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83 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
Mesmirising
The narrator of this remarkable novel is Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy who has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, that means he is unable to understand human emotions. He is, however, highly intelligent and can rattle off all kinds of facts and figures, particularly those pertaining to his speciality - maths. The book opens with Christopher stumbling upon a...
Published on 8 Aug 2004 by kimbofo
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Funny, strange and it broadens your mind!
Reading this book was a strange experience, I'm more into the fantastic stories, so stepping into a world as seen from the autism boy Christopher.
I liked how honest it is, great writing, you really get an idea of how confusing the world seems from his eyes.
Published on 9 Oct 2006 by Mette Johansen
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83 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
Mesmirising, 8 Aug 2004
The narrator of this remarkable novel is Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy who has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, that means he is unable to understand human emotions. He is, however, highly intelligent and can rattle off all kinds of facts and figures, particularly those pertaining to his speciality - maths. The book opens with Christopher stumbling upon a dead dog lying in his neighbour's garden. The dog is pinned to the ground by a pitchfork. Immediately he decides to find out what happened to the dog and, inspired by his favourite fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, he launches a "murder investigation" that rocks both the local community and his own strangely mundane and ordered life. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" has won many awards - and with good reason. It's one of those rare books, originally written for children but now popular with an increasing number of adults. The language is simple, but this simplicity renders Christopher's voice more powerful. You really get into his head and see the world through his emotionally dissociated mind. The charming diagrams and drawings littered throughout the book only add to this. As you plough through each short chapter, you are able to piece together the revelations of Christopher's investigation long before he is able to comprehend them. This gives the story further urgency, because you wish you could stop him from proceeding any farther, if not to shield him from the awful truth, at least to save his family from the emotional outfall. But Christopher plods on regardless in his own naive way, and there's nothing you can do. The great beauty of this lovely book is not just the narrator's unique voice, it is Haddon's careful balance between bleak comedy and great sadness. He never resorts to sentimentality, which only makes the pathos all the more real. I loved this story and read it in two sittings. It's original, witty and illuminating. No matter what your age, you'd be hard pressed to find a more interesting and page-turning novel.
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150 of 162 people found the following review helpful:
Truly astonishing!, 8 Mar 2004
Many of the people who have reviewed this book have first hand experience of children with behavioural problems, or links to Aspergers and / or Autism. They have (almost entirely) commented on how this book reflects in some way their experiences or that of friends or relatives. They have almost all enjoyed the book, and having read these reviews you may feel that, if you have no such experience, the book may not appeal to you.Well, I personally have no experience in these areas, and I can honestly say that this has gone straight into my all time top 5 reads! The story is wonderfully crafted, and not a page goes by when you do not learn something new about Christopher, the central character who has, I understand, though it is not stated in the book, Aspergers Syndrome (the book is actually written entirely from Christophers perspective). This is one of those rare books that makes you want to discuss (not just talk about) the story. My wife and I both read it over the same weekend, and we kept finding ourselves going back to it to talk through some of the difficulties that Christopher faced, and how it must be to have to deal with them, either as the child or as a parent. This story really gives an insight into a mind which, in some ways, is far more developed than the mind of an "ordinary" person. It also gives you a feel for what it must be like to need complete structure and order to a life which can never absolutely have both. The lack of what you and I would call "emotion" was in itself deeply moving, and several times I found myself asking how I would cope if one of my two children had the same difficulties. This is a remarkable book. If only everyone could read it, society would become a much more understanding and accepting place for those who suffer from the effects of conditions such as Aspergers, ADHD and Autism.
