Name: The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Rating: 3.789627465303141 (1369 reviews)
ISBN: 9781400032716

Mark Haddon

Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.

a novel

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time

Jose Sbuck

Interesting insight into the mind of an Asperger's sufferer. Christopher is a 15-year-old boy who loves dogs, hates being touched, wants a very rigid schedule, suffers in crowds, thinks logically and is good at maths. Christopher is either calm and focused or in distress. He doesn't seem to have any positive feelings. However, he knows the concepts of positive feelings. For example, parental love, but it's all very logical. "To love" means: not to lie, to look after, to help when you are in trouble. There's no emotional aspect. For Christopher, fantasy is a lie because it is not something that has really happened. Imagining is painful for him because it opens up too many possible paths of events. There are no filters in the way he perceives the world. If a 'normal' person sees that there's a field and some cows, Christopher takes it all in. There's a field of 2.1 acres, there are seven cows, of which two are black and white and five are brown, etc. etc. Christopher's father is a good man, caring but flawed and impatient (and so feels real). He says the most important lesson in the book: "He can't help it." Christopher isn't being difficult on purpose, it's just the way his mind works. He respects his son's difficulties, even if they make life harder than "normal". On the other hand, Christopher can cope when he needs to: he travels by train and talks to strangers. How much effort and coping should be required? A big theme in the book is Christopher's parents' arguments and divorce. It's hard to raise a disabled child. The novel made me think that I have similar symptoms to Christopher. I sometimes need time to myself, I like to focus on my own things, it's sometimes hard to interpret what people really mean, it's easier to discuss difficult topics without looking your partner in the face. But feeling uncomfortable from time to time is quite normal, I think. It was fascinating to read how detached a person can be, for example in the case of Asperger's. Recommended for anyone interested in how different people can be. A 13-year-old particularly liked the novel.

Edwin Lang

2016-09-11 I took the book at face value as essentially a simple story of a teenage boy who was different. I liked the story a lot. It held together; it was an interesting and engaging read; and, I thought it was at heart, for the reader, a story about empathy and how sometimes it maybe something we lack at that moment or something that remains a challenge. Mark Haddon wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night in 2003, which was I believe long before mental health became the discussion topic it is today. We in the West, perhaps less so in the East, are also struggling with euthanasia – whether to, when to, to whom does it apply, who gets the right to live – so being different is of paramount importance in the way we respond to and treat people who are not the same as us. In Toronto 3D imaging of fetuses is a brisk business so the story has a special poignancy. What I found most interesting though were the sideline stories. It was interesting to see how Haddon portrayed the mother who, in spite of Christopher Boone’s attachment to her, was increasingly exasperated by her son’s presence. She falls, and this leads to a predicament for Chris’ father that he handles quite poorly. So it is not just Chris who moves on the sidelines of society but the mother and father find themselves there as well, and frankly anyone who comes into contact with him – all are forced to move away from the normal. Chris is also as close to an unfeeling robot: he has no feelings for anyone and no sense of conscience. Haddon makes readers, such as myself who like the book, face a conundrum: we want Chris to succeed, to make his A levels, but at some level for everything we hold dear – e.g. having a society that at its roots is compassionate - Chris is not just an anomaly he is a monster. Haddon is very clear for example that Chris is ready to resort to violence when he feel not just threatened but touched. And outsiders – whether the police, neighbours, companies – often don’t understand and don’t have the time or patience to gain that understanding. It is said of parents that they give and give until there is nothing left to give and then they give some more. And one sees this element of patience, forbearance and sacrifice in the lives of all those who care for Chris. At least until they burn out, or simply die. Companies and governments, at least in Canada, tend to support diversity, whether religious, racial, gender, sexual orientation etc., but there is still widely expected to be a kind of homogeneity nonetheless – regardless of one’s orientation one is expected to sort of fit in, and being – acting, thinking – different is perceived as disruptive and is disruptive. It is also interesting that Haddon has Chris emerging as a possible mathematical prodigy. We live in a fascinating world. Amid all that seems wrong we seem nonetheless to be inching increasingly towards a steadfastly compassionate society: Merkel’s courageous embracing of a million refugees is the personification of optimism and heart and where we want the future to be, what we want it to be like. And this stance makes room for Chris and for all of us ‘normal’ folk to accommodate him. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night is a wonderful book, quite ahead of its time. Edwin

Dani

Even in its simplicity, it promoted me to reflect on and understand a condition that is profoundly sad.

My review is colored by nostalgia. I read this in English class as a kid, and immediately felt a kinship with Christopher. I didn’t understand why at the time, but now I do. However, on a reread, the characterization of Christopher is very one-dimensional. I can forgive that because it’s a YA book, and I had always assumed it served to prove a point. However, in looking into the author, it turns out, he never did any research on autism. So the generalization of autism isn’t an artistic choice, it’s ignorance. Regardless, I still very much related to Christopher and found his inner monologue compelling.

Nik ✨

El Curioso Incidente Del Perro A Medianoche

Natalia Cerrillo

Patrick Book

I would not have expected a book if this nature told from this perspective to be as readable as this was. Remarkably done.

The plot was very interesting and seeing his mind wandering was too, but the ending feels so rushed.

Romy

Sarah Sammis

I enjoyed the book and the many mathematical asides. I often had my husband reading over my shoulder because he enjoyed all the diagrams and math bits too. I'll probably have to get a copy of this book for him. I think that people who have enjoyed the Georgia Nicholson series (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, et al) will enjoy this book too.

Having thought about what to write for this review over night I've come to the conclusion that Christopher got the short end of the stick with his parents. I don't want to say to much to give anything away but the motives of both his parents and their tempers make them no different than Christopher, except that they haven't been "diagnosed" with anything disorder.

sash.

D D D 

a charming, heart-wrenching mystery! had to skim all the math stuff because i’m stupid

Deepika Ramesh

“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.”

Read this with only one break for dinner. What a great book!! 

Jillian Roberts

atlantisli

Güzel başlayan ama sonu ile beni çok tatmin etmeyen bir kitap oldu. Karakterimiz Christopher 15 yaşında otizmli bir çocuk. Kitabı onun gözünden okuyoruz. Otizm ile ilgili daha önce hiç kitap okumadığım için tür içinde karşılaştırma yapamayacağım ancak ben faydalı buldum. Düşünme biçimlerini ve bakış açılarını yazar bence iyi yansıtmış. Bazı sahneler daha kısa kesilebilirdi ve sonu daha iyi bağlanabilirdi bence. Yine de güzel, okumaktan keyif aldığım bir kitap oldu.

Maelys

Such an emotional read : it is difficult not to sympathize with Christopher in this detective novel / bildungsroman. Although I did not really like the ending, I couldn’t put it down and I enjoyed being amused, sad, questioned and terrified all at once along with the young hero. A really interesting plunge into autism.

New worst book I've ever read just dropped. No more neurotypical people writing neurodivergent characters challenge (impossible). The reviews say things like "compulsory reading for anyone with even a slight interest in autism spectrum disorders," and apparently this book was ranked as a top 5 happy ending. Happy ending compared to what??? Lenny being shot at the end of Of Mice and Men??? The disdain the author clearly has for autistic people despite having worked with autistic children is clearly evident throughout the book. I'd much rather read something written by someone who's actually fucking autistic. Fuck this book, and fuck this author.

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time a novel

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