When he discovers his neighbor's dead dog, autistic teenager Christopher John Francis Boone decides to solve the murder. He likes to read mystery novels and decides to write his own book as he investigates the death. The adults in his life discourage him from looking into the dog's death, especially his father, but Christopher has made up his mind and forges ahead. What Christopher doesn't realize is that there are more mysteries in his life than just a murdered dog and he begins to uncover truths that would be hard for anyone, autistic or not, to take. These truths will lead Christopher on one of the most frightening journeys in his young life.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is a brilliantly written, at times heart-breaking novel. Written in the first person, author Mark Haddon does an excellent job of getting into Christopher's mind, to the point where it seems as if Christopher is a real person. The footnotes that pop up throughout the book also make it seem as if a real person is telling a real story. There are many excellent moments in the novel that show how an autistic person thinks, starting with the fact that each chapter begins with a prime number and including Christopher's need to tell the time, down to the last second, that something happened, and his belief that the color of cars that he sees can make it a good day or a bad day. The book has several humorous moments, but never at Christopher's expense. While the plot may seem simple, it uncovers many layers of Christopher's life. Although the book is written from Christopher's limited point of view, Haddon is a gifted writer and we still learn much about the people in his life, especially his parents, long before Christopher himself does and in fact, readers learn more than Christopher ever can.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" was so good that I hated to see it end. Well done. ( )

This is a hard book to review. It's unlike anything else I have ever read but it's a compelling read despite the simplistic way it's written. I loved the story and its twists and turns and I loved the insight into the way an asbergers mind might work. ( )

Overall I enjoyed the book. I was very captivated by the boys thinking and process for daily activities that would not seem very difficult or intense. Everything he did was an adventure and sometimes made me nervous. His character was sometimes a ticking time bomb. He never touched things that were yellow and he never liked to be touched by people. Reading this story gave me a better understanding about autistic children. i think this is a great book for everyone to read, especially teachers.  ( )

this book really helped me understand the concept of people with a disability. i could not put the book down i read it in less than 24 hours. and i want to read it again ( )

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" was funny, and informative, but also sad. This book is a murder mystery. The main character Chris is trying to solve the mystery of how his neighbor's dog, Wellington, died. Chris is autistic and since the book is written from his point of view, the reader can see what life is like from an autistic person's point of view. Chris is very good at math, especially prime numbers. When he is angry he adds up all the prime numbers he knows to calm himself down. He has very specific likes and dislikes about colors: "4 red cars in a row made it a good day, and 3 red cars in row made it a quite good day, and 5 red cars in row made it a super good day, and 4 yellow cars in a row made it a black day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and take no risks."

During his investigation, Chris makes many troubling discoveries about his own life and about his parents. This story is really many stories in one. I think this is very clever and I liked that alot. I think the only thing that was a little disappointing was that the mystery was solved too early in the book, but other than that it was a great book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, puzzels, or math. I would also recommend this to people who are interested in learning more about autism. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is 226 pages long, which includes diagrams, drawings, and even a math problem at the end of the book! ( )

Gives a fascinating insight into the daily life and thought processes of a teen with autism. I found this book very engaging. ( )

Loved this book. A good story but also informative. Laura and Lachlan enjoyed it too. ( )

2007

This book is truly a work of art. Narrated by an autistic teenager, this book gives insight of the autistic mind that is unmatched. The one thing that was kind of annoying was the repetetiveness. I understand that autistic people do think a certain way, but the point that they think randomly and differently was bit hackneyed. Overall, however, this book is a must read for anybody who knows or is related to an autistic person.

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time is all about a boy with autism and the way he looks at the world. This book was extremely intresting as it offered a vivid picture of how autistic kids view the world so logically and how socially inept they are. For example, I often found myself amazed at how easily the main character, Chris, was able to do complex math problems that I didn't have a clue as to how to even begin. At the same time, I almost laughed at how shy and awkward he was, fearing for his life everytime he saw a stranger and refusing to say anything more than absolutely neccesary. The problem is, most people only see the social side of those with autism, obviously leading them to believe that there is no hope for this person and that they are no more worthy of being called a person then thier own pet. However, by getting this rare glipse into how an autistic kid's mind really works and the complex logic they're able to do, many people would gain a lot of respect for them as people, and begin to care about them more. It is because this point was made so obvious in the book that it is truly a great book about human feeling and really taught me alot about autism.

