The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This book is unnecessarily dragged out I really struggled to keep reading after the 40% mark for some time due to the alternate chapter writing method. One chapter will be about the main storyline and the next chapter will be about some fun facts, deep insight into how Christopher's mind works, math problems, Christopher's review of life etc. and again the next chapter will go back to the main storyline and so on. Basically half the book is just filler chapters if you think about it lol, I mean they are fun I learned some new things and all but the book could have been much shorter.

Disappointed that it's not a mystery book as suggested by the title, this book should have been called Memoirs of an Autistic Kid or Diary of an Autistic Kid haha, because that's exactly what this is, it's about how this kid views the world around him, his day to day struggles as an autistic I didn't know about autism much before reading this I have only seen it represented in a movie called Rain Man and I don't know how accurate the book is but it has definitely made me learn more about autism, really feel for the people who struggle with social interactions and crowded places and I can really relate to a lot of things which Christopher goes through.

It's an ok book nothing special about it the author did very well to make it look like a child wrote it I just didn't have much fun reading this nothing really meaningful happens.

This is a strange book. From what its protagonist, Christopher, says about himself, it sounds like he's somewhere on the autism scale. Once confronted with criticism about how he portrays Christopher, the author, Haddon, (from now on: The Weasel) takes the easiest possible way out:“2) curious incident is not a book about asperger's. it's a novel whose central character describes himself as ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties'. indeed he never uses the words ‘asperger's' or ‘autism' (i slightly regret that fact that the word ‘asperger's' was used on the cover). if anything it's a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. it's as much a novel about us as it is about christopher.”That's from The Weasel's now-defunct blog but - thanks to Wayback Machine - you can find it here: http://web.archive.org/web/20180825081243/http://markhaddon.com/aspergers-and-autism“Asperger's” is on the cover but it's not what the book is about. Ooookaaayyy...But, hey, at least to The Weasel, he has a good reason for this. From the same site:“1) i know very little about the subject. i did no research for curious incident (other than photographing the interiors of swindon and paddington stations). [...] imagination always trumps research.”(Emphasis by me!)“imagination always trumps research” - so, yes, The Weasel just pulled something from his arse and put it on (e)paper. There is a lot I could say about the demerits of this book but I'll leave it to someone who actually seems to be an expert on the subject matter:http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/04/04/review-the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time-by-mark-haddon/Read that article, not this book. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

*3.5 stars. What Haddon is able to do by bringing voice to Chris is remarkable and fascinating. However, this unique character and perspective is enveloped in a fairly weak story with an unlikable cast.

Such a fun read. Didn't want this one to end.

Yeahhh I dunno, I was tense for this entire book. It's probably not the book's fault. I know it was trying to be educational on what it's like to be autistic but the style was kind of grating. The way it ended kind of bothered me. Also CW it does start out with the murder of a pet and the person responsible faces no consequences.

This book is about a special 15-year-old young man named Christopher Boone. He sees the world differently than others and has a preference for math, patterns and order. What is immediately striking is the writing style of this book, because it is written through his own eyes which makes it seem like you are actually reading a story written someone who is 15 years old. This is a plus for me at the beginning of the book, but after a while the simple writing style became annoying.

So Christopher Boone is a boy with autism. This means that he has difficulty imagining what other people feel or think or when they speak with sarcasm or use proverbs. Somehow it also seems that he misses a filter in his head because when it gets too noisy he feels like he is going crazy.

I found it interesting to follow him and his line of thought. However, the story in which he finds himself was not that fascinating. Because of this I found the beginning to be better than the end of the book.

If you are interested in the mindset of someone with autism then this would be a suitable book.

Thoroughly engaging, funny, touching, and enlightening. The view from inside Christopher's mind is fascinating, and I often laughed out loud in agreement with one of his judgments (often they're reactions that I have myself but cover or morph with emotional intelligence or at least diplomacy).

I think what makes this novel rise above similar stories is the consistent linkage of external behaviors that would be deemed problematic, anti-social, and inexplicable with understandable, logical, and sympathetic internal reactions and reasoning. This book about a kid who struggles to imagine the internal lives of others actually enables readers to have a much richer and kinder idea of what's happening in other people's heads.

I decided to read this as I was doing a project for college on Asperger's Syndrome. Although the book isn't very descriptive in relation to Asperger's, it is still a good story in its own right, and the author does include information about Asperger's in an appendix.

To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect when I first started this one. I was told to read it by some teens at the library and have also been told it is a good book, so I picked it up.

This hurt my heart to the extreme. It is so hard seeing how he doesn't understand the world around him while understanding how the parents are feeling as well. He didn't understand his parents, but the reader can and... it was frustrating (not in a bad way, just in general) and it seriously hurt me. Except for the one thing about the dad... I don't think what he did was okay, or easily forgivable at all.

