Rating: 
Summary: Great story from a different perspective...
Review:
Told from the perspective of Christopher, an autistic but mathematically gifted 15-year old, this story essentially is a diary of his experiences over the course of a week or so during which he unwittingly opens a can of worms while attempting to figure out who killed the neighbor's dog.The plot is secondary to the perspective in which the book is written. Haddon does an excellent job of getting us inside the head of Christopher, who is so emotionally detached from the world and so logical in his thinking that while deftly observing the events around him he can not understand them or draw proper conclusions. The resulting story is both sad and humorous. Sad, because we realize that on top of just the sheer challenge of coping with life, Christopher's condition has robbed him (and his family, to some extent) of the very essence of what is rewarding in life - the ability to connect emotionally with others. In a sense we see that his autism has stolen a significant part of his humanity from him, rendering him an island unto himself unable to truly relate to others. The nuance and subtlety of life is lost on him. And humorous because we see how Christopher's condition allows him to be more or less oblivious to the annoyance or outrage of others attempting to deal with what they see as his weird behavior. Ultimately, this story is well-worth reading simply because it expands our understanding of the human condition. Rather than being just another book in the long line of stories that we will read, and ultimately forget - this story shows us the world from a very different perspective. And in doing so, it causes us to evaluate our own lives and to realize just how important feelings and emotions are to our ability to derive enjoyment from others and from life.
Rating: 
Summary: Christopher chooses some actions, not all autistic actions
Review: The book is basically a diary written by fifteen year old autistic Christopher, about the events after he found his neighbours dog Wellington, with a garden fork sticking out of its corpse. Initially against his father, neighbour (owner of the dead dog), teacher, police and other people's advice and wishes he keeps bugging everyone in the street to see if they know who killed Wellington. Eventually he stumbles upon the truth then flees to London to escape the killer who will not stop until he gets hold of Christopher. All Christopher is really worried about is doing his A-Level Math test, because he likes Maths. Doesn't really care at all about his father or others who are sacrificing their lives to make him comfortable and happy. For readers who are unfamilair with autistic people they may unfairly assume this is a symptom of the condition which it certainly is not. Most autistic people do not act in the selfish ways Christopher does. Sure some do, but so do some so called 'normal' people too. My main problem with this book is that at no point is the reader ever told by the author that Christopher like any other human is choosing some of the actions he takes and ways he treats others. People unfamiliar with autism may read this book and assume all autistic people will be violent or treat others with contmept etc. Sure some do but most do not. I understand this is Christopher's journal and he is unlikely to write anything critisising himself but since so many readers obviously assume he is a typical example of an autisitc individual the author needed to have made this clear in some way. This book may not be very good in quality, is very predictable and the characters not very likeable, but make no mistake about it, it is very addictive. For reasons I really do not understand, there was no way I could put this thing down until the last page which is why I rate this book three stars. I think some people rate this book highly purely for the fact it contains an autistic lead character and this somehow makes them feel beter about themselves, rather than actually rating the book on its quality.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've read in a long time!
Review: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon A wonderfully unique book, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon is one of those rare books that comes around once in a blue-moon and changes your perception of how a novel should be written. Haddon changes some of the rules and follows the heart of the narrator and main character, young Christopher John Francis Boone, as he tries to solve the mystery of a dog that was found dead in his neighbor's yard. Christopher is a teenager, but not your average every day boy. He is an autistic savant. He lacks the skills to blend in socially with the rest of the world, has no sense of humor, and can barely find his way around town despite the fact that he can read. Yet, he is bright and shows a great compulsion for learning, especially in the fields of math and the sciences. In short, he's a genius. He can run quadratic equations in his head, using random variables to find solutions to various problems. He can talk at length about the cosmos, explaining the theory of relativity as if it was child's play. When Chris discovers the next door neighbor's dog "murdered", he tries his best to search for the truth. The police and Mrs. Shears accuse him of doing the dirty deed, but as Christopher always explains, he cannot tell a lie and tells the policeman that he did not kill the dog. After an altercation that ensues due to the policeman touching him, Chris is consequently taken to the local jail, where his worried father comes to pick him up and take him home. Thus begins the rather unusual telling of the story of the murder of a dog, and Christopher's search to discover the killer. This is Christopher's book, and it is told in his own unique way. Because of his love of prime numbers, the chapters are numbered with only prime numbers (1,3,5,7,11, and so on). He intersperses the story with chapters on number games, puzzles, and other interesting facts that float in Christopher's head when he needs to get away from the rest of the world, which more often than not confuses him. Yet, despite his fear of strangers and his inability to function in society, he ventures out and plays detective, asking neighbors if they had seen anything strange the night before the murder of this dog. I highly recommend THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME. As I had no expectations when I started this book, it was a lovely surprise to find this unusual style of writing in the form of fiction. At times reading like a math dissertation, other times reading like a journal, it was a different approach to getting to know an unusual character, Christopher Boone. And while he tells the story of the murdered dog, the reader gets to step inside this unusual mind, to discover what makes him tick, what makes him feel, and what makes him love. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME will definitely be on my list of the top 30 books read in 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Perhaps the most amazing quality of fiction is its ability to put us into the heads of those who cannot - or never get a chance to - tell their own stories. It's nearly impossible to imagine what goes on in the minds of, say, serial killers, or brainwashed cult fanatics, or the mentally retarded, which might explain why we find it so fascinating when writers attempt to show us. Beneath its unwieldy title, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is the story of an autistic teenager and his attempts to solve the mystery of a murdered neighborhood dog; but, of course, it's much more than that, too. Christopher is a fifteen-year-old, mildly autistic boy who lives with his father in Swindon, a small town about a hundred miles outside London. His mother has passed away several years ago of cancer, so it's just Christopher and his father. During the days, Christopher attends a "special needs" school, where lessons include not only the three R's, but also tips on dealing with strangers and decoding facial expressions (Christopher can recognize happy and sad faces, but more complicated faces give him trouble). For a project, Christopher's teacher tells him to write a book about himself. Adding his own individual touches along the way (a math prodigy, the boy numbers his chapters not 1, 2, 3, but as prime numbers in ascending order), and peppering the text with illustrative tables and drawings, Christopher embarks on a detective story about Mrs. Shears's dog, stabbed to death in her yard with a garden fork. Christopher's purpose in writing his book is to emulate his hero, Sherlock Holmes (whose logical mind he greatly admires), and solve the case. But his investigations unearth more about the relationships between his family and his neighbors than about the identity of the dog's killer. Unable to decode sarcasm, jokes, or figures of speech (he calls them all "lies," since they aren't the truth), Christopher faithfully notes down his conversations and observations; though the reader, able to read between the lines, will guess the truth fairly quickly, Christopher's inability to understand social cues makes his struggle for answers all the more affecting. Constantly bewildered by the (to him) incomprehensible behavior of those around him, Christopher resembles nothing so much as a human plunked down on a distant planet, trying desperately to figure out how to interpret the language and behavior of an alien species. And, in a way, many of Christopher's conclusions and actions make logical sense; but because he lacks a normal person's ability to make intuitive connections or understand the unspoken, Christopher has to rely on the imperfect set of rules he's learned about human behavior. Which is not to say Christopher can't also be infuriating, with his startling rigidity and resistance to change; he's prone to loss of bladder control and groaning fits when confused or scared by his surroundings - which is rather often. Nevertheless, he's deeply sympathetic and intensely believable, even if (like me) you've never met an autistic person before. Other characters, such as Christopher's father and bereaved dog-owner Mrs. Shears, are realistically flawed and very convincing. They're not saints, by any means; Christopher's father tries hard to be patient, but can't control his frustration and anger, and all too often takes it out on his unresisting son. Mrs. Shears, for her part, is icily distant to Christopher. At first we assume that it's because of his insensitive poking into the death of her pet, but as the story progresses, we learn that her hostility stems from other, understandable (though not very noble) reasons. Obviously, Christopher's not responsible for his condition, and obviously he wouldn't have chosen to be as he is; but even though he can't help it, the boy is a heavy burden to those who must care for him, and frequent flare-ups of resentment and bitterness keep the story well away from saccharine TV-movie territory. Haddon is a subtle and sensitive writer, leaving it to us to draw the conclusions that Christopher can't. His precise and careful prose reveal just enough to keep us a step ahead of Christopher - and give us an ominous sense of dark revelations waiting in the wings - while retaining a suspenseful mood throughout the narrative. In the end, though, the only mystery here is one that's beyond Christopher's, or anyone's, power to solve: how people can be so brutal, violent, and cruel to each other in the name of love. I recommend this book highly! Another Amazon pick -- this one less known -- would be The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, about an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. These two books are my favorite reads so far of 2004!
Rating: 
Summary: Better for Understanding than Entertaining
Review: Everyone has encountered someone with a disability or condition that's reminded us of how fortunate we are. We may have felt sorry, been confused or even annoyed at the person because we can't see the world the way they do. In Mark Haddon's novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, he goes into the mind of an autistic child named Christopher John Francis Boone. Written by Christopher, the book pulls the reader into the reasoning behind an autistic mind. Though every case of autism is slightly different, Christopher's view is enough to teach the reader many things about the condition, and draw them into the harsh realities Chris faces in the novel. Because of Christopher's autism, the language doesn't flow very well, but the story progresses to an ending that doesn't leave the reader disappointed.
