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This was a great book for me for two reasons - first, it's written from an interesting POV, that of a 15-year-old autistic boy. He loves red and hates yellow and brown with a passion. The toll this takes on his family is enormous, as they try to deal with his idiosyncrasies through varying levels of patience and frustration. The POV was the more compelling reason, and I was totally intrigued by the thought processes displayed. The characters are sympathetic in spite of their failings, and Haddon doesn't descend into trite sentimentality. While autistic children are generally portrayed as self-enclosed, it is the furthest thing from the truth - in actuality, they are too exposed to sensation; their brains seem to lack the filters that ordinary people unconsciously use to make sense of the world. Second, it's a mystery, a murder mystery to be exact, the mystery of who killed the neighbor's dog by stabbing it with a garden fork. He can't stand to be touched, even to be hugged by his parents, and resorts to screaming tantrums or "groaning" to himself when he is disturbed or overwhelmed by his surroundings.
Christopher is a complex mathematical genius, but he can't understand the complexity of human emotions. Every statement is taken literally, so he can't make sense of slang and idioms. It's a quick little book to read, but powerful in its story. I felt enlightened and inspired when I was finished.
The story is told from Christopher's point of view, so the writing is simplistic and endearing. I really enjoyed Mark Haddon's novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This gives the reader a look into the autistic mind. The story is about an autistic teenager, Christopher, who is obsessed with Sherlock Holmes. When he is wrongly accused of killing a neighbor's poodle, he decides to do what Sherlock would do and sets out to find the real killer. What an incredible thrill. If you are looking for an intriguing and interesting novel, look no further than this outstanding novel.
This was a case of an amazing book turning dreary. With the story switching gears so unexpectedly, it felt as though the book was in fact two separate stories (featuring common characters) pasted together to create a book.
The mystery of who killed a dog, shown through the eyes of a 15-year-old autistic boy, was more intriguing and entertaining than most of today's generic amateur sleuth mysteries. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time began beautifully.
It went from engrossing to dull in the turn of a page. Written in an easy to read format with helpful diagrams, this book appeared to be an interesting tale that could perhaps shine a little light on the thought processes of autistic teenagers.About halfway through the book, the dog's murderer confesses and then entire focus of the story shifted.
Instead of a mystery, it became a rambling tale of running away from home. It felt off, like something just wasn't fitting properly.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time's quirky uniqueness didn't translate through the second half of the book.
Had the entire book been dull, it might almost have been better.
And it also leads to an unraveling of his own family's history. He is as gifted mathematically as Dustin Hoffman was in the movie, but he's as helpless as he was as well, he's socially without a clue. Christopher Boone, the narrator of this story, is a fifteen year old Rain Man. He learns a secret that forces him to re-evaluate everything he's taken for granted and that's pretty scary stuff for a boy like Christopher.Christopher is a wonderful character and he walks through an endearing story well told. He sees things differently than others, in his words, "My memory is like a filmÉ.And when people ask me to remember something I can simply press Rewind and Fast Forward and Pause like on a video recorder." He takes what he's told and what he sees at face value.When he discovers Wellington, a neighbor's pet poodle, killed, stabbed with a pitchfork, he is at first blamed, then he decides to find out for himself who forked the dog. Using Sherlock Holmes as his model, he digs into the crime and this forces him to foray out into the real world, away from the familiar safety of his home and special school. This is a book that should be on everybody's Christmas or birthday list. I can't praise it highly enough.
However, it is more appropriate to read through with them to get maximum benefit. All of this reveals how really impaired AS students are in terms of their intra-personal intelligence and ability to manage in every day life although they are bright and knowledge in other ways.
I purchased a classroom set of books, including the discussion guide and audio set, for the teacher to use as a class project for literature and as part of our disability awareness. I am the school psychologist for a class of teens with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and related disorders.
What is most fascinating is that my students, who are aware of their disability, cannot relate at all to the main character, even though Christopher has very similar behaviors to their own. Students with AS have a poor sense of self which underlies their deficits in Theory of Mind (that others have thoughts and feelings different from their own) and social communication.
The main character, Christopher, so accurately demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of AS. The class is progressing slowly through this book, which is a remarkable story and beneficial for teens with AS to read.
It is a must reading for parents and others who want to understand Asperger's syndrome in every day life.
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