Rating: 
Summary: through the looking glass.........
Review: I thought this was an amazing book. Not since The Lovely Bones, have I been drawn so completely into the mind and world of another character.
What I loved about this book, was that the author made no judgements of any of the characters, but simply allowed the drama to play itself out.
I've had the honor and pleasure of working with autistic children, and what I learned, and I think what the author is successful in showing, is that there may be some differences in how autistic people deal with the world, but that we all have unique coping skills, and theirs are perhaps extreme, but maybe not as unusual as we would like to think..
Take a chance - if you are an adventurous person when it comes to books, I don't think you will regret this journey!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this book. My son has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of Autism, and I had heard several recommendations for this book.I thought that the author's character portrayal of an autistic child was well-developed, and the story line itself was interesting, but all of this was outweighed by the incredible amount of profanity and cursing that took place in the dialogue. I was hoping that this book would not only be one that I would enjoy, but one that I could share with my children. Not so.
Rating: 
Summary: A revelation into autism
Review: As the parent of a child with Asperger's, this book was nothing short of a revelation to me. Though Haddon is not a psychologist his experience with autistic children obviously led him to have incredibly perceptive insight into what goes on in the mind of an autistic person. I can't count the number of times that I read certain thoughts or observations of the main character and thought to myself "This all makes sense to me now!" It was just unbelievable. The writing by itself was well-crafted and creatively done, and it lends tremendously to the way in which the story is told from the perspective of this boy. I also thought that Haddon did a good job in expressing what it can be like for a parent of an autistic person and the stress and frustration that comes from trying to raise a person who lives under a different understanding of life than the rest of us. I read this book in one sitting and have recommended it to all my family and friends as a way to get some insight into how an autistic person meets reality.
Rating:
Summary: CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER
Review: this book is GREAT! it brings you to a whole new style of writing and reading. i REALLY enjoyed the book and i know you will too!!
Rating:
Summary: About time!
Review: Finally, a book that makes sense, has a story line, goes somewhere, and actually has an ending. If you think I'm being sarcastic, I'm not. How many book have you read lately that don't have any of those attributes, yet are on the bestseller lists? Most of them, right? Not so with this one. It actually has an ending! I've read three books on the bestseller list that don't! My only hesitation is with the fact that it could have been longer, though. Still, the characters are so wonderful and true-to-life while being off the beaten path. What a great read! Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating:
Summary: Moving, funny and engaging
Review: This is an intruiging portrait into the world of a boy with Asperger's. Looking at how the world treats him, it is so easy to see how we can get it wrong with people with these kinds of conditions. But Christopher, the boy, has a real hope in this book - a simple ambition and looking forward to the future which is touching and also sad. The book can be very sad at times but is always tempered with humour and a quirky writing style. It may be a subject of debate whether this is a children's book - Haddon is writing about a child, but is it for children? Although the language is simple, being from Christopher's point of view, the ideas and emotions are complex and there is use of extensive swearing and so forth. This is certainly for adults too. I did feel that the book perhaps was a tad too short. It ends without a real resolution, and perhaps we could have seen more of what happens - I read this book in about 4 hours flat. However, the ending is actually very touching, and leaves you with an overwhelmingly positive view of the book. This is an incredible exercise in empathy - the character seems really lifelike and genuine. Its an excellent debut novel, and I will be looking out for more from Haddon in the future. Highly reccomended.
Rating: 
Summary: minority view
Review: This book, as others have noted, is a pitch-perfect narration from a high-functioning autistic teenager who has written it in order to help him solve the mystery of who murdered his neighbor's dog. It starts out charming and unintentionally (from Christopher, the narrator's, viewpoint) amusing. But I didn't think it sustained this tone. A minor point, but one that put me off was the narrator's focus on bodily functions. There are too many non-autistic characters out there whose creators feel compelled to describe their bodily functions in grotesquely loving detail, as if readers aren't familiar with what happens in the bathroom. This just seemed a continuation of that trend, however plausible this fixation was for an austistic man. A silly thing to comment on here? Maybe. The book's focus shifts from who killed the dog to what is happening to the narrator's parents. This is the problem right there. Autistics (at least here) aren't equipped to understand the complexities of human relationships that most of us take for granted. So even though Christopher's limitations to puzzling out his parents' problems rang true, they also limited the novel as a whole - because aren't the best novel characters suppose to achieve some sort of change or growth in their perceptions at the end? Or at least the realization that they can't change the way they want?
Rating:
Summary: curious, curious, curious
Review: I was interested to see this novel take shape. I am an animal lover and only cursorily read the description, but remembered reading a review in some book review or other that liked it so, what the heck. This was an intensely moving book. I really understood the kid, where he was coming from, though I am not autistic. The writing is exemplary and the ability of the author to bring the reader in is a gift few writers have. Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Curious
Review: This book reminded me in many ways of Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD with its similar themes. Both are highly unusual pieces of fiction with humor, violence, and a touching story for good measure. But Haddon's book has a few other elements that make it stand out, the most interesting being that he actually gets into the head of an autistic fifteen-year old and shows us what it's like to walk around in those shoes. The result is one of the most brilliant books to come out in a long time. Highly recommended! If you don't like THE CURIOUS INCIDENT, check your pulse!
Rating:
Summary: A DOGGONE GREAT INCIDENT
Review: I couldn't put this book down. It's one of the most memorable books I've ever read. The writing is fantastic. It's incredible how the author "gets into the head" of the autistic 15-year old. The scene in the London Underground is so descriptive. It's worth reading the book for that one part alone.But other reasons to read the book are the fun diagrams, mathematical equations, and other schematics which are incorporated into the text. I have recommended this book to a number of my friends. To those who are animal lovers (like myself), I do offer the disclaimer that the story begins with the discovery of the corpse of the neighbor's dog. But I qualify that by stating that it's not all that sad to read about, since we have not been previously introduced to the dog. I am on a personal mission to encourage as many people as possible to read this book. But, I'm not loaning mine out, because I can't wait to read it again.
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