Christopher hooks the reader quickly by opening his book with a murder mystery before telling a little about himself. 'There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over' (1). His lack of emotion behind the murder seems cold, which is the first sign of his autism. 'My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057' (2). Christopher reveals to the reader his memory and mathematical abilities quickly. These attributes are developed throughout the book and are critical to Christopher's ability to function in everyday life.
Christopher cannot be held, cannot understand human emotions and cannot find meaning through interactions. 'He [Christopher's Father] held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other. We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me' (16). Mark Haddon's unique narration through Christopher makes the novel painfully funny and sad as a boy who cannot understand emotions endeavors to solve a mystery that uncovers life changing truths that will forever affect Christopher's life.
The chapters are numbered off by prime numbers. Just ten pages into the book and you'll find yourself in the middle of chapter 17. A wonderfully logical and gifted mind is shown when Christopher describes his 'maths' and shares his curiosities, history and goals with the reader. On the other alternating chapters, Christopher develops the mystery and his current discoveries.
Christopher's search for information behind the dog's murder leads him to Mrs. Alexander, the elderly neighbor. Concerned and confused by Christopher's inquiries, Mrs. Alexander reveals why Christopher's father doesn't get along with the Shears family. 'Your mother, before she died, was very good friends with Mr. Shears'I mean they were very good friends. Very, very good friends' (60). Christopher cannot comprehend the hint behind this; that his own father is being accused of murdering the Shears' dog because his wife had an affair with Mr. Shears. The story takes a twist when Chris's father admits the murder to Christopher after Chris stumbles upon letters from his mother'who turns out not to be dead. 'Then I stopped reading the letter because I felt sick. Mother had not had a heart attack. Mother had not died. Mother had been alive all the time. And Father had lied about this' (112). With and unbearable guilt and broken words, Christopher's father tries to justify his actions and admits to killing Wellington. Christopher, though, could not understand his father's painful emotions, and could only focus on the events at hand. 'I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn't trust him, even though he had said 'Trust me,' because he had told a lie about a big thing' (122). Throughout these developments, Christopher doesn't analyze anything from an emotional point of view. His voice remains informational and distant. At points, he simply separates himself from reality, 'People say the Orion is called Orion because Orion was a hunter and the constellation looks like a hunter with a club and a bow and arrow'but this is really silly because it is just stars, and you could join up the dots in any way you wanted'' (125). Christopher escapes from his father by traveling through subways to get to his mother in London. The terrifying journey brings Christopher to the edge of his limits. Unable to handle new places, situations, and people with any success, Christopher struggles for a day and a half to work his way to his mother's apartment. He barks at pedestrians, covers his ears, rocks back and forth, does 'maths' in his head, and draws maps to keep his calm. With his arrival, he finds his mother living with Mr. Shears. Unable to comprehend the meaning behind this arrangement, he simply takes it for face value. Trouble starts again when Chris's father comes by the same night to pick up Christopher. He finds himself facing Mr. Shears, and being rejected by his son. In the following days, Chris's mother accommodates for Christopher's arrival, and makes plans to move to Swindon (where Chris's father lives), so Christopher can complete his maths A level.
What began as a simple murder mystery blows up into a life changing story for Christopher. Not only does he learn the truths behind the dog's murder and his mother, Christopher learns about himself and reveals to the reader that he wants to become a scientist. 'And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything' (221). The informational nature of Christopher's autism doesn't make for a deep and meaningful book. The reader will find a lack of emotion and understanding behind most situations in the novel. It is possible, though, to find meaning in the story by putting yourself in the shoes of Christopher's father or mother. A deep respect for the patience and understanding of those who fill Christopher's life is developed in the reader. Ironically, this same patience is needed to read through the novel. The useless information and tangents of Christopher's thoughts can be distracting and annoying, but are none-the-less part of an autistic mind. By the end of the novel, Mark Haddon has wonderfully captured the autistic thought process. If it's nothing much to analyze and discuss, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is wonderful for understanding a condition that would otherwise confuse and annoy most of us.
Rating:
Summary: Review of "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Review: Explore the mystery of "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" with the fantastic character Christopher John Frances Boone.
