Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

28 reviews

buzzinfly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Confinement

meliacartin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

itsatyepo's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

A shocking representation of autistic people by a writer who said that “imagination trumps research” in response when asked if he did any research on autism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

nixtrixz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

vanessatombolini's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Excrement, and Vomit

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nneka23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I found myself smiling or chuckling pretty often as I listened to this book. The narrator did a great job and the writing really helped me get a first-person perspective on what it must be like to be on the Autism Spectrum (called Asperger’s Syndrome back then). I think Mark Haddon wrote this with a very compassionate lens and there are so many people who should read this story. Really well done overall, with a sweet ending. Definitely recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Minor: Death

scoads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A book with more than a few problems and an interesting yet problematic take on autistic stereotypes in young boys, but a very compelling and suspenseful story told from an interesting perspective, very close to my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

cringletimagi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Vomit

camoo3032's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Excrement

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Dementia, Murder, and Alcohol

lawbooks600's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This might be a good book...

Update:

Representation: Character with autism, minor Asian character
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.

I wanted to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time but never got around till now. I had to pick it up when it was time--it was the next book in my TBR. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem intriguing. I headed in, thinking I would read a story about the murder of a dog. However, that is not what I got, and, as a side note, the narrative was okay and nothing too remarkable.

Spoilers ahead. I've warned you.

It starts with the first person I see, Christopher, stumbling upon a deceased dog and wanting to discover who killed it. The unique aspect of this fictional composition is that Christopher has autism. The prime-numbered chapters were an appreciated touch as they made The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time stand out, but the story's entirety isn't solely dedicated to solving the dog murder mystery. Only the first half is dedicated to that. The second half revolves around Christopher going to London after stumbling upon a deeper mystery. Christopher discovers her mother is alive and not deceased as his father said. Toward the last 200 pages, Christopher sets off alone to London, and he eventually finds his mother. The conclusion wasn't satisfying enough for me as it petered out rather than ending with a bang. I couldn't connect or relate to Christopher or any of the other characters in this piece of fiction, even though Christopher has autism. The authenticity isn't guaranteed either as it's unclear whether the author also has autism. 

Well. To summarise, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time promised to be an intriguing murder mystery, but it subverted my expectations when I read half of it, and it cannot be trusted as an accurate portrayal of neurodiversity. You'd be better off reading genuine neurodivergent novels like Please Don't Hug Me and A Kind of Spark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Full trigger warnings: Death of a mother from a heart attack and another person in the past mentioned, child abuse, physical assault and injury, blood depiction