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 enlarge | Author: Mark Haddon
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (40) Used (240) Collectible (7) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  429 reviews
Sales Rank: 127
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0099450259
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780099450252
ASIN: 0099450259
Publication Date: April 1, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: good used copy,paperback
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| Customer Reviews:
 Enjoyed the book but failed to knock my socks off March 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I had recommendations to read this book coming at me from all directions so I have finally read the book. I did enjoy it. The way it is written you can understand his father's frustration but through Christopher you can quite easily understand the logic of his actions. You are drawn into the book and feel a bit protective of the main character. Although I found the plot a bit predicable it didn't ruin the book for me instead I found myself worried about how Christopher was going to manage.
I enjoyed it but I certainly isn't going to rank as one of my favorites. It is worth a read because it doesn't take very long. I wont be in a hurry to read any more of this authors work for fear that they are all like this one which feels like it is aimed more at the teenaged market.
 Un-put-downable March 3, 2008
One of the best and well written books I have read in a very long time... loved it. Everyone should read this book!
Astounding February 27, 2008
Fantastically well written and easy to read.
A story of a young autistic boy, and his journey, told aptly through his eyes. A must read.
Funny and sad February 24, 2008
This is a lovely, warm, funny and sad story of an autistic boy and his struggles with the everyday tasks most of us take for granted. It also shows the difficulty of bringing up an autistic child and the colossal pressure that exerts on his parents and their relationship. Should be read by anyone seeking to understand the condition and how it affects the lives of those who have it and those around them.
One of my favourite books of all time. February 21, 2008
This is a most fascinating and simply wonderful book. The principle character, Christopher Boone, is a 15 year old boy with aspergers syndrom. His mind is like a well oiled logical precision machine ceaselessly processing, deducting and analysing. However, he has difficulty relating and connecting emotionally to others and dealing with societal norms.
I have always had a love for both logic and dogs so I had no problem empathising very closely with this very special character, even though I don't have aspergers syndrome (unless it's been undiagnosed!) and certainly have no penchant for rats!
Hadden employs a fictional autobiography technique in this book and so Christopher, is the narrator of his own story. This works well as it brings the reader right inside Christopher's world. We see it as he describes it - even the chapter numbering reflects his mind.
The premise for the plot is set when Christopher's neighbour's pet dog dies and he decides he has to investigate it. Along the way, he discovers the world around him was not always what he thought it was and that his parents and their relationship are not what he had understood. How Christopher's parents deal with their needs, their emotions and the truth is certainly different to Christopher's which helps to develope an interesting story.
The plot is succintly narrated with tacit logic, reflecting Christopher's mind. There are well timed moments of dramatic irony - where the reader understands something that the narrating Christopher does not.
Moments of humour, add some lighter moments. Christopher defines and derides societal norms such as small talk - which he describes as asking question when you are not interested in the answer!
There are also moments of wisdom. Christopher uses the Monty Hall problem to demostrates the folly of intuition. Sometimes an answer can seem intuitive but deductive logic will show the answer is in fact counter intuitive.
Although Christopher's world is a mixture of precocious genius, there is certainly a sense of forlorn helplesness and loneliness as he struggles with the world around him. While he is an inspiring character, one has sympathy for him. He doesn't seem to be the author of his problems, but his limitated emotional understanding mean that he cannot fully comprehend them.
My only criticism of this book would be some poetic license was obviously taken with aspergers syndrom. We certainly don't have an accurate psychiatric description, but what we do have is a magnificent character, a stupendous story and tones of inspirtation in a sea of imagination that doesn't even need an appreciation of sublime logic to enjoy.
One of my favourite books of all time.
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