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Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers.
Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork. Wellington's owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, and has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his investigations, and the result--quirkily illustrated, with each chapter given its own prime number--is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Haddon's novel is a startling performance. This is the sort of book that could turn condescending, or exploitative, or overly sentimental, or grossly tasteless very easily, but Haddon navigates those dangers with a sureness of touch that is extremely rare among first-time novelists. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is original, clever, and genuinely moving: this one is a must-read. --Jack Illingworth, Amazon.ca
Book Description
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.
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Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions.
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. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order, and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher's carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.
Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents' marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher's mind.
And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon's choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.
"Mark Haddon's portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement. He is a wise and bleakly funny writer with rare gifts of empathy."
IAN McEWAN, AUTHOR OF
ATONEMENT AND AMSTERDAM
"I have never read anything quite like Mark Haddon's funny and agonizingly honest book, or encountered a narrator more vivid and memorable. I advise you to buy two copies; you won't want to lend yours out."
ARTHUR GOLDEN, AUTHOR OF
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
"The Curious Incident brims with imagination, empathy, and vision -- plus it's a lot of fun to read."
MYLA GOLDBERG, AUTHOR OF
BEE SEASON
Customer Reviews:
Light read.......2007-10-10
Light, pretty easy ready. Mark does a great job of narrating from an autistic teen's POV. However, that was about it for me. Didn't get too wrapped up in the actual story line, I just enjoyed the frame of reference.
Awesome book!.......2007-10-09
Mark Haddon is skilled at narrating from the point of view of Christopher, an autistic boy. The story of Christopher's investigation weaves in math and numbers. Personally, I love math, and I finished this book in 2 days during a busy weekend! This book is great for all readers: light and amusing.
How the mind works.......2007-10-07
"It was 7 minutes after midnight." Every detail matters in the solution of the mystery of the neighbor's murdered dog, which is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. That's partly because the detective on the case is Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old boy with autism, a penchant for numbers, a genius for math, and a determination to solve the mystery and write a book.
Clues abound, but Christopher's strictly literal view of the world prevents him from seeing or understanding them, even as he records them. In his mind, metaphors are "lies," and phrases like "raining cats and dogs" and "you'll catch your death from cold" are incomprehensible nonsense. As the story behind Wellington's death unfolds, Haddon masterfully gives the reader the clues that escape Christopher while allowing him to pursue the more logical details he does understand and to get help with the more subtle ones.
Along the way, Christopher offers insight into the autistic mind and people's reaction to it. While he cannot read emotions or pick up on verbal cues and body language (unless they are explained to him; for example, he knows that a raised voice may indicate anger), his mind processes details the average person would miss. While we might see cows and some flowers in a field, he knows how many cows, he can draw each of their individual patterns, and he can name the species of flowers.
Just as Christopher doesn't understand why everyone won't or can't notice these important details, the people he encounters, while quickly picking up that he is different, can't figure out how and adjust themselves. His working-class father tries to, but his understanding of his son seems limited to an intellectual rather than an emotional one. He knows that Christopher hates to be touched and is wise enough to develop a hand signal that signifies love in lieu of a hug, but he doesn't understand at an emotional level the pain that touch causes his son. Not surprisingly, he can become frustrated when Christopher can't behave in the normal way. If Christopher's perception is limited by autism, his father's is limited to what he knows and can see. He cannot feel what it's like to be Christopher any more than Christopher can figure out that his father's quiet, slow speech indicated tightly controlled anger.
As Christopher works on the mystery and his book, he learns how to do things he may not have thought possible; for example, he survives the ordeal of going to a crowded train station and traveling alone. More significantly, he learns how to twist and withhold the truth when necessary. When his father makes him promise not to do something, Christopher rationally determines what he can and cannot do within the very literal sense of the promise, thereby breaking it in spirit. As he pursues his investigation, he seems to grasp that he is on questionable ground according to his own standards, even as he senses that the mystery is important enough to justify his rationalizations. By the end, he can say with pride and with some truth, "I can do anything."