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103 of 111 people found the following review helpful:
Red Food = Yummy!, 18 Sep 2003
Novels written from the perspective of a mentally disabled protagonist are a tricky business, they can easily veer into condescension, mawkishness, or quirkiness for its own sake. Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn is a recent excellent example of a highly entertaining book which avoids these pitfalls, and this story about a 15-year-old boy with a highly functional form of autism (Asperger's syndrome) is another. Christopher lives in Swindon ("the armpit of England") with his widowed father, excels in math, can't read people's expressions, doesn't understand statements that aren't literal, and has severe color issues (for example, red foods are good, brown foods are not). The story begins when Christopher discovers his neighbor's dog dead, with a garden tool sticking out of it. Someone has clearly murdered the dog, and in the spirit of his favorite fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, he sets out to discover who the villain is. A social worker at his school helps him record his investigation in book form-thus explaining the novel. Christopher encounters inexplicable adult resistance to his desire to investigate, which by a quirk of fate, leads him to investigate his dead mother. At which point the book takes on a classic quest structure and the dead dog is left behind.The real joy of the book is not its plot (which is skimpy and turns into a soap opera in the final third), but its nuanced portrait of the challenges faced by the mildly autistic, and by those who raise them. Christopher's sensitivity to noise, crowds, colors, and especially being touched, is shown in vivid detail (Some reviewers have criticized the character of Christopher as having many behavioral tics that would be cured in a few years therapy, however they seem to have missed the point that his father is a lower-middle class, blue-collar worker, and by inference could never hope to afford therapy.). At the same time there's no attempt to build Christopher into a figure of pity: he's clever, persistent, irritable, and sometimes irritating -a fully rounded character who simply operates in a slightly different world than most of us. The prose is very simple and direct, as one might expect from a young boy, making accessible to younger readers (although parents should be aware that there are four-letter words present). If for no other reason, the book is worth reading for the humanistic and empathetic portrayal of a mentally disabled youth, and will help any reader better understand the challenges facing those with mild autism.
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53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
A curious read, but far from incidental, 29 April 2003
Being Christopher Boone is pretty eccentric. Writing his way into Christopher’s head, Mark Haddon is a sharp, ambitious, arresting and convincing author. So how do you write an account of the life of a boy who can’t account for much that happens? Partly, by recounting the far from reachless stuff that Christopher does take in. Haddon pulls it off by getting Christopher to explain exactly what is happening, and I mean exactly. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time – the Holmes quotation of the title ricochets through the book – has a marginal character in society as narrator. So we read of what society looks like at one of its edges, and how those at its edges are treated. What we get is often what Christopher doesn’t get: he doesn’t understand the people that surround him, but we can because we can reclaim from his narrative what strikes him as peripheral. This action, restructuring the tale, is maybe what this book is for, bringing Christopher back into society. The treatment is a revelation, weirdly informative and extremely funny. This book is for sale in an edition for children; which is spot on. Christopher Boone is someone I would never have known as a child, and I begin to see maybe why. Mark Haddon performs the trick of getting inside the beautiful mind of a boy who is mostly not confused, but often confusing. I reckon A curious incident of the dog in the night-time notches up top marks.
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, 14 Feb 2004
This book has to be one of the best books I have ever read. Mark Haddon's view of the inner workings of the mind of the main character Christopher Boone, a young man with learning and behaviour difficulties are brilliant.This character is totally believeable and really comes to life and I defy anyone not to see their own thought processes in him.
The story skips along at a good pace, helped by the fact that at least to begin with the chapters are quite short,punchy and funny, soon you find yourself on chapter 71 due to the chapters being numerated only in prime numbers(nice touch). There are moments of humour and tension and at times you wonder how most people would cope in the situations Christopher encounters.
The difficulties and frustrations of the parents, though not a major part of the plot can help us to understand that children with these kinds of problems are not always easy to live with or comprehend but this book could go a long way to helping adults to realise, we all need to stop sometimes take some deep breaths, calm dowm then come back to the issue at hand.Maybe we could all learn something from Christopher.
This book is a great insight into the workings of a childs mind.All parents should read it,as we soon forget how our own minds worked when we ourselves were young.You can not help but to empathize with Christopher as his life starts to spiral out of control and you can only hope that somehow things will come right for him.COMPLETLY BELIEVEABLE and a must read for anyone thinking of having children or who already has them particularly if they have special needs.
mum of three one with ADHD
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time..., 11 Jan 2004
For me, this book was an extraordinary insight into the life of an autistic boy. I was recommended it by a friend whose relatives had sent it over from America before it was publicised over here. It was supposedly primarily written for adults, but marketed as a book for teenagers as well as adults, and as a 13 year old myself, i think is well worth a read. The book is about a boy named Christopher, who is Autistic, and is obsessed with things being in order. He regually makes schedules and lists, and will not even touch things of certain colours. In a way, he is like all of us, for everyone likes hygiene and order in their lives, but Christopher takes things to another level entirely. It is so well written that it is hard to believe it is anything other than autobiographical, but, incredibly, Mark Haddon actually made it a point not to do any specific medical research into the disease. I would really recommend this book to people of my age, and anyone older: all my family have read it, and most of my friends, and everyone, especially my Mum, agreed it was an amazing book, and most unlike anything they had read before. Five Stars!
