The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time revolves around Christopher, an autistic teen who discovers his neighbor's dead dog one night. He is a genius in that he knows all of the prime numbers up to 7,057 and can solve logic puzzles quickly and efficiently; however, he can't stand the colors yellow or brown or the thought of different foods touching on his plate. As Chris investigates the death of the neighborhood dog, he stumbles upon something that may change his life.

I loved how Mark Haddon maintained the consistency of Christopher's voice and how he didn't sacrifice the integrity of his character to make him any more likable. There are times when I wished I could snap Chris out of his stupor, but those moments made the book more realistic. I also liked how Haddon incorporated subtle details in the story to exemplify Chris's character even more - like the prime-numbered chapters and the appendix at the end.

While the book made me think, I felt like the second half of it floundered in that it didn't have a point. It showed Chris's character and thought process, but what else? The story was okay but in terms of broader theme or proceeding beyond the baseline intellectual appeal I didn't think it was mind-blowing.

Mark Haddon deserves all of his accolades for writing a book that delves deeply into the mindset of someone who doesn't fit into society. I would recommend this fascinating read to almost everyone, even if it is arduous at times. Can't wait to discuss this one at book club - there are myriad things to talk about.

Also, for those interested in a fantastic story about a character that has a form of autism/Asperger's, I highly recommend Marcelo in the Real World. That book touched my heart and I think it'll appeal to fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

*review cross-posted on my blog, the quiet voice.

The first 50% percent of this novel was quite compelling, mainly because of the narrator. The narrator is a teenage boy with special needs and there is something so refreshing about his narrative which isn't bogged down by feelings and repetitive internal monologues. It is not mentioned what type of developmental disorder Christopher, our narrator, has but his behavior is indicative of either Autism or Asperger's. Regardless of what he has, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time gives us a first person perspective of the day-to-day life of someone with developmental disorders.

However, a book needs more than a unique POV and narrative style to earn more than three stars from this broad. The novelty of a non-emotional narrative quickly faded to reveal a lackluster plot and an anti-climactic ending.

Al fin he tenido la oportunidad de leer este libro que tan buena crítica ha logrado, y afortunadamente no me ha defraudado. Es una lectura ágil gracias a la narración en primera persona por parte de un joven de 15 años, que nos ayuda no solo a comprenderlo a él sino también a conocer un poco más sobre cada una de las personas que nos rodean, por que al fin y al cabo, todos somos especiales.
¿Qué he aprendido de esta lectura? Además de lo mencionado, he llegado a la conclusión de que desconocemos la vida y circunstancias de los demás, y no deberíamos juzgar sus decisiones; y que los malos quizás no sean tan malos ni lo buenos, tan buenos.
Y por último, me ha hecho llegar a la conclusión de que en el futuro debo tener más paciencia, aunque puede que esto no esté directamente relacionado con la lectura.
* Lectura del grupo: CLUB LITERARIO (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...)*

I wanted, really really wanted, to love this book. I did everything in my power to love this book. In the end, this book sucked the life out of me and forced me to hurl itself across the room in frustration because it NEVER got GOOD. It was MISERABLE and DEPRESSING.

I thought I would love it because it is (supposedly) a detective story from the POV of an Asperger's kid. I work in special ed, and I have a place in my heart for kids with this syndrome because they are so incredibly interesting and emotional. And I am ALWAYS down for a detective story.

But really, what I ended up taking from this story was that this amazing kid wore his parents down to the point that they were wretched people making horrible, selfish decisions that made this boy's suffering even worse. They did not deserve this kid, and he did not deserve them.

And don't forget, a good story about a poodle PITCHFORKED to the ground always makes for a FANTASTIC GOOD TIME. I really should have known better.

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 book I read in a day. I was in a Chapters bookstore in Toronto (that's like Barnes and Noble to the Americans in the crowd) and anyway I was just browsing around, trying to kill time. When suddenly I saw this nice display of red books with an upturned dog on the cover. Attracted as always to bright colours and odd shapes, I picked it up. It's only about 250 pages or so. I read the back cover and was intrigued. I flipped through the pages and noticed that it had over One Million chapters. I was doubly intrigued.

So I walked over to the far wall of the bookstore to sit and begin to read a few pages. I always do this to ensure that I don't waste what little money I have on a book possessing nothing more than a flashy cover. (I do the same at the cinema - if I don't like the first 20 minutes, I get a refund. Restaurants, too: if I don't like the first ten bites, I walk out on the bill).

