 "Best Book" | 2009-11-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A17UCPICZB54AT |
| Red. Hapiness. Yellow. Hatred. These are the views of Christopher, the main character in Mark Haddon's novel the Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time. This book takes place in a small town outside of London, England. At the least, Chris is an interesting kid. He is exceptionally skilled in math, yet he fails to understand human emotions. His father is on a downward spiral after the loss of Christopher's mother. The hardest thing Christopher has had to do is illustrated as he bridges the gap formed between him and his father. I recommend this book because of its plot. Just when I thought I had figured it out it twisted and turned. The book is good for many types of people because it includes an adventure, surprises at every corner and a fantastic mystery. I give this book nine out of ten stars for the fantastic figurative language. It is a good read for anybody who loves a good mystery and a heartwarming story. |
| |
| "An enjoyable but easy read" | 2009-10-19 |
| - Reviewed By 8394147 |
| I don't normally read books but wanted to start. I thought this book might be a good start, and it certainly was. Written from the perspective of an autistic boy, it's a light, easy read and very conversational. Overall, I found myself laughing out loud and utterly wrapped up in his tale. I finished the book in one day over the course of a few hours, I couldn't put it down. I'd recommend it. After I finished, I closed the book, held it against my chest and smiled. I heard this book is being made a movie. Read it before the movie comes out. You'll be glad you did! |
| |
| "Voice of Autism" | 2009-10-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: AWDPQDALSFH2N |
| Well written and believable. Humor and real life trauma. It really gave insight into the sound and touch sensitive nature of an Autistic young man who just doesn't get the little nuances of every day communication. |
| |
| "Fun and fascinating mystery by an unusual "author"" | 2009-10-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1AJ7C5BC0D7NC |
I loved this book, which is a detective story of sorts "written by" a teenaged boy who is autistic. The author, Mark Haddon, used to work with people with autism. (Not sure in what capacity; the book doesn't say.) I haven't found a review of the book by an autistic person, but having known some teens with autism -- friends of my daughter's -- I would hazard a guess that Mr. Haddon has done a very good job of capturing the way they perceive and try to cope with the world.
Christopher is gifted in math, but he's no idiot-savant; he also understands astronomy, physics, philosophy, theology and metaphysics. What he doesn't understand is human behavior and emotions. Due to his phobias and hyper-awareness of his environment, he has led a sheltered life. I have read some reviews of this book that call Christopher "highly-functioning," but he is not. At this point in his life he is utterly incapable of attending a mainstream school, science club or sports program or of living anywhere that does not cater to his very specific demands. The reader is able to understand many things about his world and the people in it that Christopher finds mystifying, or does not notice at all.
Christopher wants to know who killed the neighbor's dog, and no one wants him to investigate, least of all his father. The father is raising Christopher alone, and this book not only helps the reader to understand the way the mind of an autistic person works, but it also helps us to understand the trials and fears faced by the parents of autistic children.
Did I mention that this book is a lot of fun to read? It's very well-written and the plot -- and subplots-- are very interesting. There are actually several mysteries that unfold.
|
| |
 "A truly unbelievable plot" | 2009-09-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1EEVWIHHOU0QG |
The protagonist is that of a young teenage boy - Christopher Boone - who cannot bear to be touched, dislikes the colours yellow and brown, can't eat his food if they're touching on the plate but is a veritable math genius.
This is the first book I've read which gives some information (from the perspective of the autistic person) of the workings of the brain of someone with autism. Christopher holds an incredible amount of facts in his brain, which sometimes gets overloaded like a computer and crashes. To relieve this feeling he has a compulsion to count, do quadratic equations and sometimes groan.
A truly unbelievable plot! |
| |
| "Great insight" | 2009-09-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1GFM0ZKG5PKJJ |
| This book was so strange and interesting and weird and different. I'm a big fan of innovation in books and movies, and this Haddon has succeeded in writing a book that's very different from any that I've read before. The book is written in first person and the protagonist is autistic, although he doesn't ever describe himself using that word. I was so impressed by the way that Haddon describes the protagonist's thought processes - it makes the autistic behavior that we consider strange (hitting, screaming, curling up in a ball) seem reasonable and sensible. |
| |
