The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon

kilamangiro

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Has anyone here read this? It's one of the most touching books i've ever read. It's narrated by a boy suffering from Asperger's Syndrome and is written in quite a childish manner (he did this, then he did that, then he said this etc etc), but it's so effectively done. And the last paragraph made me cry.
 

Cath

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Yup - and I loved it.

I've heard a few people with experience of Aspergers say it didn't mesh with their experience, but it touched a nerve with me.

My stepsister has Aspergers, and I found Mark Haddon's book gave me a valuable insight into her way of looking at the world.
 

MyFirstMystery

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I read that book and enjoyed it very much, have loaned it to friends and family who say the same.

I don't know anything about the reality of the medical condition - so I can't speak for it's accuracy - but it was a terrific read.

MFM
 

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Read it, loved it!

Really enjoyed the mathsy stuff, and the logic problem, (the famous "Monty Hall problem").

Have lent it to so many people, I don't know exactly where my copy is at the moment!
 

Maryn

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I read it aloud in the car during one of our take-the-kid-to-school trips, and I thought it was terrific, if unrealistic in terms of the experience others report.

I've found that it's a good title to recommend to people (especially teens) who claim they don't like to read, although they are able to read well when school demands it. Of the few I've asked to read the first ten pages, all have finished it and enjoyed it.

Maryn, curious what KTC found not to his liking
 

Cath

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Maryn said:
... if unrealistic in terms of the experience others report.
That's one thing about autism - it's has a very broad spectrum and varies wildly from person to person.

I too would love to know why Kevin hated it so much.
 

Sheryl Nantus

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read it a few weeks ago and was astonished; since I'm not a big fan of the "popular" books...

I enjoyed it greatly - it kept my attention to the end; made me weep in parts and I'm working on forcing my hubby to read it. An excellent buy for anyone looking for something different.

jmo, of course.
 

Jenan Mac

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Cath said:
That's one thing about autism - it's has a very broad spectrum and varies wildly from person to person.

Ayep. As the saying goes, "if you've met one person with Asperger's...you've met one person with Asperger's."

My husband bought it for me last month. It wasn't necessarily identical to my experience, but I think he nailed the overall "tone" pretty well. It was a quick-reading book, though, and I finished it too fast. Sent me straight back into the arms of epic sci fi, where a decent book will take more than two hours to finish.
 
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jessie318

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i just read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. i found the narrator's voice to be very authentic. i think that's what carried the novel for me.
 

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I love this book. It really gives you a great viewpoint into how different people, not just those with Aspergers, experience the world. It's kind of like we all imagine everyone sees what we see sometimes and this book gives a visually stunning interpretation of someone else's viewpoint.
 

clresu

It was given to me, was in my vehicle on its way to the used book store. There are a lot of books to read and I normally don't spend time on too many new ones with cutesy titles. While I was waiting on someone, I opened it and started it. Yea, turned out pretty good.
 

kristie911

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Loved this book. When I picked it up, I didn't have much hope for it but I was hooked from the first page.
 

johnrobison

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I really liked it. The Aspergian life experience Mark describes had both similarities and differences to my own (real) Aspergian life. It's a very good piece of work, coming from someone who is not actually Aspergian.
 

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i read it a while ago, after my mum recomended it to me. i did it enjoy it, and some parts did bring me very close to crying.
 

Julie Worth

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I enjoyed the book, except for the conclusion. This was supposed to be a mystery, and I hoped that the boy would solve it. Alas, he didn't; the solution was just handed to him by his father. And the intrusion of the real world was jarring, not to mention depressing.
 
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I don't think it was meant to be a mystery. It was about the MC rather than anything around him. He changed by the end of the book which is what an MC is supposed to do.
 

Kida Adelyne

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I've been meaning to read this book forever. I think I'll pick it up tomorow.

And yes, it's very true about autism/aspergers. Autism was the term created to lup together all the mental-dissabilities that didn't have a classification.

For people who want to read more fiction from a aspergers perspective, Wild Orchid is quite a good book.
 

justpat

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I enjoyed this book, and can't imagine how hard it must have been to 'stay in character' as he wrote it. Do you think there is a such thing as a method-writer? People who have to stay in character the entire time they are writing? Hmm, sounds like an idea for a book.

When I write in the first person I try to think like the character would think, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it 'In Character'.
 

NicoleMD

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I really liked being able to brag to my friends, oh, I'm on chapter 151! Seemed so impressive, especially since I'm a slow reader. The MC was endearing, and I loved the twists the book took. It's the first book I've leant to a friend in a long time and she LOST IT!!!! As in can't find it at all. I have her favorite book as hostage though, until she buys me a new one. hehehehe

Nicole
 

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I really liked how this was written, and I liked that his father told him at the end and took away the mystery and the challenge of it. I liked that as the book got on it became less and less about the dog.
 
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rwam

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I read it and enjoyed it. I didn't particularly care for the narrator...he just seemed so called (all right, all right, so maybe it was a byproduct of his condition).

One thing that bugged me was when the MC started talking about religion it seemed more like the author preaching his agenda than it did the MC expounding/pondering the cosmos.
 

Kida Adelyne

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I finally read this. Although a decent read, I found many things that bothered me. The most of which was it seemed like Haddon took every symptom/quirk know in the autism/aspergers spectrum, put them into a hat, and then pulled out a handful. And some of them contridicted each other.

One thing that bugged me was when the MC started talking about religion it seemed more like the author preaching his agenda than it did the MC expounding/pondering the cosmos.

I agree. That really irked me, too.