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
A curious read, but far from incidental, 27 April 2003
Being Christopher Boone is pretty eccentric. Writing his way into Christopher’s head, Mark Haddon is a sharp, ambitious, arresting and convincing author. So how do you write an account of the life of a boy who can’t account for much that happens? Partly, by recounting the far from reachless stuff that Christopher does take in. Haddon pulls it off by getting Christopher to explain exactly what is happening, and I mean exactly. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time – the Holmes quotation of the title ricochets through the book – has a marginal character in society as narrator. So we read of what society looks like at one of its edges, and how those at its edges are treated. What we get is often what Christopher doesn’t get: he doesn’t understand the people that surround him, but we can because we can reclaim from his narrative what strikes him as peripheral. This action, restructuring the tale, is maybe what this book is for, bringing Christopher back into society. The treatment is a revelation, weirdly informative and extremely funny. This book is for sale in an edition for children; which is spot on. Christopher Boone is someone I would never have known as a child, and I begin to see maybe why. Mark Haddon performs the trick of getting inside the beautiful mind of a boy who is mostly not confused, but often confusing.
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71 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
Incidently, the Most Wonderful Book I've Read!, 5 Feb 2004
This is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. He is fifteen and has Asperger’s, a form of Autism. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth and owns a pet rat called Toby. He hates the colours yellow and brown and hates being touched. He knows it’s going to be a good day if he passes red cars on his way to school on the bus. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey, which will turn his whole world upside down.
Haddon has created a wonderfully brilliant character. His depiction of Christopher’s world is deeply moving, very funny and utterly convincing. He shows a unique insight into the autistic mind of the unlikely teenage detective who stumbles on everyday normalities as obstacles which further leads him to unearthing secrets that shock and startle him into running away.
What drives Haddon’s tale, however, is his empathy for his protagonist: it might have been easy to make Christopher an amusing suburban hybrid of Forest Gump and Adrian Mole, but the author digs deeper, mining a deeper emotional truth with a rigorous sense of purpose, one expressly devoid of cheap homily. He also knows a damn good page-turner: the emotional beats here are resonant and well deserved, the key plot revelations affecting, and the payoff deeply satisfying.
Although a work of fiction, it is both an educational and vividly honest adaptation of the trails and hurdles that people like Christopher undergo on a daily basis and that most of us are unaware of. A lesson can surely be learned from reading this boy’s curiously different story.
Incidentally, if you are to read only one book in the next 12 months, let it be this one. It more than deserves the recent accolade of 'Top Dog' in both the Guardian and Whitbread Awards for best book. This gem is a must and is star quality in new fiction writing regardless of age and background.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
The curious incident of the world turned upside down., 2 Feb 2005
Ever since the publication of this book, there has been a lot of stuff out there saying it is 'about' Asperger's syndrome. There are even critical reviews picking through the information and criticizing it in clinical terms. Every one of those has missed the point. Yes, the story is told by a boy with Asperger's syndrome, and very interesting that is too, but as far as novels are 'about' something this one is about - us. The wonder of this book is not its portrayal of a weird way of looking at the world, but its portrayal of the world as weird. Our world. We are looking at so-called normal human interaction from Christopher's perspective, and it looks completely ridiculous.The emotional tangle of the grown-ups in Christopher's life, their lies, their self-destructive behaviour and general chaos, all these are incomprehensible to him - and watching them through his eyes we can see why. They are barking mad (no pun intended). So is the whole world, as seen through Christopher's eyes. He prefers dogs. Well yes, you would do, wouldn't you? After reading this, you'll wonder whether we all should. This is a book that works on every level: it is very very funny, the plot twists and turns, it's an effortless read. But it is also profoundly subversive. Normal life doesn't look quite the same after reading it. Where I come from, a writer who can do that is called a genius.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Brilliant book for teenagers and adults, 1 Aug 2006
Brilliant detective story and diary as written by a teenager with Asperger syndrome (autism). The "author" Christopher Boone starts his journal as an attempt to find out who killed his neighbour's dog though, whilst unravelling this, he discover much more important information about his father and mother.
Haddon's novel is funny and touching. It superbly captures Christopher's condition showing his kindness and intelligence and also his fastidiousness and helplessness. An excellent beautifully written story, probably aimed at teenagers but also well worth the attention of any caring adult.
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