Haddon uses a simple technique to convey the linear, mathematical nature of Christopher's mind and thought process; as the story builds, Christopher begins many if not most of his sentences with "and." "And I bent down . . . And I walked after him . . . And someone said . . . And I said . . . And the man . . . And then I heard . . ." The use of "and" not only sounds genuine, but it is also additive--that is, mathematical. For someone who squares numbers in his head to stay calm, "and" is one way to manage the sensory and emotional overload he encounters in his quest to determine the killer.
Only someone who is autistic can say whether Haddon has captured the thought process and emotions accurately. Even if The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is not a complete insight into the autistic mind, it is a valuable one, and a reminder that not everyone sees the world we see in exactly the same way we do.
©Diane L. Schirf
7 October 2007
Inside a Different Kind of Head.......2007-09-30
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" is a fascinating novel about an autistic teenager who runs away from home. The story is narrated by the disabled teen himself, so the reader is immersed in a world of bizarre obsessions and pointless details, where other human beings are question marks and math problems are a safe haven from the onslaught of unfiltered perceptions. The book is unsentimental -- the narrator never "outgrows" his autism and his parents are hapless and selfish -- yet it succeeds in expanding our minds and deepening our conception of humanity. It does so by giving a vivid human voice to a mentally disabled person. No one who takes the message to heart will ever dismiss a lost soul holding his hands over his ears and groaning in a crowded public place as a "freak."
That said, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" is not a conventional novel. Since the narrator is autistic, all of the descriptions are flat, the characters are undeveloped, and the dialogue is stenographic. There are long passages like this:
"Then I imagined a red line on the floor and I walked over to the wall where there was a poster which was a list of places to go and it was alphabetical and I saw 'Willesden Green' and it said '$2.20' and then I went to one of the machines and there was a little screen which said 'Press Ticket Type' and I pressed the button that most people had pressed, which was 'Adult Single' and '$2.20,' and the screen said 'Insert $2.20' and I put three '$1 coins ' into the slot and there was a clinking noise and the screen said 'Take a Ticket and Change' and there was a ticket in a little hole at the bottom of the machine and a $.50 coin and a $.20 coin and a $.10 coin and I put the coins in my pocket and I went up to one of the gray gates and I put my ticket into the slot and it sucked it in and it came out on the other side of the gate." ['$' has been substituted for the 'Pound' sign.]
I'm sure this monotonous passage, so filled with meaningless literal details, faithfully recreates the way autistic people perceive the world. But while writing like this can be justified as verisimiltude, it started to eat into my enjoyment of the book after 100 pages or so. The bottomline is that "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" probably works better as phenomenology than as fiction. But it should definitely be read.
An insightful novel........2007-09-26
Mark Haddon does a good job of writing as an autistic child. You really feel like you know what it is like to be in Christopher's mind. A few parts were a little boring, they went into a lot of description about nothing interesting, but that's Christopher's mind at work. You can forgive the boring parts because it's all part of how Christopher thinks. Well done!
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Average customer rating:
- Super Cute
- Blue's a Hit
- Blue goes to sleep...like all children do...
- Sleepy Time With Blue.
- Good NIght Blue
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Good Night Blue (Blues Clues)
Angela C. Santomero
Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon
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Binding: Board book
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ASIN: 0689829507 |
Book Description
Look for additional Blue's Clues books -- board books, sticker books, and more!
Customer Reviews:
Super Cute.......2007-04-12
This book is cute and the perfect bedtime story for my 2 year old. There are several "bedtime" plots among the Blue's Clues set and they all do a good job of easing into slumber land by coming to a peaceful place at the end of the story.
Blue's a Hit.......2007-03-02
I know Blue's biggest fan. His name is Jaylon and he's 19 months old. Blue can do no wrong and this book does not disaapoint. Steve and Blue take you through Blue's bedtime ritual. The steps are simple, the pictures are colorful, it's small enough to carry around and the book is sturdy enough to withstand eight teeth.
