Publishers Weekly starred 04/07/03
Booklist 04/01/03

Kirkus Review starred 04/15/03

http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID...

Awesome awesome book. A must read. ( )

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. In brief, it's about 15-year-old Christopher Boone's attempts to discover who killed his neighbor's dog, and he learns some surprising things about his mother along the way. Though it's never mentioned explicitly, one assumes he has a form of autism. And while I've heard this book is supposed to be a real eye-opener and help people be more understanding of autistic people, I honestly developed far more sympathy for Christopher's parents. I don't know if I could handle taking care of someone like that. My hat's off to all the parents, teachers, and other caretakers who work with special needs kids every day. You are truly amazing people. ( )

A definite page-turner - I flew across the Atlantic and was so drawn into this book that I had to finish it before I went to bed, despite being jetlagged. It is the narrator's point of view that makes it so very compelling - the author handles writing the voice of an autistic boy with a great deal of grace and sensitivity. ( )

Translated into Persian, rank 19/1001

Completely different than anything I've ever read, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is told in the perspective of an autistic boy. I didn't know it was a young adult book until a participant in my book club last night mentioned it, and honestly I'm not sure how much a teen would get out of this book.

I, however, was impressed by the way the author was able to completely portray the life of an autistic--although, highly functional autistic--boy. The main character, Christopher, is fifteen and two of his main interests are dogs and "maths", so when he finds his neighbor's dog murdered, he decides he has to solve the mystery and find the killer. The story is then a first person narrative of his experience with this great mystery, as well as a story of his overall day-to-day life.

Christopher is very logical and matter-of-fact and has a difficult time understanding emotions. He doesn't like to be touched, therefore his mother and father can't even hug him without a screaming episode. This makes a reader wonder whether Christopher can really experience love at all. He seems to connect most with his teacher, Siobhan, and is always remembering advice she has given him.

There is much more to the story then the mystery of the dog's killer and I won't ruin that here. Although I haven't been exposed to anyone that has autism, I feel like I have been now. I was intrgued with the clever pieces of the plot Haddon was able to work in to make this book believable.

And did I mention the book has pictures? And it ends with a math problem. Talk about unique. ( )

Few authors have written so impressive a work in first person narrative. Though I don't know anyone personally with autism, the voice of the deeply touching protagonist of this book made me feel as though I did, and that by the end of the book, I understood that person so much better than any scientific article could have made me feel. I read this a couple of years ago, and it is definitely on my to re-read list. ( )

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is a story about Christopher Boone, an autistic child, with a gift for geography, science and "maths". He also seems to have a gift of curiosity. The book begins with the killing of a neighbors dog. Christopher decides to solve the killing by finding the killer. He also discovers letters from his mother whom he had been led to believe was dead. And he finds his way to his mother's flat in spite of his many short commings.

The book is written in the first person--Christopher being the story teller. I am certain this presented many difficulties and challenges for the author. Additionally it is filled with math problems and solutions which result from Christopher's need to create for himself a safe world. These and other insights into the mind of the child, Christopher, lend themselves to an interesting reading adventure.

All-in-all an entertaining afternoon read. ( )

The predominant emotion I felt throughout the story was frustration. It earns points for sheer realism though.

http://stuff-ive-read.blogspot.com/20... ( )

A really interesting take on autism, from the perspective of an autistic young man who wants to solve a mystery. Might really work in the list.

One of the best books ever, it really touched me.

He has a pet rat too, that is always a plus. ( )

I really liked this book. I liked the way it was written and how I viewed the world after reading it. ( )

I adored this book. Having had some experience with people affected by autism and Asperger's Syndrome, I found this book compelling from a narrative perspective, but also, and most especially, from the matter-of-factness with which the characteristics of autism are explained. This gave me a good deal of insight into the reactions of autistic and Asperger's-affected persons to certain kinds of stimuli and the ways in which they approach information. If this had been the only worthwhile aspect of the book, I'd have been okay with that, but the story itself was really engaging. ( )

No, I didn't like this. I'll admit to a little prejudice just because of its unaccountable popularity. Are people reading it and liking it because the sentences are easy to read? They are easy to read because the narrator is autistic but how authentic is the author being in delivering this? I have had some first hand experience of autism and I don't particularly recognise the voice but then again autism is a broad spectrum. It doesn't feel to me that Mark Haddon has pulled off any kind of remarkable feat here. Is the apparent lack of depth a real lack of depth? It looks like blancmange and tastes like blancmange. Even the twee title annoys me. ( )

When 15year old Christopher finds his neighbour's dog dead on the lawn, he decides to track down the killer and write a murder mystery. But what other mysteries will he uncover? ( )

At first, I thought the main character in this book must be a very young boy, maybe seven-or eight-years-old. Then I though he has some learning difficulties. Finally I realized the boy is living with autism. For that, kudos to the author for a well-crafted book. It's smart and inquisitive and provides insight into autism without being condescending or coy. The boy has his eccentricities-- he doesn't like the colors brown or yellow, being touched, or going off of a schedule-- but he also enjoys and excels at math, "detecting," and has a close relationship with his father (although he's 15 and one worries how things will change down the road when his father gets older and can no longer care for him at the level he now does). An enjoyable read. ( )

I loved the unusual way that this story was told, and the background of a mystery. A very fun book with some good parts to make one think ( )

I loved this story because of its uniqueness. It's told from the point of view of Christopher, a boy with autism, as he tries to solve the murder-mystery of his neighbor's dog. What do we learn along the way?
* why 5 red cars means a Quite Good Day and yellow in any form always means a bad day
* how to find the dinosaur constellation
* how to show someone you love them without giving them a hug

Christopher also loves prime numbers, which is why each chapter is given a prime number starting with 2 and ending at 233. I think we all feel we are a little autistic at times, so this detail made me laugh at myself throughout the story. (For whatever reason) when I am in charge of the volume, I never turn it to a prime number. If I was Christopher's mom I'd have to change my divisible number loving ways.

Mark Haddon tells a touching story about family, while opening eyes to the beauty of every mind. And it's illustrated. ( )

This really is a classic novel. This murder mystery combined with the life of an extremely smart kid who faces some neurological disabilities really makes a great story. I love how the chapters are numbered by prime numbers only. This was a great book with a few surprises thrown in here and there. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a short read and a good book. ( )

Written from the point of view of an autistic 15 year old boy, Curious Incident shows readers a very unique perspective on family, relationships, trust, and taking the train to London. I fell in love with the main character, Christopher; his not-quite-perfectly logical nature, obsession with math, desire to be a detective, and bravery combine to create a personality that is simultaneously heart-warming and heart-breaking.

The book is a quick read; simple sentences are used and words and ideas are expressed efficiently and clearly. As narrator, Christopher does not pontificate needlessly on the veins of a leaf on a tree. In fact, he only includes descriptions because his teacher told him to.

The world is a difficult place for Christopher. He desires nothing more than to be left alone. Readers can feel his frustration with adults who want to talk all the time and yet never say what they mean. But I can also feel the frustration of the adults Christopher comes into contact with. The difficulty of autism exists on both sides of the spectrum, and Haddon did a wonderful job, in my opinion, of expressing that difficulty - the opposing desires of the two sides, the inability to communicate effectively with each other. I felt for Christopher, and for his parents and neighbors. I would highly recommend this book. ( )

Christopher, he narrator and main character of this short novel, is 15 years old and a high-functioning autistic. Of course, you’re never told that outright, but it’s easy enough to deduce from the narrative style, Christopher’s behavior and the circumstances of his life (special school and so on). What’s remarkable about this book, though, it that it’s not about a boy with autism. It’s a bout a mystery that begins with the discovery of a murdered dog in a neighborhood garden, and as the story unfolds, we learn about what it must be like to live with autism—to not fathom emotion, to think with inescapable logic about everything, to be unable to deal with too much of the world at once. As readers, we grow to understand and empathize with Christopher, but never to pity him, because the story is never allowed to degenerate into maudlin sentimentality. Instead, it is told with objective straightforwardness that is sometimes ruthless, allowing a rare, engaging and ultimately affirming glimpse into an alien world – ours, as seen through the eyes of an autistic. ( )

I have to say I immensely enjoyed this book. A co-worker today told she enjoyed it as well but that she had to look beyond the hype. I guess this is true.

The narrator of this story is fifteen-year-old Christopher who happens to have Asperger's which is a form of autism. One of Christopher's teachers thought it would be a good idea if Christopher wrote in a notebook and essentially wrote a "book". So like any good book, Christopher's story starts out with the "murder" of the next door neighbor's dog. As Christopher tries to solve this mystery, truths and lies are uncovered.

What I really liked about this book is that Christopher is essentially a brilliant child. His mind thinks insanely logically and mathematically. Truly, his mind is like a computer. But it sometimes works against him. There is a scene where he is in a new public place and he freaks out. Because his mind and memory stores every tiny detail, it can be overwhelmed in a new location and his body just shuts down. So his story is an amazing account of how he views the world, sees things happen, interprets them, and how it affects the people around him.

Because this is book is a piece of fiction...Christopher is not real...I can see how some people might not like this book. But I don't think the author was trying to imply that EVERY person with Asperger's or autism thinks and acts like Christopher. But it is an interesting concept to look at the world through different eyes. Because while reading Christopher's story, I often thought to myself...well, that makes sense. Perhaps that's not how I think but that makes sense how Christopher came to that conclusion. So I guess that's why I liked it...because it allowed me to see the world differently. And I liked Christopher. ( )

I loved this book. What an inspiring story! Sometimes it's people who are considered less than perfect who have a clear view of the important things in life. ( )

This is the story of a 15 years old autist boy, in his own point of view. When he finds out that his neighbour's dog was killed, he tries to discover who did that, but insted discovers a lot about his own life and limits. It starts as a mystery and turns to a drama.
It's a very light reading, entertaining, engaging, with little points of tension. The boy's naivety, his logic way of living, and transparency are captivating. It's worth a try: it's kind of short and very easy to read. ( )

I loved it. You see inside the head of a very autistic boy, and you see the outside world through his eyes. Great story! Fast read. ( )