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

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time | Mark Haddon | Life through different lenses

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The Curious Incide...

	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon Vintage, 2004 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Extremely Raw - and a Super read

In a murder, there is usually one mystery to solve, even though plots are far-fetched and convoluted. This murder (of the dog mentioned in the title) has the actual killing, the highly involved world of the detective, and the question of whether "they all live happily ever after" to unravel.

I read this book on recommendation after hearing a very inspiring talk by a Danish gentleman at a software testing conference. His story concerned a company that employed predominantly autistic people. Whilst autism and the less severe Asperger's Syndrome are not the same, there are many similarities. Mark Haddon`s tale does not describe life as a sufferer of AS (Asberger's Syndrome), but more lets the reader experience it. For the story is told in the first person by a 15-year old.

Most people will have come across autistic or AS people, possibly at school, but the condition is only more common today because it is better understood. However, never has society been so excluding of people who do not conform. The 15 year-old Christopher lives in his own world. His world is conveyed very powerfully though the chain of events that begins with him finding a neighbour's dead dog. I had already worked out the unusual chapter numbering by the time this is described, and the narrative is also about writing a book, with a very understanding teacher at the special school giving advice and encouragement.

The killing of the dog is solved in the middle of the book, not by sleuthing, but by confession, and this leads to a paradigm-change for Christopher. Notwithstanding that, the book is a story, a mystery, a parable and a warning for all readers. It may make you feel guilty about how you treated others in the past, but I hope it inspires you to act differently, to consider that the vast majority of individuals have a useful contribution to make to society, and to understand the massive pressures that having a disadvantaged child bring to a once-loving, stable relationship.

Most of all, seeing an AS person, with obsessive behaviour and a compartmentalised world, may help us all realise that autism is not a disease. It is a spectrum. Most of us are on that spectrum, somewhere. Many are further to the autism end than they would have realised hitherto.

Read it. It will do you good.

Peter Morgan, Bath, UK (morganp@supanet.com)

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Life through different lenses

Why spend a few good evenings re-discovering life through the eyes of an autistic boy? The answer to that lies in this intriguing novel. While most fifteen-year-olds spend their time playing basketball or crunching popcorn at the movies, Christopher Boone - our protagonist - prefers cracking difficult maths puzzles and investigating the death of his neighbour's poodle. The latter event eventually leads him on an adventure that forms the bulk of the plot - a discovery of the untold back-story to his parents' troubled marriage.

The main selling point of the book, however, lies not so much in the story per se as having the story rendered through Christopher's eyes. And what he brings is a wholly refreshing perspective on life - from the details he picks out with his unbelievably photographic memory to his manic obsession with order. How many people actually can - or will bother to - remember the number (and colour and size and disposition) of cows they've just seen on a random field? This raises serious questions about the things we `normal people' choose to see and not to see. The language too is perfect - methodical, matter-of-fact and well-suited to the subject matter and how our protagonist relates to it.

A truly refreshing and thought-provoking read.

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A fantastic book

This is one of the best fiction books I've ever read.

Unsual in the sense of the lack of connection with emotions by the main character. From the first page, you know there is something unusual, but you are not told, you get to experience the life of a boy who is just 'different'. It will keep you hooked from start to end.

As the story unfolds the reader starts to create the story, only to change it few pages later, only to change it again. It is definitely a unique book. So interesting!

An absolute gem

As a person who works with people with autism, I found this book sensitive, touching, and extremely accurate (from an external point of view). I can only surmise that the people who find it "boring" or "poorly written" haven't spent much time in the company of people like Christopher. Otherwise they may see the simple brilliance.

Just a note to other reviewers. Autistic is not a noun. It is an adjective. Referring to a person with Asperger's or another form of ASD as an "autistic" is extremely offensive.

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Insight Into Aspergers Syndrome

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is fictionally authored by Christopher, a 15 year old boy with Asperger's Disorder - a pervasive developmental disorder. Opening with a curious and dark incident, the story develops into a sometimes humorous, heartwarming and even disturbing narrative following Christopher on his journey. I enjoyed this light and easy-to-read novel. It allows insight into the supposed world of a boy with a form of Autism. This quick and light book would be perfect reading for an airplane flight!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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