Binding: Audio Cassette
EAN: 9781402555985
Edition: Unabridged
Format: Unabridged
ISBN: 1402555989
Label: Recorded Books
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
Number Of Items: 4
Publication Date: 2003-06-17
Publisher: Recorded Books
Studio: Recorded Books

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.

And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers.

Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork. Wellington's owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, and has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his investigations, and the result--quirkily illustrated, with each chapter given its own prime number--is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Haddon's novel is a startling performance. This is the sort of book that could turn condescending, or exploitative, or overly sentimental, or grossly tasteless very easily, but Haddon navigates those dangers with a sureness of touch that is extremely rare among first-time novelists. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is original, clever, and genuinely moving: this one is a must-read. --Jack Illingworth, Amazon.ca

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Comment: I was recommended this book in a book group, and it was great! Very easy read but makes you really think! It brings you into the mind of a boy who is almost trapped in his, lets you in on his quirks, and his pain. Definitely a must read!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not your usual read . . .
Comment: After having this book lying around, I finally got around to reading it.

It's a relatively short book, and it kept me going, so it only took a few days.

I have to write this review on two levels: as a piece of fiction compared to all the other fiction I have read, and as the portrayal of someone on the autism spectrum.

This was a good book. Once I got used to Christopher's way of writing and how he views the world, the book went by pretty quickly. His narrative teased out what we needed to know about his back story as it went along. I genuinely wanted to know who killed the dog. The drawings and math problems added to the quirkiness of the story, but didn't overwhelm it (hopefully Neal Stephenson reads this book). So it was a Good Read.

As for Christopher's narrative being an accurate portrayal of an autistic/Aspie: does it really matter if it was accurate? Any neurotypical person who reads this book might finally understand what made the "weird" kid everyone had in their class so weird. I think it was pretty accurate; I am mildly "Asperger-y" and could understand Christopher's frustrations.

Bottom line: this is a good book everyone should read.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Horrible
Comment: I consider myself fairly well read and this book is a similar in a long line of over-hyped contemporary novels. I would'nt through this in the trash can it's that bad!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An unusual and striking first novel
Comment: In addition to all the other unusual aspects of this novel, it's also worth noting that it is in some ways a postmodern, self-referential novel. The 15-year-old boy who is the protagonist and the first-person "author" refers from time to time to the fact that he is writing a novel -- i.e., this novel, and to Siobhan's encouraging words to him regarding his writing project. He demurs that he has no sense of humor so that the book cannot be funny. Of course, the irony is that it is funny in its own self-referential way.

I felt that the book trailed off at the end and became less interesting. Still, this is a memorable novel.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fun and engaging
Comment: A very interestingly-written exploration into an unlikely protagonist, a seemingly mediocre / dark plot, and unusual writing styles. I had so much fun reading this and was captivated by our dear writer, Christopher, who is somehow whimsical and engaging while being relatively bereft of the emotions we consider "normal." Bravo.

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