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.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Fantastically well-written. The language is very direct and even sparse but it sings when read aloud. Very original. Utterly engrossing. Hard to describe why this book is so darn appealing, but it is. It is also true literature. It is a novel of human relationships. This is why they say that if you want to understand human beings, you will get more out a novel than a self-help book. The hero of this book is a 15 year-old autistic boy, whom I am completely taken with. "Out of the mouths of babes." Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Hesitant but won over
Review: At first hesitant to read this book, I eventually found myself engulfed in one of the most wonderful stories to come out in a long time. My hesitation dealt with the fact that the subject was a) an autistic child, and b) he was somewhat of a genius with math and physics. None of these subjects really interested me, but what Haddon does with them is amazing. Amazing, riveting, disturbing, funny, warm, and above all, human. The only real angst provoking aspect of this book is that I want to lend it to friends, yet can't seem to part with my own copy. Also recommended: McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" and "The Life of Pi."
Rating:
Summary: But the dog did nothing in the night.
Review: I became interested in reading this book after it won prize upon prize upon award in 2003 and 2004. The book effectively straddles the line between young adult and adult fiction and has accrued praise from both age groups. So I picked it up, read it, and can now faithfully say that it is unlike any other book I have read before. Books about various mental illnesses and problems abound in the world. This, however, is the first book I have ever read that places the viewer squarely in the head of a boy quite like Christopher. A fifteen-year-old autistic boy. Christopher lives will his father in Swindon, England. His life is very comfortable and he is looking forward to taking his A-level maths soon. Fifteen is a young age to be taking such a test, but Christopher is particularly good at math and physics. Being autistic he has difficulty understanding other people and understanding their emotions and intents. When Christopher finds his neighbor's dog dead, he decides to do some detective work ala his hero Sherlock Holmes. What Christopher doesn't understand, however, is that though he may believe himself to be similar to Sherlock, he cannot deny his own emotions when the mystery comes shockingly close to home. I do not know much about autistic persons. So in truth, I can't say whether or not this book is particularly accurate in its depiction of a fifteen-year-old autistic kid. What I do know is that Haddon is remarkably sympathetic towards his subject. The challenge in writing this book was to make Christopher someone you sympathize with, even as he makes incorrect assumptions and violent gestures towards those he loves. You can see where Christopher is coming from, even as you determine where he makes his mistakes. This is especially impressive when you consider that Haddon is writing a character that cannot hug, understand love, or figure out how to care for others outside of himself. However, it is the depiction of those who love Christopher that is Haddon's greatest strength. How rare it is to see things that your narrator cannot see. To understand where people are coming from even as you see them through the eyes of a boy who is incapable of understanding. No adult in this book is perfect, but they are all interesting and real. You comprehend the motivations behind each person's actions. They are all capable of inappropriate anger and exasperation. Best of all, the book is incredibly interesting. Broken up by maps, graphs, equations, pictures, and drawings, the book is continually drawing your eye in a variety of different ways. It is a wonderful story for anyone into math, but if you are like my pretty self and don't particularly care for sums it is still a wonderful read. A keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Not enough stars
Review: This book reminded me of another I recently read: "The Bark of the Dogwood" by Jackson McCrae. Both books deal with a precocious child that is overly intelligent, yet handicapped in some way. And both are a mystery of sorts with great writing and unusual form. I would highly recommend both books, along with another I recently read--"The Birth of Venus" (although that book is totally different from either of the aforementioned books.
|
