Rating: 
Summary: fun
Review: I spent an enjoyable afternoon with this book. It is not a masterpiece - the plot is fairly contrived, and the book's resolution is more than a little pat - but the main character, Christopher, is extraordinarily compelling, and the book is certainly very funny and poignant at times. I did enjoy the irony of Christopher's belief in his wholly rational mindset leading him to become, in many ways, the classic unreliable narrator. The author was very adept at presenting Christopher's use of reason as a defense mechanism (rather than the totality of his personality), thereby allowing his all-too-overwhelming emotions to show through the chinks in that armor. This is not a character unable to feel emotion, as some reviewers have remarked - far from it. In sum: this is a fun, light, enjoyable read. Wait for the paperback!
Rating: 
Summary: Humanity through the eyes of a "special" hero
Review: This book is really something. First of all, it's a fantastic summer read -- it could easily be devoured in one sitting, which you probably will, because it's impossible to put down. At the same time, it is rich, provocative, morbidly funny at times, and ultimately incredibly poignant and inspiring. The book's a bit difficult to describe. More accurately, I can give a pretty good description but I'm afraid it won't give you a very good sense of what the book is about. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is told from the point of view of an autistic boy, who understands mathematics and science perfectly, but other people (who tell lies and believe in things that aren't true) not at all. When he discovers a neighborhood dog that has been killed with a pitchfork, he decides to make like his hero, Sherlock Holmes, and conduct a murder investigation. I don't want to say any more except that in the process of his investigation, the boy learns much, much more than who killed the dog. The other thing I want to say is that I bawled at the end. The story is told from the point of view of someone who lacks the ability to feel or understand ordinary, messy human emotions -- it's often as though there is a sort of plastic bubble around the boy through which emotion is not allowed to penetrate. The effect of this on _me_, oddly, was to _intensify_ the powerful emotional content of the novel. The portrait of a person with Asperger's Syndrome (the form of autism displayed by the boy) is stunning and unique, and will be of interest to anyone who knows someone with this condition. But the portrait of humanity in all its frailty and exaltation is what makes the book truly marvelous, sometimes disturbing, and ultimately, curiously, joyously, uplifting.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Two Best Books of the Year
Review: "The Curious Incident . . . ." and "The Locklear Letters," both amazon.com "breakout books," have restored my faith in fiction. They're my two favorite books of the year -- both are clever, quick reads that give their readers a great deal of credit -- and I go back and forth over which one is my favorite. Here's the solution: read them both and decide for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: A Truly Original Voice
Review: Like many other readers, I thought the genius and originality of this book was in the narrator's voice. Christopher is an autistic, mathmatical genius who one day discovers his neighbors dog killed.His search to discover who the killer is leads him to some unexpected discoveries about his Mother's death years before.Told in almost a stream of consciousness devoid of emotion and feeling the book still manages to be both very funny and moving at the same time. Christopher's detached observations really convey what it must be like to have a constant swarm of thoughts and ideas bouncing through your head.
It's a literary device that makes for a distinct and memorable character, and book.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!!
Review: I find it difficult to come up with a more original word than "Amazing" for this book, but it truly is an exceptional tale. There is no need to describe the plot in this review because it is handled well enough by others, but I do want to say that this is a very unique reading experience--an unforgetable look into the mind and perspective of someone whose brain processes day-to-day information in a way that is very different from the majority of people in the world. The character's approach to problem solving was absolutely fascinating!! This book is definitely in my top-ten alltime favorite category; if I could give it SIX STARS I would!! Don't miss this experience!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Debut Novel
Review: _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time_, is only tangentially a mystery, but primarily the story of an autistic boy, Christopher Boone, told from his own first-person perspective (which does make the book a challenge to read at times). Christopher lives in Swindon, England, with his father and has a rather complex set of rules by which he lives his life (i.e., if he sees 4 red cars in a row, this means it will be a Good Day, while 4 yellow cars in a row makes it a Black Day). When he discovers a neighbor's dog killed by a garden fork one night, Christopher is a suspect at first, but then he sets out to discover the true culprit, modeling his search after the techniques of Sherlock Holmes. He does ultimately solve the mystery, which grows to encompass what happened to his mother, who his father has told him died of a heart attack in the hospital. What a great book this was, at turns funny and very sad, sometimes at the same time. Christopher is an amazingly well-realized character, logical to a fault (the chapters are numbered with prime numbers), yet entirely unable to fathom the most basic emotions in others. He takes and passes A-level maths and dreams of attending university and becoming a scientist, yet his failure at the most basic of human interactions makes one see how impossible this dream really is. It's not that often that a book really hits me, but this one left me with a lump in my throat when I was finished. An amazing first novel.
Rating:
Summary: Worth a read if you're seeking to understand Asperger's
Review: My family lives in the middle of Christopher's world as my husband and two daughters have Asperger's Syndrome. We read the book aloud and laughed at the parts that we recognized and sighed over the difficult moments that we also understood. Worth a read if you want a glimpse into a world that is intriguing, amusing, and telling all at once.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I found this novel to be incredible. Mark Haddon's story, narrated by an autistic teenager is really amazing. Christopher Boone is out walking in the middle of the night when he discovers that a dog on his street has been murdered with a pitchfork. Despite his father's warnings to mind his own business, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of who killed the dog and is equally determined to write it all down and his writings become the novel. The novel really isn't about this poor dog, rather, it's about Christopher, his life, his family, his school, his thought-processes. I confess, I don't know much more about autism than what I have read in various magazine articles, but Christopher's voice is certainly convincing, which is quite an amazing accomplishment. Christopher is brilliant in many aspects--mathmatically and logically, nothing can get past him and yet emotionally he is in the dark. Christopher acknowledges his shortcomings and explains them, very logically. Haddon's undertaking is intriguing--a novel narrated by an autistic--and he carries it off very, very well. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable book
Review: An original idea, well conceived and well executed. I could not put it down. Christopher is a wonderful character, and to go along with him on his journeys is a moving, eye-opening and delightful experience. It's true that the story becomes something other than what I thought it would be, but no less a story for that. Nice jacket design and layout, as well. Worth the hardcover price.
Rating:
Summary: utterly original and one of my favorites
Review: This was one of my favorite books of the year. Although it is very original, it did remind me of Motherless Brooklyn which tells a detective story through a child with Turret's Syndrome. Haddon in this novel captures perfectly a high functioning autistic child who decides to write a novel about the search for the cold blooded murderer of his neighbor's poodle with a garden fork. His quest leads to all sorts of interesting discoveries about those around him. I don't want to give away the plot, but you won't be able to put down this highly original book. The attention to details and the care Haddon takes in drawing his main character shows and makes this a highly accomplished and most memorable novel.
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