Rating: 1/5
Official Synopsis: 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. And he detests the color yellow.
This improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.
My Review
Plot: While the book’s mystery started off very engaging, I soon felt very weary of the unrelated tangents the story suddenly followed. The absolute blandness of the setting prevented me from fully empathizing with Christopher, and I felt exasperated by his decisions. The ending was disappointing.
Characters:
Christopher is a young
autistic boy living with his father, Ed. I liked his initiative in uncovering
the murder of his neighbor’s dog, but his “groaning” and naïve personality
grated on me.
Ed is Christopher’s
single father who lies to his son about Judy, Christopher’s mother. He is
portrayed as impulsive and plain. Pretty boring.
Judy whom Christopher
believes has died of a heart attack before the book’s start had been having an
affair with Mr. Shears and moved out, a truth Christopher attempts to uncover.
Relationships/ Romance: The family relationships between Christopher and his father were simple and very realistic. His more complicated relationship with his mother was explored in an uninteresting, trite way that ended with an unsatisfying resolution. Judy’s relationship with Mr. Shears seemed short-lived and devoid of true emotion, fitting for their break-up. I sympathized with Christopher’s feelings of terror and distrust towards his father by the end, still reeling from the fact that ED HAD VICIOUSLY MURDERED A DOG!
Writing Style: Rather lengthy and divergent from the plot.
Ending: This book ended rather happily with Christopher taking his A-levels and meeting his mother again.
The Star-worthy Aspects: I had heard a lot of good reviews regarding the book’s treatment of social disability. The mystery being solved by an autistic protagonist seemed interesting.
The Deficiencies: I felt completely detached from the novel and getting through the writing was a dreadful ordeal. The mystery was solved early on and with little suspense.
Rating and Closing Remarks: I would not recommend this book to anyone. It receives a 1/5 rating from me for being tedious and melodramatic.
Bonus Points: The Monty Hall problem (as I had
previously learned from The Drunkard’s
Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow – a good read
though long!) was described!
Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors. Behind one door is a car, behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say #1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say #3, which has a goat. He says to you, "Do you want to pick door #2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice of doors?
Check the answer here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant#The_Monty_Hall_problem
Learn about the play adaptation on its website: http://www.curiousonstage.com/ and
its trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9lEsUYlTU0
-S
