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by: Mark Haddon  List Price: $19.99 Amazon.com's Price: $14.99 You Save: $5.00 (25%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: Audio CassetteEAN: 9781402555985 Edition: Unabridged Format: Unabridged ISBN: 1402555989 Label: Recorded Books Manufacturer: Recorded Books Number Of Items: 4 Publication Date: June 17, 2003 Publisher: Recorded Books Studio: Recorded Books Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: 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 Product Description: 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. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Audio CD Review - Better than the Book This otherwise excellent novel truly comes alive in the reading. If you're able to get and listen to a copy of Jeff Woodman's remarkable reading of this novel (available from RecordedBooks.com), do so by all means. Woodman brings a deeper and more authentic dimension to the story overall. I mean, it's a British novel with British (mainly English) idioms and expressions: "hearing" the dialog in your head is not the same as hearing it spoken aloud. Jeff Woodman's rendition of the various characters ... Read More Rating: - This is a very interesting bookI absolutely loved this book, it had many twists and was an interesting look to someone else's life. Rating: - A different way to tell a storyI loved the different approach of hearing the story from the perspective of an autistic character. It certainly added a fresh element to the humdrum of a lot of modern fiction. This book was captivating, and I not only wanted to know what happened next, but how it would be perceived by Christopher. If you want something different that's a relaxed and entertaining read, then pick this up. Rating: - Curiouser & CuriouserThis book takes the reader into a different world--the world that seems the same as our world, only this child sees the information in another dimension. The character, Christopher Boone, takes the reader into the world of autism. I am currently using this book with an 8th grade reading group, and we are reading it aloud. Reading the book aloud brings the difference in thinking and processing and the humor and pathos to the table. The kids are fascinated by the out-of-the-norm way this character ... Read More Rating:  - In Poor TasteI'm surprised by the glowing reviews this book got. I really thought it was a terrible diservice to "aspie" people. The boy seems to not care about anyone and the adults in this book are all totally screwed up. I don't like the connection that people are bound to make that the parents of children with autism can't handle the complex life they have been given. While well written in a literary sense, this book leaves you sad and feeling as though people are truly pathetic. Not a good read at all and not ... Read More 
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