Okay, I’m gonna try and review this book now. TRY being the key word.

… How do I review this??

Τις τελευταίες μέρες είμαι άρρωστη και μόνη στο σπίτι και αυτό το βιβλίο μου κράτησε πολύ καλή παρέα. Αναλαφρο, ευχάριστο και ευκολοδιαβαστο, ακριβώς ο,τι χρειαζόμουν στην παρουσα φάση.

Ο Κρίστοφερ ειναι ενας αυτιστικος έφηβος που βρισκει νεκρό τον σκυλο της γειτόνισσας του και αποφασίζει να διερευνησει το μυστήριο αυτης της δολοφονίας. Και μεσα απο αυτη την αναζήτηση εμεις μαθαίνουμε για τις ιδιαιτερότητες του Κρίστοφερ, για τη ζωη του και την οικογένειά του και ολα αυτα διανθισμένα με κάποια "fun facts" που μοιράζεται ο Κρίστοφερ μαζι μας σχετικά με τους αριθμους, τα μαθηματικά, τα αστερια και το συμπαν. Απο ο,τι ειδα στο εξωφυλλο εχει κερδισει καποια βραβεια παιδικής λογοτεχνίας αλλα πιστευω οτι ειναι ενα βιβλιο για μικρους και μεγάλους. Ισως λιγο περισσοτερο για μικρους για να εξοικειωθούν απο νωρίς και να κατανοήσουν τι σημαίνει να ειναι κάποιος αυτιστικός. Οτιδηποτε βοηθαει να μειωθεί η δαιμονοποίηση και το στιγμα γυρω απο τον αυτισμό - και τα τελευταία χρόνια ευτυχως εχω πεσει σε αρκετές σειρές ή σελιδες στο fb που εχουν τετοια θεματολογία - ειναι πολυ σημαντικό και απο αυτη την αποψη το βιβλιο σίγουρα κανει σπουδαια δουλειά.

A tale told from the point of view of an autistic adolescent. Very interesting and creative.

5 stars

This is the touching, raw, heart-string pulling, and sometimes frustrating story of Christopher Boone. He is the protagonist and narrator of the story while suffering from emotional and developmental disorders with some savant capabilities. The interesting thing is the whole time he tells his story, while his behavior is odd and different from others, he never seems to acknowledge the fact that he knows he is different. During his interactions with other characters he feels he is being logical and reasonable while those he is talking to are ripping their hair out in frustration. It makes for some very interesting and entertaining situations.

A character and story that this could possibly be compared to is Forrest Gump. Lots of little anecdotes mixed in with a main storyline by a narrator who really does not understand the impact of his involvement or why things are the way they are. Curious, but simple. The only major difference is that Forrest stayed fairly pleasant throughout the story while Christopher gets very violent when he gets uncomfortable.

I read this towards the end of a reading slump. I think this might be the perfect book to help get someone out of a reading slump. It is not very long, the story is not complex, and the content is very intriguing. I burned right through this because I could not wait to see what happened next while Christopher unraveled the mystery. I feel I could recommend this to almost anyone.

Disclaimer: Have you not read The Hound of the Baskervilles, but you want to? DO NOT READ THIS BOOK FIRST! Christopher ruins the book! He spends one chapter going through the entire plot and then lays out the key points and spoilers in bullet points. Between this and several books I have read recently describing the climax of Anna Karenina, I kind of don’t feel safe from spoilers!

This book was not for me. The main character is just not fun to read about in any way.

I started reading this book with the expectation that it is a mystery novel featuring an autistic sleuth - something like a young Mr. Monk, an American TV shows featuring a detective with extreme OCD and phobias.

But to my surprise I found that this book is much more than a mystery novel!

A murder has been committed – a dog has been killed with a garden fork – a dog that the narrator Christopher Boone liked.

Now, let me introduce you to Christopher. He is a fifteen year old boy who suffers from autism – the blurb specifies it to be Asperger’s Syndrome. Like most autistic people, Christopher has no understanding of social behavior; hates being touched (even by his parents); and has other eccentricities. But, he is pretty good when it comes to subjects like Maths. He has even got some strong views on the subject of religion and dismisses “stupid things” like superstitions. He lives with his father in a small town in the UK.

Anyway, Christopher, who is a fan of Sherlock Holmes decides to turn detective. He would have to come out of his comfort zone in order to carry out his investigations, and even tries to find loop holes in his father’s strict orders to stop his sleuthing.

Christopher’s investigation would eventually reveal some astonishing secrets about his family and to borrow the clichéd expression - his whole world would turn upside down and Christopher would do the unexpected.

Another thing which I liked about the book –
•tthe references to a couple of mathematical problems especially The Monty Hall Problem
•tthe problem around the properties of right angled triangle
t- these reminded of me of my school days when I did love certain branches of Maths like algebra and geometry

I also liked that The Hound of Baskervilles is Christopher’s favourite book (it is my favourite novel in the Sherlockian world too) but A WORD OF CAUTION!!! the author has revealed the entire story in the book. I accept that he did a good job of summarizing the novel that in about 2-3 pages, but this is strict no-no for me.

The author has done a pretty good job in describing Christopher and his reactions to the world around. The complex rules of societal interactions and the complicated human psyche are enough to overwhelm the autistic mind. Life is not easy for such people. In my humble opinion, life is even more difficult for the people, especially the parents, who have to take care of such people.

Oliver Sacks, the author of my favourite – The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, opines about this novel - “A delightful and brilliant book. Mark Haddon shows great insight into the autistic mind... I found it all very moving, very plausible and very funny”

I found the book to be moving and poignant, but not funny! I felt especially bad for Christopher’s parents and what they had to go through.

