The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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Summary: An inspirational book
Review: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon is about an autistic boy named Christopher Boone. Christopher has a certain schedule that he follows and it begins to fall apart when he finds his neighbor's dog Wellington stabbed by a pitchfork. Since Christopher loves dogs, he becomes curious and decides to become a detective like his favorite mystery character, Sherlock Holmes, to find out who killed Wellington. While searching for clues and gathering all of his suspects in his head, he begins to learn some disturbing information about his family's past.

I love this book because it really goes deep into the mind of a boy with autism, find very interesting and intriguing because I myself have a sibling with a form of autism. I often ponder what he might be thinking and what goes on in his head.

I believe that anyone who knows a person with autism will be very fascinated with this book. I also think that anyone with a good sense of humor and an interest in mystery novels will find this book very appealing. I know I did. One thing to keep in mind is that once you start this book you will not be able to quit.

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Summary: Review from an Autistic
Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon, is a very interesting and insightful book about a kid with autism, a mental disability/ability that, in a nutshell, causes those affected to be more literal and trusting. He discovers that his neighbor's dog, Wellington, has been stabbed with a pitchfork and killed. Following in the footsteps of his favorite mystery character, Sherlock Holmes, he attempts to find out who did this crime. It ends up as a pretty big shocker.
I like this book because I can relate to the main character. I have autism too, though not as severe as that of this character. So I kind of get some of the things he does. For example, if he sees a certain number of cars that are the same color, all in a row, as he is being driven to school, it defines how his day is going to be. I thought that that seemed interesting, and held its own strange logic. All in all, this is a good book that anyone who likes a good mystery should read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting perspective, that's it
Review: I loved the perspective from the 15 year old autistic boy. However the plot went down some crazy avenues. What started out as a very interesting light mystery turned sinister and nothing was really wrapped up in the end. I ended up hating both parents for their lack of backbone.

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Summary: "The Curious Incident ..." in a postive light!!!!
Review: After completing this book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time", by Mark Haddon, I realized fiction books can teach you more about reality then non-fiction books. Mark Haddon wrote this book from a point of view of a autistic teenager. This book did not have a lot of big words and sentences put together but simple sentences for the reader to understand better. Also, the author wrote simple idea's was because that was how the autistic character expressed him self. I enjoyed reading every page of this book. I recommend "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time," not only to high school students but to adults as well. This book gave me an idea of the hardships that autistic children must go through because it really puts you in the mind of an autistic child. It also showed me that if you really believe in yourself, that you can conquer your fears and achieve your goals without having to lie to get there. I have not read any other Mark Haddon's books, but I just might have to check them out after reading this one.

The book starts off with the death of Wellington, a poodle that was stabbed with a garden fork. The victim of this murder (the dog) is soon found by Christopher John Francis Boone, a fifteen year old boy that is autistic and has Asperger's Syndrome. The world around Christopher is everything but easy. He does not like being touched or talking to people who he is not familiar with. Christopher does not understand jokes nor does he like the colors yellow or green but he can tell you "all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057." One thing that I thought was really creative about this book was that the chapters were all listed according to prime numbers! Christopher enjoys spending a lot more time with dogs, then humans because to him, you always know what a dog is thinking. Another good thing about dogs according to Christopher is that they can not talk; therefore dogs can not lie to him or be unfaithful to him, like humans can. He is very intelligent in math and uses his mathematical abilities to escape the harsh world. However, the murder of this poodle has brought Christopher more than just a name of the murderer, but gave him strength and courage to face obstacles he was never able to do before. For example, a problem that Christopher overcame was talking with strangers about the dog to get closer a suspect for the murder of Wellington. I felt that this book gave good messages and was extremely touching. If you pick up this book, you will not regret it but learn from it, like I did.

Christopher is living with only his father because of his mother's "death." As you read further into the book Christopher discovers family secrets that will change his life, the way he looks at his father and sets him on another journey he will never forget.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly insightful
Review: "This is a murder-mystery novel", we are told by our narrator, Christopher Boone. Christopher has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He loves maths, lists, order, timetables, patterns, and the truth. He cannot even comprehend how to tell a lie. He also likes the colour red, but he hates yellow and brown, and being touched.

One morning, Christopher finds a neighbours dog killed on their front lawn, a garden fork sticking out of its chest, and he vows to discover the truth. And it is a truth that will turn his fragile world entirely on its head.

There's not a great deal to say about this wonderful book that hasn't already been said. It marks the debut of an incredibly talented and insightful author, who is able to move and inspire awkward laughter at the same times.

