2007

This book is truly a work of art. Narrated by an autistic teenager, this book gives insight of the autistic mind that is unmatched. The one thing that was kind of annoying was the repetetiveness. I understand that autistic people do think a certain way, but the point that they think randomly and differently was bit hackneyed. Overall, however, this book is a must read for anybody who knows or is related to an autistic person.

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time is all about a boy with autism and the way he looks at the world. This book was extremely intresting as it offered a vivid picture of how autistic kids view the world so logically and how socially inept they are. For example, I often found myself amazed at how easily the main character, Chris, was able to do complex math problems that I didn't have a clue as to how to even begin. At the same time, I almost laughed at how shy and awkward he was, fearing for his life everytime he saw a stranger and refusing to say anything more than absolutely neccesary. The problem is, most people only see the social side of those with autism, obviously leading them to believe that there is no hope for this person and that they are no more worthy of being called a person then thier own pet. However, by getting this rare glipse into how an autistic kid's mind really works and the complex logic they're able to do, many people would gain a lot of respect for them as people, and begin to care about them more. It is because this point was made so obvious in the book that it is truly a great book about human feeling and really taught me alot about autism.

Good insight in the mindset of an Aspergers boy (as expressed by someone who isn't, I suppose.) ( )

I thought this book was absolutely fantastic. It is true that I really only read it for a school summer reading assignment for my Psychology class, but just after starting it immediately became one of my favorite books. I am a bit of a math fanatic. I just find it interesting and enjoyable. I actually had quite a lot of fun reading through some of the specific math problems the Haddon puts in the book. That could be the reason behind my great interest in this piece. Another aspect that definitely drew me to it was the authors main goal: the portrayal of a life in the eyes of a teenage math wizard with autism. This idea is just so interesting. It reminded me profoundly of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, but the idea of a teenager in this situation clearly made this book more relatable. Now, the whole storyline of this book is very bizarre (just read the title...), but the underlying statements about real life hardships and problems make it extremely entertaining at, at times, even moving. I typically don't get too ridiculously drawn in by books, but this one was a clear exception. I did read it in two days after all... ( )