Then why the 3 stars!! The beginning and the end were excellent, but towards the end, I felt the story lost its attraction.

I would still recommend the novel to readers who would like to read about Christopher’s journey. But, if you plan to read The Hound of Baskervilles, then I would suggest you read the Holmesian mystery before starting with this book.

This is the most disassociating book I've ever read. Try to read it all in one sitting -- it will totally fuck with your head and make you forget how to be normal your brain used to work.

[As I noted in the comments below, I read this book in 2004 and wrote the review in 2007, long before I understood how ableist it was for me to use "normal" as I did initially. I changed it to be more accurate and inclusive, but I wanted to leave the trail // historical record in order to show that I was wrong and there's no need to use careless language like this, which didn't even properly indicate what I meant.]

I, as a person who has Asperger's syndrome, found this book very very insulting. Some things certainly did NOT help me put my diagnosis into perspective at all. No person with aspergers would admit to having a special food box and no person I've ever met with aspergers has gone to a special school or been so irrational to go on the colours of the cars they pass on the way to school.
It is very inaccurate that Christopher's mum left, normally its dad who refuses to even try and cope with an autistic child.
I also found that it is a very typical book of the understanding of a professional- they have their facts about aspergers but they don't actually experience it! Good grief by the time we are fifteen we have all learned against the strange things he does- he is a very odd character and not true to life in the slightest.
A child with aspergers would be too clever to believe their mum died! I found out my sister was my half-sister all on my own without any of my family even noticing.
It is a very bad book and proves that writing about aspergers should be left to the real experts- those with it!

I read this one twice - once for myself, and the second time for discussion with my local library book club. I know there is much controversy out there about this author's lack of personal experience with autism, but books like this one really helped bring awareness of the issues facing people with autism, and their family members.

I really enjoyed the story and the mystery solving. Also, the father's devotion to his son was so touching. Good grief, I thought to myself. Sometimes you can push a person only so far before they explode and find they've done something totally out of character. A really good read, which paved the way for so many other novels on the same subject.

This was a truly amazing story told from the point of view of Christopher, an autist boy. Right from the beginning, you are being thrown into this mystery story - which is not really a mystery story but a story about Christopher's life and struggles. This book comes with surprises and I loved that. I think I should've seen them coming but I didn't.
Christopher kind of reminded me of Don from "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion. So if you've read and liked that book, there's a chance you will like "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" as well :)

I must have been recommended this book annually. Considering the rate at which I devour books, it is a shame that I didn't take those recommendations to heart until recently. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is unlike most books that you'll find at your local shop on the subject of autism. Our story follows the exceptionally unique narrator Christopher Boone as he tries to unravel the mystery of who killed a dog on his street. While the concept sounds like a children's mystery novel, the entire concept is elevated by Christopher's narration which provides a distinctive view into the mind of an individual with autism. The chapters are not presented in sequential numbers, rather they are presented as ascending prime numbers (Christopher quite enjoys math). Occasionally, Christopher's sparse descriptive passages are supplemented by small drawings, graphs and figures. Christopher struggles with the overwhelming societal rules that everyone else seems to be following with ease. Quirks like this appear throughout the book and help establish Christopher as one of the most stylistically impressive narrators in recent memory.

Despite Christopher's protestations early in the novel that he is unable to tell a joke, the novel is filled with laughs. Despite the levity of some of the situations in which our hero finds himself, the obsessions and patterns to which Christopher is bound reflect genuine autistic traits. Though Christopher processes emotion differently from most people, the novel is also full of heart and heartbreaking moments. Most of the emotional gravitas is provided by the supporting cast as their personal struggles are brought to the forefront via the narrator's matter-of-fact writing. Indeed, while Christopher's narration provides heartfelt insight into the mind of an autistic teenager, the stories of his parents tell of the difficulties of raising an autistic child. This book also reads like a thriller: it is short, compelling, mysterious, and the pages flew by once I got a hang of the unique style. This novel is highly entertaining, refreshing, profound, and well-researched. Mark Haddon hit a homer with this one, and I wish I had taken all the recommendations earlier. I loved it, and I think you will too!

Me gustó muchísimo.

Jamás había leído un libro donde el protagonista tuviera Trastorno del espectro autista, lo leí porque quería conocer mas y para poder ver como perciben el mundo. Fue como armar un rompe cabezas leer este libro.
Fue muy interesante y me ayudo a entenderlos y conocerlos mejor.

Nuestro protagonista en esta historia se llama Christopher, tiene 15 años y un día descubre que el perro de su vecina esta muerto y él muy fanático de Sherlock Holmes (lo que en eso me parezco tanto a él que AMABA cuando hablaba de él y el doctor Watson), decide encontrar al asesino del perro, y mediante esta búsqueda va a desenterrar secretos de sus padres y su familia.

La premisa es muy interesante al igual que el titulo. Me costó bastante entender algunas actitudes de los padres de Christopher, Hay acciones que yo las hubiese hecho de otra manera.
y lo que comprendí también, es que la paciencia llega a un limite, lo cual el niño la sobrepasaba ante sus padres.

Se que no es fácil tener que criar a un niño con este trastorno, pero no es imposible, y con paciencia y cariño y apoyo, se puede.
Ellos no son diferentes, son iguales a todos, solo que mas inteligentes que muchos de nosotros y eso no los hace especiales, sino sobresalientes.

El final me gustó muchísimo también.
Y lo super recomiendo, es una historia amena, donde estar en la cabeza de este niño es una aventura sin límites.