This is a book written by a Child Developmental Psychologist - I think that's the right term... - anyway, a doctor who works with mentally or physically challenged youngsters. The novel itself is a first person tale written by a high-functioning, mentally challenged boy in England who wakes up one morning to find his neighbor's dog dead on his lawn. The boy's teacher suggests he should write about the incident, which he eagerly sets out to do. So we have his first "novel", "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". He plays Inspector and tries to solve the mystery as Sherlock Holmes would do...

Of course, if he's going to write a book, that means he can take control. He hates the way other books have chapter numbers that increase sequentially (1,2,3). He prefers prime numbers and will number his chapters in sequential primes - hence, by the end of the book, you're reading chapter 123,314,124 or whatever (I ain't no math guy ;)

Now then, he also writes about other things in his life and through his perspective you get some tear-jerking moments of true, unobstructed humanity: the way his parents broke up because of his state, how he has all these dreams about being someone great and going to a top college, even though you know that his situation will never really allow it.

Anyway. I read this book cover to cover sitting on the floor of that Chapters bookstore. By the end of it I was absolutely bawling my eyes out. Never cried so much in my life. In fact, as I type this and think back on that story, I'm dripping on my keyboard (and I'm at my office!). However - these are tears of joy. The boy does it. He can do anything. It's the most uplifting book I've ever read.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels anything deep down inside.

DNF — pg. 180!

This book started off great, and it's a pain having to DNF it, because I really wanted to like it. But it got far too detailed, then I began to feel detached from the story and the characters, I was skim reading and felt slumpish because of it, thus I decided not to continue on with this book.

What was I supposed to take away from this? Was it supposed to have some sort of significance? Was it supposed to cause some emotional turmoil? Was it here to teach me something about life? Is there some wisdom I can find in this story? Was the literature any significant? I honestly have no idea.
I did not find the story of the autistic boy trying to do a few simple tasks fun or interesting. Nor was the premise anything worthy or noticeable. Same goes for the ending.
I'm happy I'm finally done with this and can go on to reading something worth my time.

I really wanted to like this book. I thought the title was brilliantly quirky; I'd heard lots of good things and read many a positive review; I was completely open-minded. And I enjoyed the first half. It was the second half that really set me against this book.

I enjoyed Christopher's story and his inner monologue, his innocence and simplicity and attention to detail and linear thinking. I started to really feel for him and sympathize with his differences. From what I know of autism (and it isn't terribly much, so don't count me as an expert or anything) I thought Christopher's character was a good portrayal of an autistic child, how their minds work, what they feel and don't feel and how they react to things.

It was when shit hit the fan for Christopher and his dad and he took off on a whimsical quest to London that I lost all patience with him. Maybe this makes me a terrible person. I know that I'd never be able to work with autistic children, but I respect the people who do all the more. I understand that it's not a choice for Christopher to be unable to feel or reciprocate people's feelings, but it still drove me over the edge. He stopped being charming and innocent, especially with all of his talk of stabbing people with his Swiss Army knife. Who gives an autistic kid a knife anyway, when he's known to hit people when feeling threatened? Bad move, mom and dad.

I don't know. Maybe I was disappointed because this book was billed as a mystery and darkly comedic, and I didn't feel like it was either of those things. For a good, darkly comedic mystery about an autistic child, check out Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This one didn't quite measure up, and left me disappointed and irritated.

This is a terribly sad book. [prtf]

“Il cielo non si riesce a toccarlo con un dito e la gente non tiene gli scheletri nell’armadio. E quando mi concentro e cerco di rappresentare nella mia testa frasi come queste non faccio altro che confondermi”.

Entriamo nella testa di Christoper, un ragazzo autistico, e vediamo il mondo dalla sua prospettiva.
Un romanzo di formazione da leggere a tutte le età!

pooƃ ʎɹǝʌ ʇou puɐ ʎʞɔıɯɯıƃ ʎɹǝʌ sı ʞooq sıɥʇ

if you want to read an excellent book about autism in a young person, read marcelo in the real world. this book is like hilary swank - you can tell it is trying really hard to win all the awards but it has no heart inside. and yet everyone eats it up. C0ME ON!!

no one likes gimmicks.

come to my blog!