The unfailingly logical Christopher is a brilliant narrator, a wonderful character who will, I assure you, inspire deep feelings in all who share his company through this. And, as the book turns from a deceptively simple "murder-mystery" into a catalogue of events that will have very wide implications for this boy, the reader is moved and moved again by Haddon's portrait of a courageous boy coping dissociatedly against all odds with the dramatic shifts in his life. This is a very funny book, too, as much as a touching and moving one. I found myself laughing out loud, even though I had the uncomfortable feeling that maybe I shouldn't be.

This is a unique, one-of-a-kind, special book, the like of which will probably never be seen again. It's the sort of novel that ahs you rationing the chapters out (incidentally, the chapters are headed only with ascending prime numbers! Little touches like this make the book sparkle) to prolong the experience for as long as possible, until eventually you succumb and can torture yourself no more, and you let yourself be carried on to the inexplicably moving (there's that word again. But it applies so well) end. Stunningly insightful, honest, and full of empathy, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a book of rare original quality indeed. You will be less for letting it pass by.

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Summary: From a reader on the Autistic Spectrum
Review: I have Asperger's Syndrome, and have done a fair amount of research on both Asperger's and Autism since my diagnosis.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" is more about the thoughts of a high-functioning autistic than about the mystery of the dog's death. The main character is a normal-IQ (possibly high-IQ) young man of 15 with many autistic characteristics. However, due to the presence of splinter skills (savant) and several low-functioning attributes, I would characterize him as being HFA rather than Asperger's. As a caveat, I should note that the main difference between Aspies and HFAs seems to be age at diagnosis, and that HFAs in adulthood frequently rate about the same on the autistic spectrum as Aspies. HFAs tend to be those diagnosed as autistic at a young age, Aspies are generally verbal earlier and less likely to be diagnosed until later in life (on a personal note, I was not officially diagnosed until in my late twenties, though the public school I went to had suggested autism as a diagnosis [thrown out, because I was verbal] and decided I had some kind of learning disability. This does not seem to be an unusual experience among my peers).

It does ring true as a set of thoughts from an autistic mind (I should know), however, the author himself states that he got the behaviors and thoughts of his character from a variety of neurotypical (non-autistic) people of his acquaintance. Which just goes to show that many people who are not on the autistic spectrum do show several of the traits that are commonly associated with us (technically known as "autistic phenotype personalities").

If reading this books has encouraged you to read further on the subject of Autism or Asperger's Syndrome, I highly suggest the work of Tony Attwood and Lorna Wing.

Rating:
Summary: Approximately 25 cm x 35 cm x 1 cm
Review: We are all familiar with the autistic child; the concern with detail, the high mathematical skill, the complex logical thinking, the low level of coping with society, the groaning, the withdrawals. What is unique about THE CURIOUS INCIDENT ETC. is that it is written from the point of view of the child himself. Mark Haddon has written a fast paced, fascinating story around Christopher Boone and what happens after he finds a dead dog impaled by a pitchfork in the neighbor's yard. The plot takes you down some very unexpected roads, and by the time you reach the suspenseful climax you are thinking, feeling and experiencing the frustrations of autism.
I for one became a little glassy eyed during the lists and the mathematical explanations, but they are a part of Christopher's mind and I just slipped lazily through them (part of my mind). At any rate, they add to the picture which is over all delightful. Highly recommended.

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Summary: This is how my son's mind works.
Review: I found this book the best insight into how my son thinks. Parents - particularly fathers - may also find helpful Daniel Mont's book, "A Different Kind of Boy: A Father's Memoir About Raising a Gifted Child with Autism."

Rating:
Summary: Most people seem to love this book..
Review: ..but I didn't like it at all. I only finished this book because it was so short. The robot-like personalities of autistic people translate well on screen, but not in print. The story was boring and wooden and I felt no attachment at all to any of the characters. So many times I read a book, love it, and then see that someone gave it a terrible review. "How could they?", I think to myself. Now I know.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read, not a mistery, highly recommended
Review: This is not a mistery book, it starts like one, but it turns into a beautiful novel about how an autistic mind works. The depiction of Christopher is incredibly accurate, and I know because my son is also an Asperger kid, I felt like my son could have written many passages of the book. It is a very original book with a very original story line, and all the characters are very real. I read it in one seating, and I recommend it highly. If you have never closely interacted with an Asperger kid, it will give you an worthy insight about how some interesting characters out there behave, and you will have a great time reading it; if you have close contact with autistic kids you will laugh and cry when reading how others deal with the same situations you have to face day in and day out.