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Reviews tagging 'Cursing'
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
59 reviews
I also appreciate and don't appreciate Christopher's narrative. He's autistic and you can clearly read that with his very straightforward narrative, which makes it a pretty easy read. I'm glad some of what he said reminded me of myself or my autistic friends, for example, he wrote out a schedule of his day for what he will do every 30 minutes or so and that's exactly what I did as a kid--schedules are still greatly important to me and they reassure me, just as they do for Christopher. However, there is A LOT of logical and math equations throughout the book and it ALL went over my head because I'm just dumb like that lol.
This is also a very British book as a heads up too lmao. Christopher actually goes off about how he loves Sherlock Holmes, which I think is so funny because how Christopher says he "disconnects his mind from reality" so he doesn't get overwhelmed is so BBC Sherlock. This was written before that crazy show though. Also, someone before me wrote in pencil changes to Christopher's facts about the Hounds of Baskervilles which I love that someone out there is a mega fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work and went "uhm actually" - we're all a little autistic/ADHD fr <3
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Vomit, Murder, Abandonment
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Vomit
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Death of parent
Graphic: Cursing
At first I was very investigated in finding out who killed the dog, though I realised sooner, than the story intended to reveal it, who it was. This wasn't really bad, after all the story wasn't just about a boy trying to be a detective, but much more. Maybe it's 'cause I only expected based on the synopsis that this novel will only be about solving a murder case, but everything that happened after solving the murder was just really exhausting for me to read.
For instance I couldn't understand why it was shown so important for the story to include facts and puzzles as well as mathematical equations for longer than just half a page. About 30% of the book were just totally irrelevant information, which of course was important to understand the main character and his condition better, but at some point it just went overboard, at least in my opinion. What bothered me the most was when other books like the Sherlock Holmes book series were spoilered. Just 'cause it's popular doesn't mean everyone (already) knows everything about it.
As I mentioned above, the plot got really exhausting to read after the murder case was solved. For me at least it was exhausting as a lot of drama happened which I did not expect for this novel. I thought it would be inspiring, yes, but not dramatic. Unfortunately, the tantrums of the main character just made it worse as I also started to feel fed up from them. Especially, as I still ponder if it's even possible to have high-functioning autism and still have such a difficult time to be part of society. I'm by no means autistic myself, so I can't speak for the accuracy of how this condition was shown in this novel, but it still makes me a bit confused how someone with such high intelligence still isn't able to interact with other people probably. At least for me, these are so opposite that it makes no sense to me.
(I understand that not every autistic person is the same as it has a wide spectrum and I don't want to say that just 'cause the protagonist behaves that way that he can't be autistic or anything).
At first I liked Christopher as he was unique in his own way by being autistic (you don't see that often in media), so I was immediately drawn in to him. His way of thinking and behaving made him sympathetic and easy likeable. I know that I mentioned that his tantrums and impulsive actions made me exhausted, but I know that he is still a kid, a teenager, so I think it was done on purpose to make the protagonist more realistic.
I enjoyed the most about this book that it featured neurodivergency and how most of them, if not even all of them, struggle with life and how they find their own path. The story is truly inspiring even if it felt messy at times as well as exhausting due to the immense drama after about 60% in. Christopher grew emotionally and was able to achieve his goals, which made the story and the message it wanted to convey more impactful. I would have wished for the book to not throw in irrelevant information too often and for too many pages as well as an ending where Christopher's father didn't get Sandy, as it made the story seem more ironic than inspiring.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual assault
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Excrement
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol
I grew to like Christopher and want him to succeed. My heart ached for him whenever someone was unkind (either intentionally or not) and when he became too frustrated to continue. I wanted him to succeed and I wanted more people to step up and help him. I also felt so badly for Christopher. He had two truly terrible parents. And I understand that sometimes you reach a breaking point, but to abandon your family? Wow. But on the flip side, his dad is also awful, he just didn't abandon the boy. Killing a dog because you are mad and then being irate that your son (who has autism) is scared of you and doesn't want anything to do with you is a level of hubris that I couldn't stand. Topping it off with lying about his mother's death, Christopher is 100% justified in being afraid and wanting to keep away from the man!
Not all of the characters were awful, though. Mrs. Alexander tried and Siobhan was obviously in Christopher's corner. But they felt like too little to counter the garbage people in his life.
As the story grew to a close, I was glad I had read the book. The story is a product of its time and I would like to believe that <i>most</i> people have moved beyond these prejudices and lack of understanding about autism. But the sad reality is that many people have not and they tend to be the most vocal in the bunch. And this is why this book and this story needs to live on, we aren't ready to set the lessons it gives aside.
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit