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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 (42) Used (164) Collectible (6) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  442 reviews
Sales Rank: 510
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: Slight reading damage, slightly warped but otherwise in very good condition
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| Customer Reviews:
 Detrimental to Aspies September 17, 2007
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
I have just read Maurice Frank's review of this book with a deep sense of relief. When this book first came out it achieved something like cult status in my area. People seemed to be treating it as a manual on Aspergers, rather than as a novel and a work of fiction. The fact that the first person 'voice' of this book is an autistic child shows only that the author has a great deal of imagination and confidence. I compare him to female authors who have written first person narratives as men or White Anglo-Saxon protestants who have written in the voice of an 18th Century enslaved person from West Africa. The point is does it work? And I think that the answer is yes, it works beautifully as a mystery story, as a black comedy and as an imaginative work of fiction. However I believe the author has failed to capture the essence of an Aspergers child.
Ultimately I found the book depressing. I remember with horror, being asked by a SENCO at my son's school; during one the many hopeless meetings that a parent of an autistic child has to attend; whether I had read "The Curious Incident...." I say with horror because this was her attempt to reassure me that she knew all about my son's needs. Of course as soon as she mentioned the book I knew she'd got no further in her understanding than pop psychology.
I have also seen it reccommended on a teachers' website as a manual on autism. Yet no parent that I know feels that it represents their experience or that of their child and I was pleased to see that Frank, writing from his own personal experience, agrees with that. His review of the book is far from complimentary.
To me the character portrayed in this book is closer to meeting the criteria for a sociopath or psychopath than those for a young man with AS. I'd hate the book reading public to fall for the common misconception that children with Aspergers are unfeeling. The little boy in Nick Hornby's , "About a Boy" is much more recognisable as an 'Aspie' than this boy is.
So, read this book for the story and for a laugh but don't read it if you're personally dealing with Aspergers or if you want to find out more about the condition.
If you want to know more then read books by Luke or Jacqui Jackson, Ken Hall, Temple Granadin, Claire Sainsbury, Daniel Tammet and so on.
Also FYI; On meeting the parent of an AS child it's probably kinder not to ask, "Have you read..."The curious incident... ? But even that question is better than asking "What's his special talent?"
 A great book September 7, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is great and it is really interesting to read. It is a bestseller and I can completely understand why, it is great and as some other reviewers have pointed out, it is very different to most other books.
It is set in the mind of a 16 year old boy, with aspergous syndrome ( i'm not sure if I spelt that correctly ) and he becomes interested when his neighbours dog gets murdered. Christopher decides to investigate and starts looking for clues and interviewing their neighbours, who find it annoying.
Finding out who murdered the dog isn't the most important thing in the book, because it is found out nearly half way through the book, although, it is relevant to the plot. I found it amusing, that every second chapter is just about understanding Christopher better and I thought that, that was funny. I thought that Christophers Dad was a much more pitiable character than Christopher, himself, because bad things happen to them both but his Dad has to put up with lots more. I think this is a great book and it is very unusual, most people would probably enjoy it.
Different... September 7, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Unlike certain reviewers who seem to believe that they belong on a reality TV show (and indubitably pride themselves on being 'plain speaking' (i.e. ignorant)) I approached this book not as 'a children's book' or 'a novel suitable for older readers' but simply as a novel. As such, it provided insight into Asperger's whilst still managing to entertain. The humour warmed me to the main character and, over all, I enjoyed reading it (though I am above both 30 years old and average intelligence) and would recommend it as something a little different from much mainstream fare. The prose is necessarily simplistic, adding a further layer of realism to the well researched character.
Almost perfect book September 7, 2007
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
For me, this was something completely different from what I would normally pick up. I'm usually one to stick with either a cult classic or off-beat book, but instead decided to take on a "bestseller." While I liked the premise--that is to say, a book written through the eyes of an autistic teenager (which, by the way, reminded me of the novel "Bark of the Dogwood" dealing with a similiar protagonist), I found myself becoming irritated at Christopher (main character) rather than sympathetic. The world through his eyes did indeed take on new meaning, but I at times wanted to cry for the parents and their frustrations. Had the author somehow made me feel more sympathy for poor Christopher (and I do not know how this could have been done, so I hesitate to criticize), I might have enjoyed it more. Still, this is one of the most unusual books I've ever come across. Would also recommend the novels "A Child Called It" and "Bark of the Dogwood" for other interesting, though totally different, reads. All good. All different.
 A fascinating read September 3, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME is an expertly written book. I was hooked to this book the moment I started reading it. Within three hours, I was at the end of the last page. It was so touching. Told through the eyes of a boy who suffers from autism, the book captured our failings as humans, the strength of faith, the innocence of childhood, the things we take for granted in our lives, the hopes we cling to, the dreams we want to realize and the love we aspire for in our lives.
Intriguing as it may sound; I was fascinating by the unusual chapter numbering, the use of diagrams, statistics and the use of a first person narrator. It was clever and achieved its desired result of stirring curiosity and eventually keeping the reader hooked. It is a very creative style of writing. In fact, it is a unique reading experience.
By trying to get into the mind of the boy in his narration, I could easily understand his parents who had to deal with his problems constantly. I recommend this novel as a good, enjoyable read and a unique diversion from the other styles of writings that are in the market.Like THE USURPER by Janvier Tisi, A SHORT HISTORY OF TRACTORS IN UKRAINIAN,UNION MOUJIK ,this book captured the essence of life's meaning .
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