Rating: 
Summary: Shares a candid and favorable picture of an autistic mind
Review: The premise of "Curious Incident" seems almost impossible, but works in a straightforward yet engaging manner--much like those students of mine who are autistic. Christopher is a 15 year old young man living with his father, who has been under the assumption that his mother died of a heart attack. When he finds the neighbor lady's dog stabbed to death with a garden fork, he decides to do some "detection" to discover the dog's murderer and bring him to justice. In the process of doing so, Christopher uncovers some family truths and his well ordered life begins to unravel.Much has been learned in recent years about the way many people with autism process information and see the world, thanks to people like Temple Grandin and Donna Williams, who have broken through and written about their own experiences. Haddon's bio says that he worked with individuals with autism, and the development of Christopher reflects this personal background. Clearly, Christopher has had heavy doses of social stories and social skills sessions. He explains regularly that he does this "because this means..." He will launch into seemingly unrelated concepts and give detailed descriptions, explaining how his mind works. The story moves forward not in spite of these digressions, but because of them. Although Christopher might "obsess" about some minute detail, they often lead to his own discoveries that force him to make hard choices--such as stepping outside his highly predictable routine to find the train station and travel to London in search of his mother. The depictions of Christopher's many strange behaviors and coping skills rang true for me. I pictured similar behaviors by my own students, and this allowed me to appreciate the character development all the more. Clinical observations aside, it's a great story. In this day of novels about downtrodden protagonists defying the odds and coming into their own, Christopher's story, by virtue of his direct narration, is a refreshing change in the genre. Although he is a young man totally mystified by human emotions, as a reader, I found myself unable to put the book down until I knew how things would be resolved for Christopher and his family. For those of us who are lucky enough to have someone with autism sharing our life, much of the story will engage because it is so familiar. For those of us who have not had much experience with these special people, it is an engaging and insightful look into the workings of the mind. Most of all, it's a highly original and creative point of view for telling a story.
Rating:
Summary: Original and inspired - deservedly a Whitbread winner
Review: For sceptics who think this is a child's book, read it and then think again. "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time" is everything the media hype says it is....and more. It is an inspirational and original book about an incident - the murder of a neighbour's dog - that has taken hold of an autistic child's mind and in the process unsettled some dark family secrets which have remained deeply buried within the hearts of the adult community. The story is narrated by and told through the eyes of the child, so his perception and understanding of events as they unfold become our own. Mark Haddon's simulation of the autistic child's reality and sensibility is so touching, truthful and poignant I was completely blown away by its emotional resonance. The heartbreak one feels stems from the fact that the autistic child is incapable of interpreting simple messages in conversation. He responds to reality as he sees them, in the only way he knows how, and so misreads cues that should be straightforward to the non-autistic person. Don't let the dog incident distract you. It may be the triggering event that sends everything unrevelling but hardly the story's centre which is firmly rooted in the more complex world of adults. I wonder if Christopher would have been better off wired like the rest of us. I doubt so. There is also surprising depth to Haddon's characterisation. Christopher's father is a saint, his mother much less sympathetic and more difficult to judge, like the Meryl Streep character in Kramer vs Kramer. It's interesting that the book is marketed as both an adult's as well as a children's book. The adult and child reader will have different reactions to the book. Haddon has made an important contribution to contemporary literature. All we can do is read and be enriched by it.
Rating:
Summary: Curious and compelling
Review: There seems to be a great deal of books lately dealing with dogs or dog themes. "Dogs of Babel" comes to mind first. It's a very unusual tale (almost as unusual as this book) and a good read. Then I encountered "The Bark of the Dogwood" and, yes, it too has a dog theme. Now I find "The Curious Incident," which is probably the most unusual of all the books, dealing with not only the canine motif, but autism as well. While all three books dealing with man's best friend in some way or other are excellent, "Incident" is by far the best and most original. The other two are worth taking a look at, but whatever you do, read this one first. I'm not usually one for the Today Show Picks, but this one took the prize.
Rating: 
Summary: Curiously tiring by the end
Review: I will say, to start with, that the story idea was amazing. I have never been led inside the mind of a person with autism and this book pulls you deep inside. The way that the main character works out the everyday interactions and reactions of himself and those around him is masterfully done. My problem really developed towards the end, when I became tired of Christopher and his introspections. So on one hand I really enjoyed the book, but, on the other it wore me out.
