Chapter 149

At school, Siobhan questions Christopher about the bruises he sustained in the struggle with his father, again showing she is very attentive and caring, and is satisfied by the response. When he arrives home, Christopher searches for his book. He finds it in a box in his father’s closet with letters addressed to Christopher. Christopher recognises his mother’s handwriting and becomes confused. Later, alone in his room, he reads one of the letters in which his mother describes a new job in a steel factory in London. Christopher’s mother never worked in a steel factory and never lived in London, so he convinces himself the letter belongs to another Christopher and was mistakenly sent to his address. The fact that Ed kept the letters and the book show that although he has hidden the truth from Christopher and removed the book, he was keeping these things in case there was a right time to discuss the issues with Christopher, perhaps when he was older. It contributes to a sense of Ed as a caring father doing the best he can.

Chapter 149 Quotes

I started by looking in the kitchen. My book was approximately 25 cm x 35 cm x 1 cm so it couldn’t be hidden in a very small place, which meant that I didn’t have to look in any really small places. Chapter 149

I wondered whether I should open the envelope because it was something I had taken from Father’s room. But then I reasoned that it was addressed to me so it belonged to me so it was OK to open it. Chapter 149

And then I thought that perhaps it wasn’t a letter from Mother. Perhaps it was a letter to another person called Christopher, from that Christopher’s mother. I was excited. When I started writing my book there was only one mystery I had to solve. Now there were two. Chapter 149

Chapter 151

Christopher discusses the notion that there are no real mysteries only things scientists haven’t yet discovered. This relates to the events around him, that he feels safe knowing that no matter how much he can’t explain it doesn’t make it scary, it just needs to be solved. He likens this to changing frog populations that can be explained in a formula. This formula proves to him that even when things are too complicated to predict, they’re still obeying rules.

Chapter 151 Quotes

Lots of things are mysteries. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer to them. It’s just that scientists haven’t found the answer yet. Chapter 151

Chapter 157

Christopher counts 43 letters addressed to him, including one that described a memory that his mother had of Christopher playing with a wooden train set. Christopher made timetables for all of the train lines, and these will help him as he uses this memory to attempt to navigate the train system to London. The memories confirm that this is really his mother and he uses logic to deduce that she must be alive and living in London. He curls into a ball on the bed and passes out. When he wakes up it is dark outside and he has vomited. Ed comes into the room, but to Christopher his voice sounds small and distant. Ed sees the letters and begins to cry. When his Father touches him to guide him to the bath it doesn’t hurt like it normally would.

Chapter 157 Quotes

Then I stopped reading the letter because I felt sick. Mother had not had a heart attack. Mother had not died. Mother had been alive all the time. And Father had lied about this. (Christopher Boone) Chapter 157

And it was strange because he was calling, ‘Christopher…? Christopher…?’ and I could see my name written out as he was saying it. […] I could see it written really large, like it was on a big advert on the side of a bus. And it was in my mother’s handwriting […] Chapter 157

Then he said, ‘I did it for your good, Christopher. Honestly I did. I never meant to lie.’ Chapter 157

And I think that was when I realized you and your father were probably better off if I wasn’t living in the house. Then he would only have one person to look after instead of two. (Mrs Boone in a letter) Chapter 157

Chapter 163

Christopher explains how he believes the human mind works, aware that his own mind works differently to others. Comparing minds to a machine, he reduces emotions to a comparison between how a person anticipates the world and how they experience it. This digression to a scientific discussion is typical in the novel after a major event. In a way it suggests that Christopher needs to process each event in his own logical manner but it also provides literary suspense.

Chapter 163 Quotes

But the mind is just a complicated machine. Chapter 163

Also people think they’re not computers because they have feelings and computers don’t have feelings. But feelings are just having a picture on the screen in your head of what is going to happen tomorrow or next year, or what might have happened instead of what did happen, and if it is a happy picture they smile and if it is a sad picture they cry. Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Ed cleans up the vomit from Christopher and makes sure he is calm. He sits with him but Christopher just stares at his own knees. Ed then decides that hiding the truth from Christopher has only delayed hurt and in fact has made it worse. He tells Christopher the truth about Wellington, that in fact, he killed Wellington.

Christopher feels that his father doesn’t love him anymore, based on the logic he uses for love about a person always telling the truth. He believes his Father may also murder him. Christopher waits until 1:20 a.m. and goes out into the garden. He hides behind the garden shed and wonders what to do next. The hiding makes him feel safe but in fact it causes others much anxiety in several places in the text.

