Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of this revelatory novel, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. In the hands of first-time novelist Haddon, Christopher is a fascinating case study and, above all, a sympathetic boy: not closed off, as the stereotype would have it, but too open-overwhelmed by sensations, bereft of the filters through which normal people screen their surroundings. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary patterns ("4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"). His literal-minded observations make for a kind of poetic sensibility and a poignant evocation of character. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice.

Wasn't too sure what to expect with this book. The main character is different, as there aren't too many main characters that are autistic. It was interesting to see things from his point of view. Since I'm not autistic, or know anyone that is, it was a real eye opener for me. I'm glad that I came across this book and had the chance to read it.

Mailed to the_littleminx on March 9th. Hope it gets there soon!

Glad the postage reached you okay. Thanks for sending this along, as I've been waiting for such a long time to read it. I'll be sure to journal when I've finished it.

Also, will let you know as soon as I've read one of the ones you were interested in trading for. :)

UPDATE: AUGUST 29, 2006- Currently Reading

UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 2, 2006- Finished Reading

I really enjoyed this! It was written from a very interesting perspective, and I think it gave the reader a great look through the eyes of the autistic , at least, to some extent. I have to admit that a few of the really mathematical parts totally lost me as it's been way too long since I did algebra, and even then I'm not sure I would have understood what he was saying. But again, that just proved even further how well written the book was. I could definitely see why it came so highly recommended.

RELEASE NOTES:

Since this book was titled "Curious Incident of the DOG in the Night-Time", leaving it in the DOG food aisle seemed fitting. So, book was left on the canned Alpo shelf.

I don't generally go hunting for books as my TBR is high enough, but I have been wanting to read this one, so I did. I am reading Anna Karenina and A Scanner Darkly now, after I finish Scanner I will start this. Thanks for releasing it Littleminx.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left on table in waiting room.