The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

By: Mark Haddon

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone has Asperger's Syndrome, a condition similar to autism. He doesn't like to be touched or meet new people, he cannot make small talk, and he hates the colors brown and yellow. He is a math whiz with a very logical brain who loves solving puzzles that have definite answers.

One night, he observes that the neighbor's dog has been killed, since it is not moving and has a large garden fork stuck in its body. Christopher knows this is wrong. He has never left his street on his own before, but now he'll have to in order to find out who killed the dog. What he discovers will shake the very foundation of his perfectly ordered life.

Critically acclaimed author Mark Haddon, a two-time BAFTA winner, crafts a stunning masterpiece that is funny, honest, and incredibly moving.

©2003 Mark Haddon (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

• Alex Award Winner, 2004

"The novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fresh and inventive." (Booklist)
"Smart, honest and wrenching....Will quickly hook you in." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Gloriously eccentric and wonderfully intelligent." (The Boston Globe)

This story may make you think.

At 68 years old I am beyond too much curiosity about myself I am what I am and regret very little about my life. One of my grandchildren has been diagnosed with a mild case of autism/asburghers (sp). Luckily, his learning skills are superior and he has very good social skills thanks in part to modern medicine.
Thanks to very good luck, I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him and observe him. I have always seen a lot of me in him. I kind of knew what was going on, thinking back to my youth and still have some of the same issues. This book made me see it much clearer and make me feel better about how my grandchildren are very lucky to be alive today.
I don't believe I had heard of autism til 15-20 years ago. I hadn't heard of asburgers until the diagnosis was made 6 years ago. Strict discipline was the cure in my youth. Fortunately for me I had parents who were understanding yet disciplined and let me live my youth in a structured yet independent life style. In spite of what some of the nuns said, I turned out okay.
Reader, if I have not lost you, these are the reasons why you should read this book.

Opened my eyes and heart...

I found this book profoundly affecting, and a near miracle of empathy and immersion into an area I never thought possible to penetrate. Let me preface by saying that I have a grandson with Asperger's syndrome with whom I have crafted several delicious rituals. My favorite is having him draw a vehicle... a submarine, a steam shovel, a shark.....whatever comes to his mind that day. We then hit the garage and workbench and build it out of foam, wood, scrap etc. His precision in commanding my hands is a marvel.

This book has taken my understanding of my grandson's processes to a level I never thought possible. But far from that .... it is a gripping listen, with never a doubt that the voice you hear (both spoken and written) is that of the child.

I thank the author for such an enlightening gift.

The funniest and coolest book

I have found the best book I have every read in my whole life I can’t wait to read more books like this

best book ever

I loved the book
The book was ver very good and amU recommended it to more adult readers.

entertaining

Loved the story and the narrator. I could hardly wait for the time to listen again.

Fabulous!

I simply loved this book! The narrator really nailed the character of Christopher. The author did a fabulous job of tapping in to the thought processes of a boy with high-functioning autism.

Everything is in place - except for the lack of pictures. I bought a copy of the book, so that I can read it again with the benefit of the illustrations. This is one time when a supplementary PDF file containing all of Christopher's pictures would have been much appreciated.

Nevertheless, this audiobook deserves all five stars of my rating.

Suprisingly enjoyable

For some reason I wasn't that excited to listen to this book but so many people told me to read it and it was so short I decided to go ahead with it. I really enjoyed it! It is a story about an autistic boy who wants to solve a mystery and it is written from his point of view. It is a good story that kept me interested to the point that I would sit in my car just to keep listening. I would recommend it for its emotional power.

Brilliant Insight into High Functioning Autism

This tale is written from the point of view of a young man with high functioning autism. Through his own eyes and inner monologues, you watch him make sense of the world around him while he problem-solves and satisfies his curiosity. It's not the type of book I'd normally pick up, but I ended up quite glad that I did.

Good book but...

This was a fascinating read but I started to wonder if the author was attempting to win a bet about how many times he could fit the f-word into the book. I'd guess he won the bet.

Great book, but please prepare 1st

What did you love best about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?

Having a close family member with Asperger's Syndrome I was in an excellent position to understand the character. and this book brought out the situation very clearly, and put me in position to understand it on a first person level, instead of an outsider looking across (not in).

It would benefit from a brief forward so listeners without background would have a better hope of understanding early on in the book.

But aside from all that minor nit, the book is brilliant and could be used as a great teaching tool for many different purposes.

What did you like best about this story?

Try it. expand your horizons.