Review by: William Richards
1-27-04 In "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" author Mark Haddon enables us to enter the mind of Christopher John Frances Boone, an autistic young man, and creates a thought provoking, heart-wrenching mystery novel. Christopher "knows all the countries in the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057". Although Christopher excels in "maths" and logic, he does not understand human emotions.
The story opens with Christopher finding the neighbor dog, Wellington, pierced through the middle with a garden fork. The plot begins moving when Christopher decides that he's "going to find out who killed Wellington". Christopher's careful investigation of who killed Wellington triggers a cascade of events to be unleashed. Christopher tells us that his mother died two years ago of a "heart attack" and now he only lives with his father. But he discovers through an accident linked to his investigation that his father has been lying to him about his mother' death. It turns out that Christopher's mother couldn't handle the responsibility of raising Christopher and moved away with the neighbor, Mr. Shears. Christopher's father struggles to make Christopher understand why he didn't tell him about his mother. The book reaches the climax when Christopher's father explains that he killed Wellington out of frustration due to a failed relationship with Mrs. Shears. Christopher believes that loving someone is "telling them the truth", so when his father has been lying to him he decides to embark on a dangerous journey to find his mother in London. (Pg 87).
Haddon writes in the prose of Christopher and does a brilliant job of creating a passage into the mind of an autistic individual. Christopher bounces around from his present investigation to topics ranging from "maths" problems to his conception of time. Christopher essentially has control of what is written so we are at his mercy when he goes off on numerous tangents. At one point Christopher is looking at a specific cloud and says, "And when I looked at it for a long time I could see it moving very slowly and it was like an alien spaceship hundreds of kilometers long, like in Dune or Blake's 7 or Close Encounters of the Third Kind, except that it wasn't made of solid material, it was made of droplets of condensed water vapor, which is what clouds are made of". (Pg 68). Christopher's unconventional style of thinking is evident in this passage and the narrative contains many other similar passages in which Christopher explores a vast range of topics. I was intrigued by Christopher's belief that aliens "might look like big slugs, or be flat like reflections", and their spaceships "might look like clouds, or be made up of unconnected objects like dust or leaves". (Pg 69). This passage amazed me with its simplistic language but the underlying complexity of the issues addressed and I think Haddon does an excellent job of evoking this feeling throughout the narrative.
Haddon writes in a way that allows us to observe the world through the eyes of an individual that thinks on a completely different plane. Haddon's writing moved me from amusement to intense sadness. I found Christopher's confusion about some of societies norms amusing at times specifically in this passage, "[P]eople often say "Be quiet", but they don't tell you how long to be quiet for. Or you see a sign which says KEEP OF THE GRASS but it should say KEEP OFF THE GRASS AROUND THIS SIGN or KEEP OFF ALL THE GRASS IN THIS PARK because there is lots of grass you are allowed to walk on". (Pg 29). I was amused by Christopher's attention to specific details and puzzled at why I had never thought about many of the things that he touches on. Christopher appears to have the answer to that question on page 140 saying "But most people are lazy. They never look at anything". When explaining what an average person would see in a country landscape he explains how an average person notices a couple details "And then they would stop noticing anything because they would be thinking of something else like, "Oh, it is very beautiful here," or "I'm worried that I might have left the gas cooker on," or "I wonder if Julie has given birth yet". (Pg 141). Haddon does a fantastic job here contrasting the way Christopher sees the landscape and the way an average person would view the same landscape with Christopher focusing on logistical aspects and "others" muddled by human tendencies. At times Hadden's writing moved me to sorrow especially when Christopher realizes that his mother is living and that his father lied to him saying, "I tried really hard to think if there was any other explanation but I couldn't think of one. And then I couldn't think of anything at all because my brain wasn't working properly". (Pg 112). We can't help but feel sorry for Christopher who has been lied to by the only person that is really left in his life and it's difficult to see him to struggle to understand why.
Haddon's original style of writing opens the book up to both adult and young adult readers and would prove a valuable experience for both groups. The narrative is fairly simple, in the prose of Christopher, so many of the younger readers would certainly enjoy the story and unique voice of Christopher. On the same note although the voice of Christopher is simple in prose the issues raised have an intrinsic complexity that would certainly entertain the adult audience. When reading this novel I became enthralled in the life of Christopher and before I knew it I was relating to Christopher and I felt that I had a connection to him. We seem to develop an emotional relationship with Chrisopher, who does not understand emotion, as the narrative progresses and we move from frustration to amusement to excitement that Haddon is able to evoke in the reader. Haddon never tells us in the story that Christopher has autism and we only find out by looking at the front leaflet. We get a feeling in the story that Christopher has about as much sense as any of the other characters, who at times seem to act childish, he just has a "different" sense.