I know pretty much nothing about the character's issues (I'm not really sure of the right words to use here...) so I can't speak to how accurately it is portrayed, but it felt very authentic.

This isn't a fun book– what I usually try to read, it is painful and real. I highly recommend it to people who like contemporary works or even as a class reading.

I loved that this book wasn't romanticised and didn't have a straightforward pleasant ending. I loved the honest and raw portrayal of Christopher a 15 year old boy with autism. I think this book gives such a good insight into the point of view of someone living with autism and how they see the world. All the mathematics in this book went over my head obviously but nonetheless I found Chris such an endearing character and I found the other characters faults and issues really intriguing and gripping. A classic that I think any reader can get a lot from reading. A very heartfelt story and Christopher is a one of a kind character and the unsung hero of the novel. A deeply captivating story about human nature and identity.

I love books that help us understand certain things that we wouldn't otherwise.

This was really not the book for me. It's not something I would ever pick out for myself and I knew that going into it.

My biggest gripes for this book are the writing style and the plot. I understand why the book was written like it was, seemingly very choppy, but honestly, I hated it. It was neat at first but soon just didn't cease to annoy me.

As for the plot... I don't want to talk about it. I find the blurb of this book to be rather misleading first of all- this is not a mystery novel. Second of all, for the entire first half of the book, I could not tell you the plot. Each chapter jumped between various incidents and times that it just made it very difficult to follow.

And as for the unveiling of the “mystery”? Yeah, no. Not my thing.

May seem boring at some places...but it will be one of the best you have ever read...

3.5

Loved it

This is one of those times when I fear that I am in the minority. I did not like this book. The first bit flew by. I was intrigued by the mystery and Christopher, but quick quickly it made a turn and I found myself just wanting to be done with the whole thing. Halfway through the book there was no more mystery and it was just torture.

While I understand that the book was told from Christopher's point of view there were times where he was explaining “maths” or the universe or whatever for multiple pages. It had nothing to do with the story, but only with the state of his mind and the solidify his behavior for you. What it did was bore me to tears. I just wanted it know how it would end because there was no good place for anything to land.

It's a weird feeling, to be disappointed by a success. Like a much-beloved athletic record being broken, or being the runner-up in a beauty pageant: Yes, great for the person to whom the good thing happened, but it's not met, and I might personally have been better off/happier had it happened another way.

The book works. It might even work too well. If you're looking for a plausible (I don't say “likely” or “realistic” here because of the infinite possibilities of the human condition, and also it's fiction) view of the life of a child with autistic tendencies, Mark Haddon's provided an excellent sample. And it seems like that's what he set out to do, so congratulations and yay for him.

And at the same time, y'know. I wish he wouldn't have.

Maybe it hits too close to home. Maybe I look at how Christopher's parents fail in dealing with certain situations, and don't see how I could have done any better (and likely could have done worse). Maybe it's because Christopher's worldview ultimately seems to boil down to everyone having exactly one opportunity to screw something up and then being cut out for a considerable length of time, if not forever, and that reminds me too much of myself.

Regardless, I can't say I liked the book. Stories don't necessarily need happy endings for you to have a positive reaction to having heard them, but there should be some redeeming quality. I'm almost certain there's something here, I'm just having trouble seeing it right now.

But I don't hold that against the book. It's probably more about me as a than it. I just don't know who it's for.

In the end, it might be a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy conundrum. The book solved the problem. I just don't know what it's an answer to.

Interesting, well written book from the perspective of a (seemingly) autistic boy. Interesting style, a sort of murder-mystery-memoir that ends up in a very interesting place. Worth the short amount of time it takes to read.

This story is well written from the perspective of a highly functioning autistic boy. However, people are so mean in the story that it made me sad.

Knowing nothing about this book before I read it, within the first couple of pages I thought “Hmmm, my protagonist might be autistic or something.” ... I am both totally ok with and a little ashamed at that thought. The book caters at little to the mainstream autistic stereotype that they're all math prodigy's and though I don't personally know anyone who is autistic (though i've met a few over the years) I know enough to know that they're not all like that. Thing is is when most people think of autism that's the kind of thing they immediately think of, rain man-type people.

Still. It was a really fun story to read.
I used to have a friend who had severe ADD growing up, his family couldn't afford any drugs to treat it but he had a lot of amazing support and people who taught him how to manage himself in order to function in his life and society. Ultimately he grew up better for it because he didn't have a crutch to lean on and learned how to be aware of himself and take the steps he needed to achieve his desired result. I like that the story had those elements in it. Rather than just having symptoms treated the boy had learned how to manage himself and use his own way to deal with new situations and get himself through challenges.