Blue goes to sleep...like all children do..........2007-02-12
A nice bedtime story for your child. She asks for Blue all the time.
Sleepy Time With Blue........2006-08-23
Good Night Blue is a great book to read prior to nap time or bed time. The book shows Blue going potty, brushing his teeth, and getting ready for bed. Children get a great story, and get to learn about all the things they need to do before going to bed.
The book is sturdy and well made, and is fun to read. My 2 daughters love this book.
Good NIght Blue.......2006-08-17
I am sure that every preschool child would like to have this book.
Customer Reviews:
Insight Into Aspergers Syndrome.......2007-05-14
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is fictionally authored by Christopher, a 15 year old boy with Asperger's Disorder - a pervasive developmental disorder. Opening with a curious and dark incident, the story develops into a sometimes humorous, heartwarming and even disturbing narrative following Christopher on his journey. I enjoyed this light and easy-to-read novel. It allows insight into the supposed world of a boy with a form of Autism. This quick and light book would be perfect reading for an airplane flight!
Extremely Raw - and a Super read.......2007-01-01
In a murder, there is usually one mystery to solve, even though plots are far-fetched and convoluted. This murder (of the dog mentioned in the title) has the actual killing, the highly involved world of the detective, and the question of whether "they all live happily ever after" to unravel.
I read this book on recommendation after hearing a very inspiring talk by a Danish gentleman at a software testing conference. His story concerned a company that employed predominantly autistic people. Whilst autism and the less severe Asperger's Syndrome are not the same, there are many similarities. Mark Haddon`s tale does not describe life as a sufferer of AS (Asberger's Syndrome), but more lets the reader experience it. For the story is told in the first person by a 15-year old.
Most people will have come across autistic or AS people, possibly at school, but the condition is only more common today because it is better understood. However, never has society been so excluding of people who do not conform. The 15 year-old Christopher lives in his own world. His world is conveyed very powerfully though the chain of events that begins with him finding a neighbour's dead dog. I had already worked out the unusual chapter numbering by the time this is described, and the narrative is also about writing a book, with a very understanding teacher at the special school giving advice and encouragement.
The killing of the dog is solved in the middle of the book, not by sleuthing, but by confession, and this leads to a paradigm-change for Christopher. Notwithstanding that, the book is a story, a mystery, a parable and a warning for all readers. It may make you feel guilty about how you treated others in the past, but I hope it inspires you to act differently, to consider that the vast majority of individuals have a useful contribution to make to society, and to understand the massive pressures that having a disadvantaged child bring to a once-loving, stable relationship.
Most of all, seeing an AS person, with obsessive behaviour and a compartmentalised world, may help us all realise that autism is not a disease. It is a spectrum. Most of us are on that spectrum, somewhere. Many are further to the autism end than they would have realised hitherto.
Read it. It will do you good.
Peter Morgan, Bath, UK (morganp@supanet.com)
An absolute gem.......2006-12-30
As a person who works with people with autism, I found this book sensitive, touching, and extremely accurate (from an external point of view). I can only surmise that the people who find it "boring" or "poorly written" haven't spent much time in the company of people like Christopher. Otherwise they may see the simple brilliance.
Just a note to other reviewers. Autistic is not a noun. It is an adjective. Referring to a person with Asperger's or another form of ASD as an "autistic" is extremely offensive.
Good overall, but I expected more.......2006-12-28
As a novel from the point of view of an autistic child, "Curious Incident" is an ambitious attempt, but in the end, it left me curiously unsatisfied. The autistic point of view didn't "feel" completely true to me (though I don't pretend to have any special knowledge of its effects; I'm just speaking literarily). It seemed a bit consciously gimmicky. But overall, it was good. Just not quite a top-tier effort. Worth reading, but probably not worth re-reading.
