Customer Reviews:
 An amazing adventure with a unique guide December 30, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
So much has been written about this book that it is hard to come up with original ways of describing the genius of it. So, I will pretend that you know nothing about it. The book starts with a murder... the murder of a neighborhood dog. The narrator of the book is falsely accused of being the killer so he decides to solve the crime and discover the true perpetrator. It doesn't sound too interesting except that the narrator of the story is a 16-year old autistic boy by the name of Christopher Boone. Christopher decides to both solve the crime and write about his investigation in a book for a school project.
Solving the crime will be difficult for Christopher for several reasons related to his autism. He is unable to understand why people react the way they do. He can't decode metaphors such as I laughed my head off, since the person still has their head. He can't look at people and use their facial expressions as a clue to what they are saying. He becomes overwhelmed by strangers, crowds, loud noises, and being touched and throws himself on the floor, rocking and moaning when he feels overwhelmed. But solving the mystery is only part of the story as Christopher's investigation reveals something else that he could never have expected.
The story itself is a framework that Haddon uses to show what autism might feel like from inside the mind of an autistic person. There is a logic to the mind of Christopher and by using the first person Haddon makes Christopher a believable and understandable and sympathetic character. This makes even the common place become engrossing as we struggle with Christopher to perform the simplest of tasks. For example, buying a ticket and getting on a train becomes a page-turner as Christopher struggles with crowds and noises and smells.
Haddon has written a brilliant novel that has that rare quality of being worth re-reading. I don't know if this book actually reflects the mind of a person with autism but I do know that it is thoroughly fascinating, unique, and enjoyable. I can strongly recommend this book.
The Logical Book December 20, 2004
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
Christopher John Francis Boone is my kind of guy. He's really good at mathematics, he lives for logic, and he makes sure his life is in order using lists, maps, diagrams and graphs. Surprises are definitely not welcome, and he likes everything to be predictable and according to a prescribed schedule. On the negative side however, he's only fifteen, he's autistic, he's got more phobias than Adrian Monk, and his fractured family haven't yet learned how to cope with his illness. Christopher often determines what type of day he's going to have by the number of cars of a specific color that pass in a row, and when he finds the neighbor's dog impaled on a garden fork, it must have been a Black Day indeed. The death of poor Wellington brings out his inner Sherlock, and he is determined to solve the case, working in his logical fashion, despite the objections of his father. Unfortunately, this investigation uncovers a lot more than the identity of the canine garden fork killer, and he is faced with several difficult emotional issues which his mind is unable to handle. Brilliantly told in the words of Christopher himself, this novel allows the reader a rare look into the world of autism, or as much of it as we presently understand, and shows clearly the challenges an autistic person faces on a daily basis. The mathematics and logic puzzles may not be for everyone, but I especially liked "The Monty Hall Problem", which I pondered for a long time before agreeing that the "vos Savant" solution is the most logical. Now at least I know that if I were ever called up for a game show that required me to choose from three closed doors, I should cross my fingers and switch as quickly as possible, even if one third of me knows I'll still get Monty's goat. Eloquently told in simple language, this book is a must read for young adults and old adults alike, especially those with a penchant for a drastically different outlook on life. Amanda Richards
 Curiously inconsequential June 10, 2004
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
It begins well, but a quirky narrative structure is not enough to sustain a book in which the plotline is so hackneyed. Christopher's father is a convincing mix of emotions, but the mother is a patronising sketch (her letters, with their contrived spelling errors, are a real low point), suggesting that as a novelist Mr Haddon still has a long way to go.
I am aware that this is written as a children's book, but there are far more accomplished writers for children (e.g. Elizabeth Laird, Anne Fine, Alan Gibbons, Geraldine McCaughrean) who can construct an engrossing narrative without recourse to such gimmicks-as that, sadly, is all that Christopher amounts to in this flimsy setting.
A promising idea, disappointingly executed.
 Intriguing Visit Inside the Autistic Mind and Look at Math June 1, 2004
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This novel is one of the most unusual that I have ever read. I initially gauged its success by how well emotionally engaged I was by the story. For the first half, I was gripped . . . but the book tailed off from there. If I only looked at the book from that perspective, I would grade it a 3. But the book also contains interesting references to science and math that reminded me of John Paulos's books on how a mathematician looks at the world. Those parts I rated at a 5. So the two perspectives came out to a 4. But if you don't particularly like math or science, this will be an average novel for you before you are done.The premise is simple. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is autistic with many emotional complications (including not being able to read others' emotions) . . . and also has a brilliant mind for logic. Because of his fascinating experiences, his teacher, Siobhan encourages him to write a book . . . which is this one. It's easy to think of Christopher as much younger than he is . . . with problems concerning strangers, others touching him, and wetting himself. But then the brilliant mind comes out, and you feel like you are in contact with a professor. The combination is fascinating in the first half of the book as Christopher tries to find out who stuck a pitchfork through the neighbor's dog. As a twist on The Hound of the Baskervilles, that part of the book is irresistible. Once that mystery is solved, the book seems to veer off into less realistic and less emotionally compelling material. Christopher's character was no longer completely believable to me. The writing seemed more like an exercise by an author than Christopher's own as the "author" of this book. I treasured though those parts of the book that help me understand how an autistic person might view the world. It reminded me of those jumbled letters and reversed numbers on cards that teachers show to simulate what dyslexia is like for those who are not dyslexic. Such journeys in another's footsteps are rewarding and I encourage you to seek them out. Based on this first novel, I can only hope that we will read more about Christopher in the future. I suggest, though, that the knife be left behind.
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