Rating:
Summary: Original and insightful
Review: Absolutely one of the most unusual and original novels ever to come out, "The Curious Incident" is an enlightening look at autism through the eyes of the main character. When a neighbor's poodle is discovered impaled on a pitchfork, it becomes fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone "job" to figure out what happened. The use of a child narrator voice, along with the handicap, reminded me of Jackson McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood,"--another book dealing with gifted but handicapped children. And the simplicity of the tale was reminiscent of "Life of Pi." But that aside, it really has its own merits and is like nothing else that I know of. Very, very unusual and original. A highly recommended tale through the eyes of an autistic teenager, "The Curious Incident" will give you a glimpse into the "other side."
Rating:
Summary: Moving, amazingly written book.
Review: Basic Story:
An Autistic boy is alone on the street at night and finds his neighbors dog has been murdered. Who murdered the dog? Chris solves the mystery. Main Characters:
Christopher Boone, Autistic and different boy.
His Father, untruthful but for the best. This is a pretty adult book (but really, really, awesome!!!) I would reccomend it to mature readers who like a book with many twists. I warn that this book has more than slang in some parts.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Read!
Review: His name is Christopher John Francis Boone. He is fifteen years old, two months and a few days. He is autistic, or more precisely he has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of high-functionning autism. He likes regularity, routines, organizes everything in patterns, won't wear or eat anything yellow or brown, likes dogs but doesn't like to be touched by humans, which he has trouble understanding and does not like to make eye contact with them. He lives with his father. He also likes going out at night and walking in the neighbordhood.
This is how, one night, he discovers Wellington, the neighbor's dog, killed with a gardening fork. This is how he decides to do some detective work, like his idol Sherlock Holmes, whom he likes because he has a sharp mind, to find out who the murderer is. But investigating means going to talk to others, and his fragile world will thus be at stake. At the same time, Christopher, who likes mathematics and science, studies to take A Level Mathematics. The novel is well-written, with information about Asperger's Syndrome. The author worked with autistic children and thus knows a lot about it, which makes the character of Christopher, who is also the narrator, realistic. The sentences are simple, organized, and the text is illustrated by drawings, lists, patterns and formulas.
The chapters are not titled with cardinal numbers but prime numbers, because Christopher likes them. This is an amazing first novel -- extremely compelling and certainly worth OWNING. (Yes, stop borrowing books!) Don't miss your chance to pick up a copy! You'll enjoy this book greatly! Another Amazon quick pick I'd like to recommend is WILL@epicqwest.com by Tom Grimes, another very original, highly entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and absorbing
Review: It's been years since I've read through a novel in essentially one sitting. That's how absorbing this one is. I heard excerpts from the novel read on BBC Radio before I read the book and I was sold. The novel is amazing, not just because of the convincing way the author assumes the voice of the protagonist, a 15-year-old autistic from Swindon named Christopher, but because of the humanity he endows all of the characters with, from the seriously troubled father to the multitude of confused and harried police officers that Christopher interacts with. Like others here, I was also struck and mesmerized by the excursions into other parts of Christopher's mind, particularly the parts that are genius at math and science. This novel is much more than the sum of its parts. It can be read as (not limited to but including) a detective story, a Bildungsroman, a tale of family conflict, and a meditation on memory, socialization, and information, all in one. The tone is never one of bathos -- you feel Christopher's pain and confusion, and you are caught up in his plight, but you never feel manipulated to pity him. Absolutely brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. For me, I loved it- it was perfectly human and perfectly written and it made me feel when reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A Different View of the World
Review: I found Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time an amazing read. The author's writing skillfully conveys the frustrations and concerns of the protagonist, an autistic teenager, with his world and those of his caregivers with him. This is done while maintaining the protagonist's point of view and addressing the general themes of trust and safety. I am a special educator, and, as I read this book, I am reminded of students, past and present, with whom I have worked and work. Their seemingly pointless rituals and behaviors are just as important to them as my morning cup of coffee is to me. They are able to make sense of and feel safe with the world around them by providing it with a structure. The protagonist of the book, Christopher Boone, does this by using his abilities, perceptions, and logic. While using Christopher's words to describe his world and responses to it, the author provides the reader with insight and empathy for the people--including Christopher--in that world. I strongly recommend this book to people working with those who have "special needs." The author also addresses the universal needs of trust and safety. What happens when trust is loss and feelings of safety, so related to trust, shattered? How are these restored when they are destroyed? Christopher's responses to these losses may be unorthodox, but they are human. The behaviors of those around Christopher are also human. This story is an empathetic portrayal of a human situation. It is, in short, a book to read.
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