Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Curious Execution Within A Wonderful Story January 3, 2009
N. Hirsch (Connecticut)
With a unique style and fresh voice Mark Haddon has created a wonderfully memorable first novel. "The Curious Incident of The Dog In the Night-time" is told through the eyes of Christopher, a 15-year old autistic boy, and chronicles his search for the killer of his neighbor's dog. However, what starts as a mystery that Christopher compares to his favorite book "The Hound of The Baskervilles", turns into much more as he overcomes his fears and limitations to try and put order in a chaotic world.
By writing a story in the first person when that person is autistic and can't understand emotions or other peoples intentions would at first seem limiting, but Mark Haddon expertly creates such a fascinating voice in Christopher that you fall in love with him within the first few pages. Using a quirky style that includes maps, charts, smiley/frowning faces, text book descriptions of statistic theory and chapters that are prime numbers, Haddon keeps the reader drawn into Christopher's way of thinking and reminds us without being sentimental or condescending the difficulties Christopher has navigating through a normal day. "Prime numbers are what you have left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them".
Christopher needs order and clarity in his daily routines and without them has trouble functioning, which poses a problem when trying to solve a mystery. However, to Christopher no event is random, and if he can just get the facts then he can put the pieces together and create logic. It is during this pursuit of clarity that Christopher must confront his disorder and his own fears to get at the truth. He can't lie (because that creates infinite alternate possibilities), he does not understand metaphors (because one thing can not be another) although he does like similes, and he doesn't look into other people's faces (because he gets confused between expressions that can mean different things). It are all these issues due to his autism that makes his journey so heartwarming and painful at the same time.
The murder mystery is just a catalyst for a larger adventure that Christopher must undertake and his story is an entertaining, witty and insightful one.
 Ok in parts December 29, 2008
Sandhya Surapaneni (Eden Prairie, MN)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm not much for rambling style of writing, so i started reading this book with a degree of skepticism. Despite my low expectations, the book was a let down. It was different and interesting in parts, but not great.
The story is about Christopher Boone, a 15-year old autistic boy, resolved to find the murderer of his neighbor's dog...or so i thought until the first chapter. That is where the author digresses. He rambles on about red cars and yellow cars and a ton of math and charts and diagrams that serve no purpose other than to get under my skin. After a few more entirely unnecessary chapters during which the dog's murder mystery is sidelined, Chirstopher discovers the truth about his mother. The book ends on yet another random note.
Christopher comes across as a smart kid and if the book is an accurate portrayal of how children with severe sensory disorders think, i will not shed copious tears over the $11.16 i spent on it. If not, i want my money back...hmmph.
Curious preaching from an otherwise interesting read December 23, 2008
Paul C. Weeks (Penticton, BC Canada)
I enjoyed reading this novel. I found it engaging right from the start. It was interesting to see things from a different perspective. I got some insight, I think, into a very different way of looking at life. Christopher would, indeed, be a handful.
My problem with this book and why I would not give it a rave review is the atheism kind of tacked-on here and there. It feels false to the character. It feels like the authour saw an opportunity to preach his view of religion and was not faithful to the character in so doing. I found that disappointing and distracting. It is not integral to the story, though, so it's easy to overlook.
 Great book, but arrived damaged December 20, 2008
Diana A. Whistler
The book itself was very good and well written. However, my order arrived slightly damaged. Oh well.
Excellant Book December 16, 2008
Nacon Wilde (Croydon, UT, USA)
I found this book to be an extremely inteesting insight into this childs mind. It is well written, especially knowing that the author themselves is not autistic. He did a very good job writing this book from that perspective.
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