dog.

Chapter 41 Quotes

Father said, ‘Just try and keep your nose out of other people’s business.’ Chapter 41

I said, ‘Yes, I was listening to what you were saying, but when someone gets murdered you have to find out who did it so that they can be punished.’
And he said, ‘It’s a bloody dog, Christopher, a bloody dog.’
I replied, ‘I think dogs are important, too. Chapter 41

Chapter 43

Christopher announces, unemotionally, that his mother died two years earlier, describing the circumstances around the day she disappeared. He came home from school one day and his mother was not there. His father left to look for then returned and told Christopher that his mother had to go to hospital for a heart problem and he wouldn’t see her for a while. This single lie, which grows when he later informs Christopher that his mother died in hospital, is central to the novel. It is later revealed that he is cushioning the blow for Christopher as Judy Boone, Christopher’s mother, had an affair with Roger Shears, the neighbour, and would be moving out. Chris appreciates that his father didn’t look at him while telling him the news, not realising this is because he was lying to him. Although Christopher appears unemotional, he decides to make a get-well card for his mother.

Chapter 43 Quotes

Mother died 2 years ago. Chapter 43

Father said, ‘I’m afraid you won’t be seeing your mother for a while.’
He didn’t look at me when he said this. He kept on looking through the window. Usually people look at you when they’re talking to you. I know that they’re working out what I’m thinking, but I can’t tell what they’re thinking. It is like being in a room with a one-way mirror in a spy film. But this was nice, having Father speak to me but not look at me. Chapter 43

Chapter 47

Christopher describes his classification of days. If he sees four red cars in a row it means a ‘good day,’ but if he sees four yellow cars in a row it means a ‘black Day’ and he speaks to no one that day. This system seems illogical to someone who appears to only operate in facts but as he explained to his psychologist, this was another way of ordering things, it put days in a place so that just as people could change moods based on the weather, he could have a variety of days/moods based on numbers and vehicles.

Christopher admits he is called ‘spaz’ at school and that it doesn’t make sense to him. He hasn’t had any seizures like other children so it confuses him. The fact that he is bullied is alarming but his logic in this case acts as a defence mechanism.

Chapter 47 Quotes

Terry, who is the older brother of Francis, who is at the school, said I would only ever get a job collecting supermarket trollies or cleaning out donkey shit at an animal sanctuary and they didn’t let spazzers drive rockets that cost billions of pounds. Chapter 47

But there were other ways of putting things in a nice order. And that was why I had Good Days and Black Days. Chapter 47

Chapter 53

Christopher is told that his mother died two weeks after being admitted to the hospital. Christopher seems more interested in the science behind the heart attack than in any other details of his mother’s passing or their new life without her. He thinks about the variety of heart attacks people can suffer and makes a guess at which one may have afflicted his mother. This seems to confirm Ed Boone’s idea to lie to his son. Much like Christopher’s dislike for fiction, a world in which his mother is alive but never comes home provides too many scenarios for him to cope with. The simple lie about her death is easier for the seemingly unemotional Christopher to deal with.

Chapter 53 Quotes

Father said that he didn’t know what kind of heart attack she had and now wasn’t the moment to be asking questions like that.
I said that it was probably an aneurysm. Chapter 53

And Father was sitting down and she stood next to him and held his head against her bosoms and said, ‘Come on, Ed. We’re going to get you through this.’ (Mrs Shears) Chapter 53

Chapter 59

The novel resumes with the investigation of the death of Wellington the dog. Christopher goes to Mrs Shears’ house to start investigating but she closes the door in his face. Although he was told not to interfere, Christopher uses his logic to undermine the directive. Other people break rules, like speeding, and staying out of someone’s business was too broad to be obeyed; broad instructions are ineffective with Christopher. Only Siobhan knows how important very precise and literal instructions are for him.

Christopher waits for a chance and enters Mrs Shears’ garden, finding the pitchfork in the shed. He concludes that whoever killed Wellington must have known Mrs Shears well enough to know there was a potential weapon in her shed. Christopher is enjoying being a detective as it fits in with his logical puzzle-solving tendencies.

Chapter 59 Quotes

And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense. Chapter 59

When I got home I said hello to Father and went upstairs and fed Toby, my rat, and felt happy because I was being a detective and finding things out. Chapter 59

Chapter 61

Christopher divulges his views on heaven in relation to his mother’s passing. He takes a logical and scientific approach to the subject with little emotion regarding his mother. He is told his mother would be in heaven but can’t imagine a place existing in the universe, unless it was of course through a black hole. He thinks when people die they rot in the ground but as he was told his mother was cremated, he expects she is floating as molecules in the air.

Chapter 61 Quotes

I said that there wasn’t anything outside the universe and there wasn’t another kind of place altogether. Except that there might be if you went through a black hole… Chapter 61

I think people believe in heaven because they don’t like the idea of dying, because they want to carry on living and they don’t like the idea that other people will move into their house and put their things into the rubbish. Chapter 61

Chapter 67

Christopher takes a monumental step in overcoming his limitations in his pursuit of the investigation. This is the first of the steps that see him grow in this coming of age saga. He is willing to talk to all the neighbours despite how much meeting strangers frightens him. He clutches a swiss army knife for security, an unlikely weapon if needed, especially given Christopher believes that the saw blade on the knife would be the best choice to cut off a man’s finger if he was threatened.

The investigation garners little success, jokes about policemen getting younger and no information or absences on the night of the incident leaving Christopher no closer to the truth. However, Mrs Alexander from number 39 wants to chat. He refuses to go inside when she invites him in for cake so she says she will bring it out. When she is inside, Christopher becomes worried that she is calling the police and, remembering the stern warning from the officer when he was arrested, Christopher leaves without saying another word.

Christopher deduces that there are three reasons to kill a dog: someone hates the dog, that person is crazy, or that person wants to hurt the owner, Mrs Shears. This leads him to reminisce about Mrs Shears’ husband, Roger, and to consider why he left Mrs Shears and if he may be the prime suspect.

Chapter 67 Quotes

I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand. It is like being in France, which is where we went on holiday sometimes when mother was alive, to camp. Chapter 67

I didn’t reply to this either because Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting where people say things to each other which aren’t questions and answers and aren’t connected. Chapter 67

And sometimes Mrs. Shears stayed overnight at our house and I liked it when she did because she made things tidy and she arranged the jars and pans and tins in order of their height on the shelves in the kitchen and she always made their labels face outwards and she put the knives and forks and spoons in the correct compartments in the cutlery drawer. Chapter 67

Chapter 71

In a measured way, Christopher considers what it means to be special. He knows that the school he attends is labelled ‘special needs’ but has a problem with this distinction. He thinks that the people there need help in some areas of their lives but thinks that all people need some help. Siobhan needs thick glasses to see, Mrs Peters needs a hearing aid to hear and his father can’t have sugar. In light of this, he sees all people as having ‘special needs’. He thinks that taking his A levels will prove his intelligence and be a good challenge for him. It becomes very important to him.

Chapter 71 Quotes

I am going to prove that I’m not stupid. Next month I’m going to take my A level in maths and I’m going to get an A grade. (Christopher Boone) Chapter 71

Chapter 73

In this chapter Christopher shows great self-awareness, listing some of the problems he faces and the things he finds difficult. He knows that screaming, breaking things, and refusing to eat certain coloured foods places stress on those around him and he fears it will lead to his parents getting a divorce.

Chapter 73 Quotes

These are some of my Behavioural Problems
A. Not talking to people for a long time …
K. Not noticing that people are angry with me. Chapter 73

Sometimes Father would say, ‘Christopher, if you do not behave I swear I shall knock the living daylights out of you,’ or Mother would say, ‘Jesus, Christopher, I am seriously considering putting you into a home,’ or Mother would say, ‘You are going to drive me into an early grave.’ Chapter 73

Chapter 79

On returning home from questioning the neighbours, Christopher finds Ed waiting, very upset. Mrs Shears has called and told him about the visits. There is an argument and Ed makes Christopher promise to drop the investigation, explaining that Mrs Shears is not their friend anymore and that Christopher needs to stay away from her.

Chapter 79 Quotes

I could see that Father was angry with me, so I said, ‘I know you told me not to get involved in other people’s business but Mrs. Shears is a friend of ours.’
And Father said, ‘Well, she’s not a friend anymore.’ Chapter 79