The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Unabridged)

An excellent book

I had this book recommended by a friend, although she had read it hard copy rather than the audio version. I was somewhat wary of the book to be honest as I have an autistic son, and wondered how exactly it would unfold, would it make those who suffer from autism sound like weirdos? Would it just caricature them? Instead what I got was a superb piece of writing which gives anyone who does not know someone who is autistic a view of the world they try to make sense of in a sensitive manner. The book isn't really there to explore autism but does give a perspective that non-sufferers can understand. I can identify with the characters that are well written and believable and I found myself really caring for the them and wanting things to work out, for my money the true mark of a writer is how good they are in creating engaging characters and I must admit I felt that Mark Haddon excels in this. Any audiobook is only as good as the narrator and I felt that Ben Tibber was first class. Thanks to both the author and narrator, I really enjoyed this book.

21 of 21 people found this review helpful

Fantastic

This book is one of those that starts you off slowly...almost turned it off at one point and gave up. It is an amazing insight into the mind of a child who has aspergers and you really see and understand him. He takes you into his logical mind and explains everything from his perspective. Absolutely fantastic. Didn't want my car journeys to end!

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Original, entertaining and insightful

What a great audiobook! And the dramatisation makes it come to life ? much better than just reading. The main character and narrator Christopher is a delightful creation and the supporting characters are all really well drawn. The book provides an absorbing and believable insight into the mind of a child with Asperger?s and helped me to understand a little more of the challenges of living with this condition and how family members cope. It is simultaneously heart-warming, witty and sad.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Superb!

Where does The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Unabridged) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was my first audiobook. It will be hard to beat though, the young reader made you relate to the vulnerability of the character 'Christopher'.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Unabridged)?

The way the story made listeners understand the difficulties that people with aspergers and those around them are affected.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes if I had time I would have listened all at once.

Any additional comments?

At first was sceptical with having a son with aspergers. A good friend recommended and so I bought this title. This was well put together and didn't humiliate persons with this condition but empathises and educates those with no or little understanding of ASD. I would recommend anyone to read/listen to this book. I thought the child that read the part of Christopher was a good choice and helped you realise the vulnerability and reminded you of his age. Excellent

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A great audiobook

Untill i started listening to the audiobook i had no idea what it was about. For the benefit of others I will say its a first person account of the thoughts of an autistic boy which are sotiimes amusing, sometimes surprising, sometimes totally insane- but always honestly potraying what it must be to suffer from such a socially disabling disease and its implications for his family and society. Where the book excels is the excellent full cast narration - you can feel the warmth and emotions of all the characters. There is some background music appropriate to the narration, its reasonably fast paced and leaves you with some basic human values to reflect on.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Beautifully produced. Wonderfully read

Beautifully produced. Wonderfully read by young Mark Haddon. Although much younger that the main character it communicates his moving innocence

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent audiobook- one big flaw

This is an absolutely fantastic audiobook. It is dramatised just enough to paint an incredibly realistic portrait of the events of the book, and mostly comprises of other actors playing the parts other than Christopher (the narrator) and minimal sound effects- creaking garden doors, car engines, train stations etc. all of which help bring the story to life without drawing attention away from the plot.

There is one massive problem I personally have, and that is that the voice actor for Christopher is a child of around 9-10. Since the character is supposed to be 15 this is incredibly jarring, particularly if this is the first time you have heard this story (as it was for me); it makes you think of the character in a different light than should be, making small things for a 15 year old seem huge and the more childish parts of his personality seem less of a concern. Again, this is find if you have read the book or seen the play, and is an interesting artistic choice, but distracts and confused more than it is worth.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not what I expected

This book is really very interesting, I have an autistic grandson - and it is really fascinating to hear about the way that the autistic mind works. I recognised so much of this child's behaviour.



I find it fascinating that the author can be SO aware of this mindset, he must have close experience.



I do realise that there was no mention of autism in the novel, but it is apparent that this is the factor involved.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

great book & reader, annoying musical interludes

this is a really great book, and mark haddon is an excellent reader. the only problem i have with it is the grating musical interludes which are meant to signal separate parts of the text - breaks between chapters or something. my problem with these are as follows: 1) they are irritating little earworms which sound like they have been played with one finger on a very early model Casio organ, or one of those novelty electronic keyboard-kazoo instruments, set to 'Oboe' 2) as it is not possible to ascertain what exactly they are meant to be signaling, a simple brief silent pause would do just as well. audio book listeners are not idiots, if the sound goes quiet for a moment we are not going to think the download is broken
3) they jar horribly with the mood of the book and cumulatively threaten to ruin it

do not let this put you off- the book is really, really good and this is otherwise a great recording - i'm writing this in the hope that whoever makes these books will cease and desist from horrid little 'innovations' like this that are meant to guide and/or enhance- but in fact have a highly detrimental impact on- the listening experience

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Great

Great story with great reading. I read this fascinating book a few years ago and really loved. This performance impressed me as much as the book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful