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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Review
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing. User Submitted The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time ReviewsDecember 1, 2008 Audio CD Review - Better than the Book This otherwise excellent novel truly comes alive in the reading. If you're able to get and listen to a copy of Jeff Woodman's remarkable reading of this novel (available from RecordedBooks.com), do so by all means. Woodman brings a deeper and more authentic dimension to the story overall. I mean, it's a British novel with British (mainly English) idioms and expressions: "hearing" the dialog in your head is not the same as hearing it spoken aloud. Jeff Woodman's rendition of the various characters and their different British accents is extremely faithful and "spot on" as they say across the Pond. In particular, his voices of the various police officials and minor characters in the novel (ticket kiosk attendants, store clerks, neighbors, etc.)that Christopher the protagonist encounters are scary good. As for the merits of the book itself, as the parent of a "special needs" child (who is now 25), I can say that Christopher's parents' respective challenges with having a child with Asperger's Syndrome were faithfully represented without being overdrawn or melodramatic. A profound book on many levels. November 27, 2008 This is a very interesting book I absolutely loved this book, it had many twists and was an interesting look to someone else's life. November 26, 2008 A different way to tell a story I loved the different approach of hearing the story from the perspective of an autistic character. It certainly added a fresh element to the humdrum of a lot of modern fiction. This book was captivating, and I not only wanted to know what happened next, but how it would be perceived by Christopher. If you want something different that's a relaxed and entertaining read, then pick this up. November 24, 2008 Curiouser & Curiouser This book takes the reader into a different world--the world that seems the same as our world, only this child sees the information in another dimension. The character, Christopher Boone, takes the reader into the world of autism. I am currently using this book with an 8th grade reading group, and we are reading it aloud. Reading the book aloud brings the difference in thinking and processing and the humor and pathos to the table. The kids are fascinated by the out-of-the-norm way this character views the world. To them, it is a mystery how this child thinks and functions in our fast-paced society. I highly recommend this mystery for children and adults. November 23, 2008 In Poor Taste I'm surprised by the glowing reviews this book got. I really thought it was a terrible diservice to "aspie" people. The boy seems to not care about anyone and the adults in this book are all totally screwed up. I don't like the connection that people are bound to make that the parents of children with autism can't handle the complex life they have been given. While well written in a literary sense, this book leaves you sad and feeling as though people are truly pathetic. Not a good read at all and not at all a true vision of what autism really looks like. November 19, 2008 Great book! I was recommended this book in a book group, and it was great! Very easy read but makes you really think! It brings you into the mind of a boy who is almost trapped in his, lets you in on his quirks, and his pain. Definitely a must read! November 14, 2008 Not your usual read . . . After having this book lying around, I finally got around to reading it. It's a relatively short book, and it kept me going, so it only took a few days. I have to write this review on two levels: as a piece of fiction compared to all the other fiction I have read, and as the portrayal of someone on the autism spectrum. This was a good book. Once I got used to Christopher's way of writing and how he views the world, the book went by pretty quickly. His narrative teased out what we needed to know about his back story as it went along. I genuinely wanted to know who killed the dog. The drawings and math problems added to the quirkiness of the story, but didn't overwhelm it (hopefully Neal Stephenson reads this book). So it was a Good Read. As for Christopher's narrative being an accurate portrayal of an autistic/Aspie: does it really matter if it was accurate? Any neurotypical person who reads this book might finally understand what made the "weird" kid everyone had in their class so weird. I think it was pretty accurate; I am mildly "Asperger-y" and could understand Christopher's frustrations. Bottom line: this is a good book everyone should read. November 13, 2008 Horrible I consider myself fairly well read and this book is a similar in a long line of over-hyped contemporary novels. I would'nt through this in the trash can it's that bad! November 12, 2008 An unusual and striking first novel In addition to all the other unusual aspects of this novel, it's also worth noting that it is in some ways a postmodern, self-referential novel. The 15-year-old boy who is the protagonist and the first-person "author" refers from time to time to the fact that he is writing a novel -- i.e., this novel, and to Siobhan's encouraging words to him regarding his writing project. He demurs that he has no sense of humor so that the book cannot be funny. Of course, the irony is that it is funny in its own self-referential way. I felt that the book trailed off at the end and became less interesting. Still, this is a memorable novel. November 10, 2008 Fun and engaging A very interestingly-written exploration into an unlikely protagonist, a seemingly mediocre / dark plot, and unusual writing styles. I had so much fun reading this and was captivated by our dear writer, Christopher, who is somehow whimsical and engaging while being relatively bereft of the emotions we consider "normal." Bravo. For more The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time reviews click here.
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