The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Book Review: Curious but also convincing
Summary: 5 Stars
This book transports you into the mindset of a very different young teenage boy and chronicles his reaction to a whole set of slightly exaggerated, droll, and not entirely unbelievable circumstances--among them the murder of a dog, his mother's illicit affair, the breakup of his parent's marriage, the very much challenged father, the fight over custody--all in a distinctly English working class setting.
Some reviewers have insisted that the author, in the guise of the boy as narrator/protagonist, would appear to minimize or otherwise distort the burden of Asperger's syndrome (as the book jacket describes his condition) or, perhaps more accurately, autism. That may well be the case. Perhaps, for example, it would be exceedingly rare for someone in this boy's condition to be so mathematically gifted or inclined. But this is fiction, afterall, and not a medical journal. The book is wonderfully written, original, and very moving in its exploration of the nature of family and human relationships. I heartily recommend the book and most especially its reader in the audio version.
Book Review: Haddon is a genius
Summary: 4 Stars
Short story and actually rather simple. But it isn't the plot that keeps you reading this in one go. It is the perspective. Haddon presents us the observations and thinking of an autistic 15 year old. Love it!Book Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a book that all teachers should read! Really lets you look into the mind of an autistic child. I could see some of my previous students and now understand better why they were the way they were.Book Review: Incident of the Dog - Portrait, Not Plot
Summary: 3 Stars
Who killed the neighbor's dog? Although the answer comes even faster than the fairly short book's end, this dialogue of a 15 year old autistic savant quickly reveals itself not to be much of a mystery at all, but an astute portrait of daily living within the autism spectrum. While I can vouch for the high degree of verisimilitude Haddon employs in translating common elements of the diagnosis into Christopher's character, having myself worked with autistic/Asperser's students, I feel this book's greatest success lies in it's ability to stimulate empathy through contrast between his highly functioning cognitive mind, and the distant, disconnected world of human behavior it portrays.
Although such accuracy of character within the spectrum makes for a unique and often charming narrative, the story itself seems to suffer as Christopher is never able to fully consider and render some of the larger issues at hand- his parents divorce, the significance and outcome of his parents mistakes, a deeper understanding of his own diagnosis, etc. I feel the story's perspective is perhaps the novel's focus, rather than actual storyline, and found this at times to detract from the quality of reading, especially toward the novel's somewhat arbitrary conclusion. While I would recommend this book given it's value within very few pages, I feel it only goes so far within the genre of mystery.
Book Review: Valuable insight into the autistic world...
Summary: 5 Stars
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time is a much-needed window into the world of autism. While I find this book informative and intriguing, I would not recommend it to someone who is not familiar with autism without additional information. That said, I think it does an excellent job of demonstrating the potential thought processes and emotional interaction (or lack thereof) of an autistic individual.
Many things that bother Christopher would not bother an average teenager, but Christopher shrugs off or fails to notice things that many teenagers would find crippling. Christopher's depiction of events is striking, as he chooses to include details like "approximately 60 holes in her shoes," but leaves out all emotion past happy, sad, good day, black day and feeling sick. He responds physically, vomiting and with pain in his head when something should greatly upset him emotionally. Although author Mark Haddon is not autistic, his writing demonstrates his careful observation of common characteristics of individuals with autism.
The real strength of this book is that is shows Christopher facing challenges and growing as an individual despite his very real struggles that he has to confront as a result of his condition. When Christopher decides to leave his father's house and go to London to locate his mother, he finds creative ways to cope, from hiding in the bathroom on the tube, to putting his hands over his ears "to block out the noise and think" (Haddon, p. 145). Christopher demonstrates he has learned how to be successful working with what he has when he finally finds his mother.
One thing that concerns me about this book if using it as a source about autism is, that it portrays an atypical autistic individual. Christopher has Asperger's Syndrome, and is not severely impaired as many children. Plus, most autistic children are not exceptionally gifted in math. However, this book does raise the intriguing situation of a student who is twice exceptional: possessing gifts and talents as well as a learning disability.
As a new teacher, I anticipate having a student like Christopher in my classroom at some point. While this book is an incomplete source on autism, it provides insight into how an autistic individual may interact and react to the world, and is definitely worth reading.
For further information about autism and twice exceptional students, visit the following links:
http://www.brainconnection.com/topics/?main=fa/autism-class2
http://www.uniquelygifted.org/
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer