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Loading... The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Timeby Mark Haddon
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I really enjoyed this book the first time I read it. On re-read I find the main character less sympathetic - probably harsh of me but it's hard to identify much with someone whose ideal world is one in which I'm not in it.However all the maths stuff is fun and looking at the world through very different eyes is always good. At first I enjoyed the unconventional presentation and the style of the narrative, as the character of Christopher was revealed, along with the plot, but about three quarters of the way through it began to be a chore to read it rather than a pleasure. However, I felt I learned quite a lot about Asperger's Syndrome, although I have since seen a fair amount of criticism from people claiming to have Asperger's who say it's not a good representation. That said, I still think it's worth reading. Great book. Very, very different. I've been itching to read this book for months. But when I finally received it for my birthday and read it, I was disappointed. An autistic narrator did not seem to always make an engaging narrator. In addition, the adult topics the childlike narrator was confronting were jarring to the innocent tone of the book. In some ways, my reaction to this book is similar to my feelings about most graphic novels; the adult situations and conflicts feel inappropriate in what should be a protected environment.
Mark Haddon specialises in innovative storylines in his work as an author, screenwriter and illustrator allied to his remarkable ability to demonstrate what it is to be autistic without sentimentality or exaggeration allied to a creative use of puzzles, facts and photographs in the text mark him out as a real talent drawing on a range of abilities. As Christopher investigates Wellington's death, he makes some remarkably brave decisions and when he eventually faces his fears and moves beyond his immediate neighborhood, the magnitude of his challenge and the joy in his achievement are overwhelming. Haddon creates a fascinating main character and allows the reader to share in his world, experiencing his ups and downs and his trials and successes. In providing a vivid world in which the reader participates vicariously, Haddon fulfills the most important requirements of fiction, entertaining at the same time that he broadens the reader's perspective and allows him to gain knowledge. This fascinating book should attract legions of enthusiastic readers. It's something of a miracle that Haddon (a children's book author-illustrator) never slips into condescension, given that the novel is premised on the reader's cognitive advantage—it derives much of its meaning from the gap between what Christopher perceives and what we understand based on the details he dispassionately communicates. The imaginative leap of writing a novel -- the genre that began as an exercise in sentiment -- without overt emotion is a daring one, and Haddon pulls it off beautifully. Christopher's story is full of paradoxes: naive yet knowing, detached but poignant, often wryly funny despite his absolute humorlessness. Haddon's book illuminates the way one mind works so precisely, so humanely, that it reads like both an acutely observed case study and an artful exploration of a different ''mystery'': the thoughts and feelings we share even with those very different from us.
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(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:40:52 -0500)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
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Another important issue highlighted by 'The Curious Incident' is the emotional price paid by the parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome: how they can love the child and yet get frustrated with him, how feelings of guilt can creep in and how their relationships with other people can get affected. The need for support for such families becomes evident.
The third issue worth mentioning is how we are quick to judge people. The protagonist of the book, 15 year-old Chritopher Boone, receives both abuse and ridicule from strangers as he looks 'normal' but acts 'odd'.
The best part is that 'The Curious Incident' never gets preachy. While focusing on all these issues, it is at the same time a very good read -- humorous, poignant and even a bit suspenseful! (