Good insight in the mindset of an Aspergers boy (as expressed by someone who isn't, I suppose.) ( )

I thought this book was absolutely fantastic. It is true that I really only read it for a school summer reading assignment for my Psychology class, but just after starting it immediately became one of my favorite books. I am a bit of a math fanatic. I just find it interesting and enjoyable. I actually had quite a lot of fun reading through some of the specific math problems the Haddon puts in the book. That could be the reason behind my great interest in this piece. Another aspect that definitely drew me to it was the authors main goal: the portrayal of a life in the eyes of a teenage math wizard with autism. This idea is just so interesting. It reminded me profoundly of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, but the idea of a teenager in this situation clearly made this book more relatable. Now, the whole storyline of this book is very bizarre (just read the title...), but the underlying statements about real life hardships and problems make it extremely entertaining at, at times, even moving. I typically don't get too ridiculously drawn in by books, but this one was a clear exception. I did read it in two days after all... ( )

I must admit, I had a bit of a mixed reaction to this one. On the one hand, I absolutely loved the voice of Christopher Boone, and the way Mark Haddon really got into the mind of a boy with Asperger's. It is an innocent and naive voice, yet in other ways an utterly brilliant one, throwing the world into a whole new light. I found it absolutely charming to read, and found some of Christopher's extensive knowledge on his favourite subjects quite fascinating.

The story started off well for me. Christopher finds his neighbour's dog, Wellington the poodle, dead in her garden, run through with a garden fork. He sets about 'doing investigating' to find out who could commit such a terrible murder, and with the help of his aide Siobhan, writing a book about his experiences. This is that book, filled with observations and trivia, thoughts about life and the rituals and logic that make him feel safe.

To my surprise, the mystery was solved sooner than expected and the story veered off on an entirely new tangent that I didn't enjoy as much. By the end the strangeness of Christopher's family situation had lost me a little; where I should have felt for him and his courageous struggle to set everything straight, I felt only a vague kind of sympathy. I wasn't as moved or stirred as I thought Haddon probably intended me to be.

Not a keeper for me, but nevertheless I really enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any of the, hmmm, ten people in the world who haven't read it yet! ( )

Publishers Weekly starred 04/07/03
Booklist 04/01/03

Kirkus Review starred 04/15/03

http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID...

http://olvasonaplo.freeblog.hu/archiv... ( )

Awesome awesome book. A must read. ( )

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. In brief, it's about 15-year-old Christopher Boone's attempts to discover who killed his neighbor's dog, and he learns some surprising things about his mother along the way. Though it's never mentioned explicitly, one assumes he has a form of autism. And while I've heard this book is supposed to be a real eye-opener and help people be more understanding of autistic people, I honestly developed far more sympathy for Christopher's parents. I don't know if I could handle taking care of someone like that. My hat's off to all the parents, teachers, and other caretakers who work with special needs kids every day. You are truly amazing people. ( )

A definite page-turner - I flew across the Atlantic and was so drawn into this book that I had to finish it before I went to bed, despite being jetlagged. It is the narrator's point of view that makes it so very compelling - the author handles writing the voice of an autistic boy with a great deal of grace and sensitivity. ( )

Translated into Persian, rank 19/1001

Completely different than anything I've ever read, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is told in the perspective of an autistic boy. I didn't know it was a young adult book until a participant in my book club last night mentioned it, and honestly I'm not sure how much a teen would get out of this book.

I, however, was impressed by the way the author was able to completely portray the life of an autistic--although, highly functional autistic--boy. The main character, Christopher, is fifteen and two of his main interests are dogs and "maths", so when he finds his neighbor's dog murdered, he decides he has to solve the mystery and find the killer. The story is then a first person narrative of his experience with this great mystery, as well as a story of his overall day-to-day life.

Christopher is very logical and matter-of-fact and has a difficult time understanding emotions. He doesn't like to be touched, therefore his mother and father can't even hug him without a screaming episode. This makes a reader wonder whether Christopher can really experience love at all. He seems to connect most with his teacher, Siobhan, and is always remembering advice she has given him.

There is much more to the story then the mystery of the dog's killer and I won't ruin that here. Although I haven't been exposed to anyone that has autism, I feel like I have been now. I was intrgued with the clever pieces of the plot Haddon was able to work in to make this book believable.

And did I mention the book has pictures? And it ends with a math problem. Talk about unique. ( )

Few authors have written so impressive a work in first person narrative. Though I don't know anyone personally with autism, the voice of the deeply touching protagonist of this book made me feel as though I did, and that by the end of the book, I understood that person so much better than any scientific article could have made me feel. I read this a couple of years ago, and it is definitely on my to re-read list. ( )

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is a story about Christopher Boone, an autistic child, with a gift for geography, science and "maths". He also seems to have a gift of curiosity. The book begins with the killing of a neighbors dog. Christopher decides to solve the killing by finding the killer. He also discovers letters from his mother whom he had been led to believe was dead. And he finds his way to his mother's flat in spite of his many short commings.

The book is written in the first person--Christopher being the story teller. I am certain this presented many difficulties and challenges for the author. Additionally it is filled with math problems and solutions which result from Christopher's need to create for himself a safe world. These and other insights into the mind of the child, Christopher, lend themselves to an interesting reading adventure.

All-in-all an entertaining afternoon read. ( )

The predominant emotion I felt throughout the story was frustration. It earns points for sheer realism though.

http://stuff-ive-read.blogspot.com/20... ( )

A really interesting take on autism, from the perspective of an autistic young man who wants to solve a mystery. Might really work in the list.

One of the best books ever, it really touched me.

He has a pet rat too, that is always a plus. ( )