Christopher is complex with many flaws. what are his redeeming qualities and how does the novel show these
Christopher's inability to express his feelings of love and closeness in a typical manner can feel alienating. If you did not understand Christopher you might not believe he was capable of feelings of love in the way in which most people understand. However, Christopher once again teaches us the importance of reassessing our own definitions. Even though he does not like to be hugged by his father and even though he shows no obvious signs of missing his mother, Haddon manages to construct a world in which we are genuinely touched by Christopher's honesty about his feelings. Remembering his mother, he explains that she smelt nice which is such a specific memory that it conjures up a whole image of Christopher being physically close to his mother and feeling comforted by her familiar smell.
The big mistake that Christopher's father makes is to hide the information from Christopher that his mother is leaving them because he wants to 'protect' his son. Presumably worrying that Christopher will feel rejected, he hides this vital information from him. Christopher's response to this, however, is not as one might expect - when he eventually finds his mother he is not angry that she left him. His relationships are conducted differently than ours.
Christopher shows that he is more caring that most people who express their love in the usual ways. When he notices that Toby is missing, he puts his own life in danger in order to save him.
Once again, Christopher makes us reassess how we view relationships. Since the traditional marital relationships of the novel are not very successful, it is clear that the way in which the rest of us deal with love and relationships is not necessarily ideal.
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