Review: "The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nightti

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Has anyone read "The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nighttime"? I'm tempted to buy it in the next couple of weeks.

I went to the bookstore and broused it a bit, and personally, I was touched (emotionally that is); Christopher's experiences in his little investigation took me back a few years.

If you have read "The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nighttime", tell me what you think.

I thought it was a good story with a well-developed main character and a surprising writing style. It is definitely an unusual treat to watch a plot unfold from the inside perspective of a person with an ASD (as opposed to Rainman, where the ASD traits are observed from the outside by an NT protagonist). Although the book appears to want to educate as much as entertain, I don't think Christopher's traits are consistently realistic and would leave people confused about the differences between AS, HFA and LFA.

i agree with jetson. the first time i read it, i cried - many things christopher does, either i do, or my then recently-ex partner does.

I loved the book! I saw a lot of myself in Christopher. I have a lot of the same idiosyncrasies and I react the same way to betrayals.

I was cheering him on whaen he went to visit his mother by himself. I only wish it had ended better.

All in all, I laughed and cried!!

i really liked the book and was quite distressed when i misplaced it. i accused several people of borrowing it without returning it. when i finally found it i was so happy. i have recommended it to others hoping it would give them some sense of the world "from the inside." i read a lot of temple grandin's writings, but somehow i can't get a sense of ... something.
what about donna williams? nobody nowhere?

I really like 'Curious Incident' and it is one of the first books I ask people who are interested in autism to read - the only thing is that I have to explain that while nearly all autistic people stim, not all of them head bang . . .

That is interesting that some of you like Donna Williams better than Temple Grandin - I have this working hypothesis that there are two subtypes of AS - one that focuses on emotions related to autism and one that is more scientific - I see this difference in Williams and Willey's books versus Grandin and Schnider, for example . . .
I wonder if these are just subtypes of AS or if they are the result of different expeiences . . .

Me too. It was downright spooky to be reading it as an adult NT would and seeing Christopher from the outside, yet simultaneously have the intuitive understanding of what was going through Christopher's head. Such a simple formula for tragedy, the intersections of the normal world and the autistic one. No ill will behind these misunderstandings, just two totally alien minds, and a hand held up with fingers spread in an offer of reconciliation becomes a symbol of horror more intense than any blood-spattered corpse.

And it was more confirmation that my own worldview and experiences are heavily colored by the spectrum.

I think they're one of many spectrums that comprise AS: in particular, which part of the brain develops faster and is more dominant. I've always had an instinctive connection with the way Donna Williams sees things, but Temple Grandin is more alien. They're both autism as in caused by abnormal brain growth, overabundance or lack of neural connections, white matter, etc. But someone like Temple Grandin seems to have learned to override the underdeveloped emotional aspects with rationality (I remember once reading an interview in which she described her emotions as being on the level of an animal or 10-year-old child) whereas someone like Donna Williams still predominantly relies on pattern and feel to understand the world.

So I agree with your working hypothesis. Though I'm not entirely convinced that it's as simple as a gradation between the emotional and scientific approach, as there are many regions of the brain for different skills, and many different types of savants (who probably have one isolated and very overdeveloped region).

I probably will read it soon, but what I have heard it seems good. But then again I am also tempted to read various other books and to finish Orcs.

I loved the way it was written. Christopher's thought process was very similar to mine. It can't really be a 'perfect' portrayal of AS, because it obviously affects everyone differently. The most amazing thing has to be that the author isn't even on the autistic spectrum.

I was able to read the book a couple of months ago (I actually fooled the library computer into thinking the library did not have a copy of the book and got it ILL and avoided the waiting list).

I did see some of myself in Chris but I did not have all of the issues he had. I also liked the story line of the book and the surpise ending which to me was interesting. I also like the sidelines that came up in the book (such as the Montey Hall Problem).

In all, I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

My problem with the book is that I feel that it suggests an unrealistic level of functioning. In some ways the character seems surprisingly capable, the next moment he can't figure out how to get on a subway, and can't tell his next door neighbor doesn't like him.

That said, it was a very difficult book for me to read, and I cried a lot reading it due to the amount of myself I saw in it.

That was my point when I said the traits were inconsistent and would confuse an NT reader trying to understand ASDs through reading this book. One minute he's LFA and the next he's AS.

Ditto.

I bought the book at the airport while waiting for my flight and when I was on the plane one of the cabin attendants stopped by my seat to ask how I liked it. She said that when she bought it she didn't know it was going to be a story about autism and was surprised at how unusual and emotional it was. Meanwhile I was doing everything I could to not cry on the airplane.

I half agree with you two. I did notice that there were some inconsistencies in the character's behaviour, but my autistic behaviour has its inconsistencies. I can pretty much act NT in all situations, but when I have to use the phone it is crippling. It is like I 'become' LFA when I have to make a phone call.

My concern with the book is that it is often referred to people as a book to introduce them to autism, but it paints only a slightly more accurate portrayal than "rain man".

The main character exhibits speech skills at the level of AS, but has zero ability to comprehend either his own or others emotions. This can really give people a skewed impression of AS/autism.

The book was very interesting to read, I didn't get emotional reading though.

My main complaint about the book is that christopher is a "composite character". All facets of autism seem to be present in christopher to one degree or another, which in my mind does not give an accurate portrayal of autism.