At times in the book, especially the second half, Haddon appears to become lost in his writing and draws out scenes a little bit. However, these scenes emerge rarely and many times Haddon draws the scenes out to help us gain a heightened understanding of Christopher. Some could argue that Haddon spends too much time on Christopher's rants and not enough time on developing the mystery of the novel. I would counter that the tangents that Christopher embarks on are what makes the story valuable because it helps us to understand Christopher.
Haddon has achieved in crafting a story that will be valuable for generations to come. Humans with disabilities surround us in our everyday lives and gaining an understanding of Christopher in this story may shed some light on how we perceive the disabled. I think Haddon sends a message that the "disabled" are not that much different from us and they can coexist and contribute valuable perspectives on the world. Christopher is a resonating voice for the disabled and when explaining why he will become a scientist he says, "And I know I can because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything". (Pg 221). Haddon writes this book for no one in particular but the insight that we gain into human disability through the intriguing character of Christopher is universal.
Rating:
Summary: A new kind of mystery story
Review: Teenager Christopher is a savant or if you want to class him in layman's terms, he is autistic. Christopher is an intelligent, aloof and obsessive young man who you find yourself both liking and disliking in the same breath. He is quite simply the oddest anti-hero in the history of literature. When Christopher comes across the stabbed dead body of his neighbour's dog Wellington he is determined to find out who has committed such a hideous crime, especially as he counted Wellington as one of the few creatures on the planet earth that he actually liked and could relate too. However Christopher is ill equipped to deal with the finer nuances of human nature, to him life is set out in a straight line and there are can be no deviations but by setting out on his "investigation" into Wellington's demise he finds himself digging up more than just the "murderer" of his neighbour's dog. Christopher's father is adamant that his son will stop such "foolishness" as trying to be a Detective, and Wellington's owner is far from helpful, she has her own agenda as to why she does not want to know who killed her dog but Siobhan, a sympathetic Social Worker at Christopher's school encourages the youth to keep a book chronicling his discoveries and it is this systematic approach that leads Christopher to the heart-breaking truth about Wellington's death. Family secrets are exposed and lies come bubbling to the surface, as a fragile deception finally comes full circle. This is an amazing first novel, written totally from Christopher's point of view, we are a privy to world controlled by a boy who is determined to take charge of all aspects of his life. Nothing can be random; nothing can be laid to chance. He is obsessed with order and their end results no matter what the cost. For example mathematics plays an important part in Christopher's life as does symbolism and logic and we are shown images and the mathematical equations that make Christopher's life tick. Mark Haddon shows an acute understanding of the autistic mind in this compelling, some funny, often tragic but totally readable novel with a sting in its tale...(Pun intended here!)
Rating:
Summary: Creates a Real World for the Reader
Review: There is a reality to "The Curious Incident of Dog in Night-Time." It is a psuedo-mystery from the prospective of a semi-autistic child. The plot is brilliant but so perfectly set to fall victim to over sentimentalizing or unintentional humor. Yet Mark Haddon brilliantly avoids those pitfalls with the same panache that Rikki Lee Travolta's "My Fractured Life" and Sue Monk Kidd's "Secret Life of Bees" avoid being parodies of their own worlds. Somehow Haddon creates a real world with his words and maintains it faithfully to rival "My Fractured Life" and "Secret Life of Bees" both. A stellar book.
Rating:
Summary: A Hit !!!
Review: This is a wonderful book. It is told from the point of view of an 15 year old ,autistic boy. The mystery has little to do with the incident addressed in the title but it has everything to with Christopher sharing with us his view of the world. At times, it can be painful to read as Mr. Haddon has truly drawn us into the world of the autistic. I cannot imagine a better portrayal of this disorder. The book is highly readable and can easily be devoured in a couple of sittings.
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Summary: the book of the year
Review: it wont be long before the literary world remembers 2003 as the year mark haddon did not win the booker. it is a miracle that this book did not even get shortlisted. novels with such exquisite characterisation, touch, finesse, sympathy and delightful verve are few and far between and when they come stare in one's face it is a tragedy to ignroe them. this book is clearly the breakout book of the year, while the booker jury might have overlooked it in the deluge that they receive, the audience surely will not. this one will go down as a classic. telling the story of an autistic boy haddon takes us inside his distorted world where seeing 5 red cars in a row could be the best thing that could happen. haddon captures the slowly descending spiral that takes christopher boone out of his prtoected world and into the scary big city. the story is somewhere between a children's book and an adults' book and will be sure to delight both audiences. this book is for keeps.
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