Five stars for being so different as well as a well written book!.......2006-09-01
I really liked that it was 'Christopher's book' we were reading. It made me view things I do naturally as part of social communication, such as laughing to put someone at ease, in a totally different way. Actions like that or touching someone in a friendly manner has a completely different effect on Christopher.
Christopher is a really likable character and you can sympathise with his confusion in this mixed up, top speed world we live in and understand his actions totally, yet at the same time we could understand the thoughts and reactions that strangers showed.
He's such a thinker too and I loved his thoughts on metaphors being lies "...a pig is not like a day and people do not have skeletons in their cupboards." and different facial expressions and how they can mean so many different things...I found myself trying them out! :D
Although I don't have a family member with Asperger's, I do have a brother who is special like Christopher and I could certainly relate to the need for organisation and routine in his life and there were many points in the book that made me smile.
Haddon helps us view situations from all points of view and it was refreshing.
Book Description
"I have a dog. Nothing exotic or special, just an ordinary dog. In fact, I always thought he was a boring dog. What I mean is, he can fetch, roll over, and shake hands, but mostly he sleeps and eats."
Or so the little boy in this story thinks, until one morning when he opens the door a little early and sees his dog jump out of a limousine. That night he decides to follow his dog, and that's when the fun starts.
Before he knows it, he has entered the little known world of doggy glamour. His dog, distinctly reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart, treats him to a nighttime adventure where he learns where dogs go to relax and sees what they do while their masters are fast asleep. A terrific read aloud, Nina Laden's story will have everyone captivated by the coolest dog around.
Customer Reviews:
excellent to stimulate writing.......2006-07-29
I love this book for a few reasons. One, it is whimsical and very tongue-in-cheek. The dog's 'life' is a great example of personification and a great lead-in for explaining 'voice' to my students when teaching them the process of writing. It helps them 'see' (due to the unigue style of font use) and 'hear' the dog and its feelings in a very clever way. This book has opened many avenues of creativity for my students and really helps them be better creative writers. I read some of the previous reviews and was a bit surprised at the negative comments. As a teacher, I feel kids should be encouraged to read and read often. The language is not immature and actually introduces some good vocabulary, which gets students looking to find out what they mean and how to use them. I think this book is a must for all elementary school classrooms. I have one in mine and highly recommend it. All my students have loved it and I do, too.
Just didn't do it for me.............2005-08-19
The catchy cover and title of this book attracted me to it. I read the rave reviews and decided I had to buy it. I'm disappointed but I'm not sure why. I'm sure my kids will like it which of course is the point, however, if your child is a pre-reader, you may groan at having to read this book too often. It's not that it's technically that bad, has a bad moral or anything like that....it's just so, so. The illustrations are nice enough but the story is lacking something, but I'm not sure what...it's just not that interesting..... The text is not written in a standard font, but is interspersed with graphics reminiscent of rebus style puzzles (they are not exactly rebuses but I can't think of the correct word!). At first I thought "that's cute but by the end of the quite long text it had started to become a bit irritating. This is a book that you'd be happy enough to borrow from the library, read and return but I really wish I'd spent my money on another title from my wish list.
This dog's life..........2005-08-18
When a boy discovers his canine returning home one early morning, "stepping out of a limousine and wearing a tuxedo", he is determined to discover what is going on. For the dog in question, life is anything but predictable. Late that night, after his pet retires to his dog house in the back yard, the boy quietly follows, hoping for a clue about his pet's late-night activities. The first thing he notices is that this is no ordinary dog house. Unchanged from the outside, inside there is an elegant living room, a well-appointed bathroom, even a closet filled with fancy clothes. As the boy watches, the dog in question dresses up in his finery, is picked up by a limo and arrives at a secluded club called "The Doghouse". The boy peddles furiously on his bicycle to keep up with the progress of the limo.
The boy is shocked when he discovers his pet's after-hours occupation: the dog runs a club where other dogs come to be entertained, relax and talk about their problems, before returning to the daily tedium of guarding the family home, patrolling the yard, chasing cats and sleeping in the shade. The boy is treated to a tour of the club and even receives a picture with his pet in a luxurious booth. What an eye opening experience! Stunned by all he has learned about the secret life of his dog, the boy peddles home with new appreciation of his best friend's entrepreneurial spirit. This delightful combination of graphic text and energetic illustrations create a lively adventure, as a young boy's world opens up with a sly sense of humor and imagination. The canines are charming, from the handsome star of the story to the slinky poodle and the camera-toting afghan in her hot pink evening gown. After the sun goes down, it's a dog's life. Luan Gaines/2005.
DISAPPOINTING.......2005-02-09
ANOTHER BOOK W/ RAVE REVIEWS THAT I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE GREAT, THE STORY A CLEAVER IDEA, BUT OVERALL IT'S JUST SO-SO. NOT A BOOK TO RE-READ. INSTEAD, TRY TAXI DOG & HARRY THE DIRTY DOG.
Great, Great, Great!.......2003-10-03
This book is wonderful! I am a substitute teacher and I carry this book with me just in case. My classes, 1st - 5th, love to listen to this story. It lifts their spirits and gets them giggling. It has saved me many times!
Book Description
Every Night, Josephine!, originally published in 1963, may not have nearly as much pill-popping and sex as Valley of the Dolls, the book that made its author a sensation. But it is definitely Jacqueline Susann all the way—witty and full of dead-on observations.
After exploring the crazy world of pedigree dogs, Susann finally acquires a magnificent poodle, Josephine. The pampered poodle soon secures the dominant role in this budding relationship—and as our hirsute heroine dances through a ballet of network TV appearances, sidewalk encounters with Garbo, and doggy-bags from Sardi's, even Susann's dog-hating husband submits to her canine charms. Fans of Jacqueline Susann, kitsch lovers, and pet pamperers alike will be helpless to resist this laugh- out-loud classic.
Customer Reviews:
My first real book.......2007-02-01
My Dad let me buy this book in the 60's at a used book bin ouside the Playboy Club in Boston. I was 11. This was the first book I ever bought and I was thrilled. I got it home and Mom grabbed it out of my hand and gave Dad a "look"...Jacqueline Suzanne?? I will never forget this book. And I'm buying it again because I have no idea where it is now. I think I read it about 5 times in my life. Love it. A funny story that made me want a poodle so badly my parents went nuts. They got a German Shepherd instead and I never forgave them!
Poodle Perfect.......2000-01-30
I read a story from Josephine to my babies, Kier Royale and Mimosa, everynight for their bedtime story. Their rapt attention never waivers as I unravel the tales of a penthouse poodles escapades in the big city. To two glamour gals from Hollywood, Josephine represents the sophisticated chic that is New York society. Sweet Dreams.
still a fresh, funny book.......1999-08-08
what can you say about this book? jackie escaped from her novels of sex, seconals, and scandal twice, and the results were in my opinion, her best efforts: YARGO and EVERY NIGHT JOSEPHINE! this book was funny, easy to read, and reread, and just plain entertainment. ms susann never aspired to be a shakespeare or hemingway, and her delightful books should be appreciated for what they are. personally, i think its sad that her life was cut short, i would love to have seen my collection of her books growing every year as my stephen king collection currently does.
Update on Josephine.......1998-10-05
Many years ago, I came across "Every Night Josephine" by adult novelist Jacqueline Susann. While I considered myself a "cat person" I couldn't help but get caught up in the lives of this adorable French poodle and her author-owner. The way the author laid out the story and related the experiences of this pampered pet as she hobnobbed with showbiz celebrities was rich in detail and description. I could actually picture the little dog chowing down on Hershey Kisses in a New York City penthouse or upstaging her mistress during a television appearance. THE END.