Great book and a fun quick read.

This book is charming. The characters are real, Christopher is a wonderful character and really captures someone with Asperger syndrome. It's very clear that the author understands his characters thought process, his reasoning and treats it all with respect. The book also casts a light onto societies view of those differently a led amount us.

I must say I was a but stunned to see negative reviews for this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Abre un panorama de cómo podría ver el mundo una persona autista y, de esta manera, puedes entender un poco qué pasa por su mente. A mi manera de verlo, es una pieza de literatura interesante para entender una condición humana, lo que nos lleva valorar y empatar su diversidad.

An interesting tale and an interesting narrative. A different look into a different life.

So... this is a story of a boy with mysteries in his life. He wants to know, and his dad gets angry when he asks, so he finds out for himself. And the answers to the mysteries open up more mysteries. Life isn't quite that simple as it should be.

It's not funny. It's not unfunny either, but if you are expecting fun, you will be disappointed with this book. In reality it's a coming-of-age novel about a boy with Asperger's.

I have Asperger's and I don't have any problems with this portray. Though I want to say that not all Aspies are like this. We share some qualities, but not others. A lot of people without Asperger's have taken this book as a guide book on how people with Asperger's are, and that has caused a lot of people with Asperger's to get angry, because that's not how they are, but because it's in a book, it must be so, and the people without seem to believe a book over a real person they are discussing with.

Though... I have read a couple of reviews, and how people without Asperger's reads this book, or have understood this book... Some of that is very offensive.
Someone said it was funny. Perhaps people without Asperger's finds our lives and reasoning funny, silly, ridiculous, and THAT is offensive.
“a high-functioning, mentally challenged boy”. Autism isn't being “mentally challenged”. Our brain functions DIFFERENTLY from most people's. Most of us are more intelligent than “normal” people. Autism isn't a mental illness either. It's neurological difference, our brain is constructed differently. Not worse, differently. It's like comparing dogs and cats. Or, better yet, PCs and Macs. Neither is better, they just work differently and are incompatible in some cases, PCs do some things better, Macs some other things.
“he has all these dreams about being someone great and going to a top college, even though you know that his situation will never really allow it” “his situation”? Being the son of a divorced couple? Or what? You seriously think Autistic people are dumb?
That makes me angry. It's not this book that is upsetting for Autistic people, it's the non-Autistic people who read it and start making assumptions, based on their preconceived notions.

This is my review, in Finnish, from when I read it



Monet ihmiset jotka ovat autistisia, tai joilla on Aspergers, inhoavat tätä kirjaa. Heidän mielestään Christopherin kuvauksessa, päätöksissä, kuinka hän selvisi matkasta Lontooseen jne. ei ole mitään järkeä. Minä tunnistin itseni, niin voimakkaasti, että luin puolet kirjasta ääneen Henricille. Minusta on ällistyttävää, että Mark Haddon pystyi niin tarkasti kuvailemaan mitä minun päässäni tapahtuu...

Kirjan lukeminen vahvisti apergeriani, mikä oli aika epämiellyttävää, mutta myös sai minut tuntemaan itseni “normaalimmaksi”.
(Vahvisti: huomasin että teen paljon asioita koska olen oppinut että sitä “odotetaan”, sosiaalisesit. Kun luin kirjaa, lopetin, koska tuntui omemmalta olla “teeskentelemättä”.
Normaalimmaksi: Kaikki nämä pikkujutut, jotka häiritsevät minun elämääni, kuten “ylireagoiminen” sellaisiin asioihin kuin että lakanat on eri paria tai ruokajutut (miksi toisina päivinä voi syödä pataa, mutta toisina päivinä se olisi mahdotonta, koska “ruoka-aineet koskettaa toisiaan”... miksi jonain päivinä ruoassa voi olla luunsiruja, ja voin silti syödä sen, mutta toisina päivinä taas vähän kummallisen värinen perunanpala tekee ruoasta syömäkelvottoman... siis noissa reaktioissa ei ole mitään järkeä, ja se itsessään on hyvin häiritsevää. Kun minä TIEDÄN että ruoka on syötävää, että useimmat muut ihmiset söisivät sen hyvällä ruokahalulla, että minä itse söisin sen ilman vaikeuksia... enkä vain pysty pakottamaan itseäni syömään. Ja että sen pitää olla pakottamista! Ei, ruoka on vaikeaa.) Siis... kaikki nämä pikkujutut jotka häiritsevät elämääni, ovat ihan tavallisia aspergeri-juttuja. Niiden kanssa oppii elämään. Ei ole mitään kummallista, että joku syö vain punaista ruokaa. Kummallista on että jotkut ihmiset välittävät niin hirveästi siitä mitä muut ihmiset syövät.

Muistan myös erään kokemuksen vuosi, pari sitten. Olin menossa tapaamaan psykiatriani ja sain paniikkihäiriökohtauksen. Seisoin rappusissa, yritin painaa itseni seinää vasten, jotta en olisi tiellä, ja joku hyväätarkoittava, huolestunut ohikulkija kosketti olkapäätäni kysyen olinko kunnossa. Ja minä aloin kirkua: “ÄLÄ KOSKE MINUUN, ÄLÄ KOSKE MINUUN, ÄLÄ KOSKE MINUUN!!!”
Jossain vaiheessa tajusin, että sen täytyi olla hyvin järkyttävä kokemus ja pystyin sanomaan että minulla on aspergeri, minulla on paniikkihäiriökohtaus, olen ihan kunnossa, mutta minun täytyy saada olla rauhassa, yksin, jotta rauhoitun. Tajusin myös että rappuset eivät ole kaikkein rauhallisin paikka yrittää rauhoittua, joten jatkoin matkaani ylöspäin, terapeuttiani kohti. Mutta kirkunani oli saanut ihmiset reagoimaan, ja rappuset tuntuivat olevan täynnä ihmisiä, jotka yrittivät rauhoittaa minua, ja se vain pahensi asiaa... Lopulta joku haki psykiatrini, joka rauhallisella äänellä sanoi “Sanna... Ebba tässä...” Ei yrittänyt koskettaa, ei yrittänyt selittää, ihan rauhallisesti vain ilmoitti, että siinä on joku turvallinen ihminen, eikä minun tarvitse yrittää hallita tilannetta millään tavalla. Pystyin sanomaan, että jos hän menee edellä ja katsoo että ovet on auki, seuraan perässä, jotta hän pystyi viemään minut huoneeseen...
Rappukäytävä oli aivan liian avoi ja valoisa, lasia ja valkoiseksi maalatut seinät...
Kuivuriin kömpiminen kuulostaa todella hyvältä idealta. Tai matkatavarahylly.

Minä pidin kirjasta todella paljon.

Toinen juttu, joka häiritsee autisti-spektrumilla olevia ihmisiä, on Christopherin näennäinen välinpitämättömyys toisista ihmisistä. Christopher ajatteli vain itseään. Minä en kokenut sitä sillä tavalla. Minä koen sen paljolti niin, että muut ihmiset kokevat minut (tai ei ehkä minua, koska olen kuulemma hyvin sosialisoitunut ja vaikutan normaalilta :-D) itsekeskeisenä ja tunteettomana. (Olen sitäkin kyllä kuullut) Jos minä kuvailisin elämääni, ajatuksiani, tuntemuksiani, en usko että toisten ihmisten tunteet, mahdolliset ajatukset, kuinka ne nyt reagoisivat, jos teen niin tai näin, olisivat paljonkaan mukana. (Onhan ne läsnä, kuten “sen täytyi olla hyvin järkyttävä kokemus...“)... mutta on sekin. Sanotaan koko ajan, että ei pitäisi ajatella mitä muut mahdollisesti minusta ja käyttäytymisestäni ajattelevat, ettei pidä olla “myötariippuvainen” (co-dependent), ettei pidä yrittää olla mieliksi muille kuin itselleen, ja sitten kun joku käyttäytyy sillä tavoin, tai kuvaillaan ajattelevan noin, ihmiset ovat kauhuissaan siitä, kuinka itsekäs ja tunteeton Christopher on!

“There are no redeeming qualities to this character. It is as though he is incapable of experiencing kindness or love but only goes through the motions of determination and fear.”
Täh? Että pitäisi olla joku Runeberg ja kirjoittaa rakkausromaani? Siis... kuinka paljon KAIKISSA MUISSA KIRJOISSA puhutaan rakkaudesta, suopeudesta, hyväntahtoisuudesta? Se vähä mitä Syystanssiaisissa oli, oli siirappia. Jos haluan lukea rakkausromssuja, niin valitsen sellaisen, enkä Yöllisen koiran tapausta.
Christopher kuvaili yritystään selvittää koiran murha, ja sitten matkaa Lontooseen, kuinka paljon siinä nyt pitäisi kuvailla miten paljon hän isäänsä rakasti? Varsinkin kun juuri sillä hetkellä ei rakastanut isäänsä ollenkaan, koska isä oli muuttunut siitä turvallisesta, luotettavasta isästä joksikin vieraaksi. Minusta ne käsihalaukset kuvasivat aivan riittävästi, että hän tosiaan piti kovasti vanhemmistaan.

Äh.

It was a really interesting point of view and did not follow as I had expected.