Chapter 167 Quotes

OK, maybe I don’t tell the truth all the time. God knows, I try, Christopher, God knows I do, but… Life is difficult, you know. It’s bloody hard telling the truth all the time. Sometimes it’s impossible. And I want to know that I’m trying, I really am. Chapter 167

I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington, That meant he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust him, even though he had said ‘Trust me,’ because he had told a lie about a big thing. (Christopher Boone) Chapter 167

And then I knew it wasn’t a joke and I was really frightened. Chapter 167

Chapter 173

Hiding in the garden, Christopher observes the stars and ponders that although people think they are shapes, like Orion the Hunter, in fact they are simply stars, and as dots they can be joined to make any shape you liked such as a coffee maker or a dinosaur. He considers how science should prevail and people should just label them as stars in the sky. This is an example of Christopher’s overpowering logic hindering his imagination or creativity.

Chapter 173 Quotes

And anyway, Orion is not a hunter or a coffee maker or a dinosaur. It is just Betelgeuse and Bellatrix and Alnilam and Rigel and 17 other stars I don’t know the names of. And they are nuclear explosions billions of miles away. And that is the truth. Chapter 173

Chapter 179

Christopher remains hidden during the night and in the morning when he hears his father calling his name and searching for him, he makes sure he isn’t discovered. After he hears his father leave in the van, he makes a plan and a list. These logical steps help Christopher make sense of the situation. Packing a bag with some food he heads towards his school where he hopes to ask Siobhan how to get to the train station to travel to London. When he approaches the school, he sees his father’s van. Although Ed is obviously there to look for Christopher out of concern, Christopher deduces that he is there to hurt him and finds another person to help him get to the station.

Chapter 179 Quotes

And then I realized that there was nothing I could do which felt safe. Chapter 179

And then I Formulated a Plan. And that made me feel better because there was something in my head that had an order and a pattern and I just had to follow the instructions one after the other. Chapter 179

Chapter 181

Christopher is now in a completely new situation, alone and unfamiliar with his surroundings. These situations are stressful to him and he explains why. As most people only glance at things, new situations aren’t difficult to deal with, but because he takes in and records every detail, new surroundings provide him with too much stimulus and he gets confused and frightened very quickly.

Chapter 181 Quotes

But most people are lazy. They never look at everything. They do what is called glancing which is the same word for bumping off something carrying on in the same direction… But if I am standing in a field in the countryside I notice everything. Chapter 181

Chapter 191

At the train station a police officer helps Christopher, this calms him as it agrees with his understanding of police are supposed do and that they can be trusted. Christopher uses a cash card he took from his father to withdraw money and buy a ticket. These seemingly simple events show great courage and high level functioning for Christopher. He is overwhelmed by the number of smells and signs but manages to board the train that the station master said would travel to London.

Chapter 191 Quotes

And I wanted to go home but I was frightened of going home and I tried to make a plan of what I should do in my head but there were too many things to look at and too many things to hear. Chapter 191

Chapter 193

Christopher recalls the beauty of timetables. He sees that timetables help to let him know when things are going to happen and this structure reduces stress in his daily life. His parents made detailed timetables for him, including teeth brushing and meal times, and this assisted him to get through each day. Whilst this makes him seem simple, it is juxtaposed with his understanding of the science of time which is very advanced.

Chapter 193 Quotes

When I used to play with my train set I made a train timetable because I liked timetables. And I like timetables because I like to know when everything is going to happen. Chapter 193

And this means that time is a mystery, and not even a thing, and no one has ever solved the puzzle of what time is, exactly. And so, if you get lost in time it is like being lost in a desert, except that you can’t see the desert because it is not a thing. And this is why I like timetables, because they make sure you don’t get lost in time. Chapter 193

Chapter 197

Christopher doesn’t like the train as it forces him to be locked in with a lot of people. He solves math problems to calm himself. When he hears someone calling his name he figures it will be someone he knows, however it is the policeman informing him that his father is at the station. Christopher assumes it is because he was arrested for killing Wellington but the officer says it is because his father was looking for Christopher. This only underscores the fact to Christopher that his father means to harm him. The train moves off and the police officer is forced to radio ahead and asks to be met with Christopher at the next station. In fear, Christopher wets his pants and the officer sends him to the bathroom. Christopher hides among the luggage to feel safe.

Chapter 197 Quotes

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them. Chapter 197

And he said, ‘We’ve got your father at the police station.’ And I thought he was going to say that they had arrested Father for killing Wellington, but he didn’t. He said, ‘He’s looking for you.’
And I said, ‘I know.’ Chapter 197

Chapter 199

When Christopher had started to investigate the death of Wellington, he said it was because he felt dogs were important too. In this chapter, where he discusses the place of people, God and animals, Christopher again shows his worldview. He dismisses the notion of God as it would be supernatural and therefore not real. He thinks people who think they are superior to animals are wrong. He thinks people will evolve into something superior or will become extinct therefore they are not the singular best version of animals.

Chapter 199 Quotes

And people who believe in God think God has put human beings on the earth because they think human beings are the best animal, but human beings are just an animal and they will evolve into another animal, and that animal will be cleverer and it will put human beings into a zoo, like we put chimpanzees and gorillas into a zoo. Chapter 199