The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is told from the perspective of a 15 yr. old boy with Asperger's syndrome (part of the autism spectrum disorder). I actually listened to this book on the way back and forth from my girl's weekend and then I had Carl listen to it as well. Aside from my obvious interest in this book as a parent of a child with autism, this book was really wonderfully written. It starts out as a murder mystery. Christopher (the main character) is trying to find out who murdered a dog in his neighborhood. The plot twists and turns with Christopher's whims as he is writing the story. We do ultimately find out who killed the dog but the main focus of the story is how Christopher lives with his autism on a daily basis and how he finds out more and more about his family. I think our extended family would gain some valuable insights by reading this book. While Caleb is still very young and does not exhibit many of the characteristics of Christopher, Carl and I found it a very good description of what it must be like to live with autism.
Word of warning: This book has a lot of "f" words. Carl and I were discussing this last night. However, the main character is really just narrating word for word what people say to him and for him, these words really have no meaning. They are just so matter of fact. I didn't find it as offensive as I do when reading books where there really is no good reason for the characters to be dropping f bombs every few lines. Other than that, the book is PG (he does talk about an affair--but again, from a perspective that doesn't really understand the details and very matter of fact).
Grade: A. I would give it an A+ if it had less swearing. It might have been different if I had read the book instead of listened to it, though. I can skim over those words in text but on a cd, they just kind of jump out at you.
In conclusion, the other pictures of Eva eating lemons and one of sweet Caleb.
Another Book Review
http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2006/06/another-book-review.html
I agree that was a good book. Did you ever listen to the cd that was broken? I'm curious of what I might have missed. I did really enjoy the book and learned a bit about his aspergers. Good Book!
ReplyDeleteI also thought this was a great book. I picked it up after reading a good review, not even thinking that it might shed some light on my nephew with Asperger's.
ReplyDeleteI've tried recommending the book to a few people since I read it, but I don't think it worked -- the title is so long and unusual that it doesn't work for "word of mouth" recommendations -- people have to see the name written down before it sinks in and they remember the book.
I loved this book. It was amazing. I actually cried at parts of it. It made me rethink how I communicate with the little people in my life who can't possibly understand all the nuances of the activities and expressions around them. Really, it made me a more compassionate mom. I remember wanting to recommend it to you after I read it and then I forgot. I'm glad you found it on your own.
ReplyDeleteCatherine