Funny, even if you don't love dogs.......1998-09-27
I can't imagine any circumstance under which I could ever bring myself to read VALLEY OF THE DOLLS or any of the other novels Jacqueline Susann wrote, but this account of life with her beloved pet poodle is energetic and funny, and her account of her attempts to by a pedigree, registered dog is a minor comic masterpiece--if you doubt it, pick up any copy of the AKC monthly magazine; the process is not only just as baroque and ridiculous as Susann makes it sound, it's actually a bit more so . . .
Average customer rating:
- Marcus' review on Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night
- Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night
- Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night
- Story outlines a family trip.
- Story outlines a family camping trip.
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Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night (Ready-to-Read, Level 2)
Cynthia Rylant
Manufacturer: Aladdin
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Binding: Paperback
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Henry and Mudge and the Snowman Plan
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Henry And Mudge In Puddle Trouble
ASIN: 0689825862 |
Book Description
In this seventeenth book of their adventures, Henry and Mudge go camping with Henry's parents. They'll go on hikes and smell good smells. They'll see deer and raccoons and waterfalls and rainbows. Henry's mother will cook camp food
and Henry's father will sing sappy old songs, and they'll all lie on their backs and look at the stars (except for Mudge -- he'll chew on a log, instead). And at the end of a perfect day, Henry and Mudge will snuggle in their tent and dream wonderful green dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Marcus' review on Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night.......2001-12-07
I liked this book because it's about camping and I like camping. The fish had a great picture. Henry's mother was setting up the camp and the really funny part was when Mudge unpacked a ham sandwich and it looked like a bunch of leaves. His dad brought his guitar and a smile on his face because he was happy to be camping. It was funny when Henry and Mudge thought that there were bears so they were hugging each other. I thought it was a good book because in the end Mudge does something really funny but you have to read the book to find out what it is.
Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night.......2000-06-28
We have every one of the Henry and Mudge books and have been reading them to our daughter since she was two. She is four now and she still loves them. We would reccommend these books for both boys and girls. There is a Henry and Mudge book for every occassion. Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night is perfect to prepare for a camping trip. The feeling of a campout comes through loud and clear and the story is delightful.
Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night.......2000-05-28
In their 17th adventure together Henry & Mudge go camping with Henry's parent. Out at Big Bear Lake they take A Good Smelly Hike & have some sweet Green Dreams. While Henry's mother organizes the trip because she's been a Camp Fire Girl & Henry's dad brings along his guitar & a willing back, Henry and Mudge imagine what they'll see on their camping trip. Ah, here comes summer - let's go camping together! Great early reader. ()
Story outlines a family trip........1999-06-26
This is the 17th book in the easy-to-read series about a young boy Henry and his St.Bernard, Mudge. These short chapters outline a family camping trip. Loving relationships and peaceful setting combine with colorful drawings for an enjoyable book.
Story outlines a family camping trip........1999-06-23
This is the 17th book in the easy-to-read series abut a young boy Henry and his St. Bernard Mudge. These short chapters outline a family camping trip. Loving relationships and peaceful setting combine with colorful drawings for an enjoyable book.
Average customer rating:
- Great book but we miss "lift the flap"
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Spot: Night-Night, Spot
Eric Hill
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Spot Loves His Daddy (Spot)
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Spot Loves His Mommy (Spot)
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Spot Goes to the Farm
ASIN: 0448438100 |
Book Description
Spot never looks forward to bedtime. He'd much rather stay up late and play with his toys instead! Will Spot ever be sleepy enough to go to bed?
Customer Reviews:
Great book but we miss "lift the flap".......2007-07-30
My little girl is 14 months old and really likes this book. Although she keeps feeling the pages looking for a lift the flap hidden bit! This is because all our other Spot book have this feature!!! Anyhow she loves it and we always read it before she heads off to bed!
Average customer rating:
- Six Years Later
- Raw, powerful narrative
- Kent Anderson does it again
- Bitter Truth
- gritty, beautiful cop story
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Night Dogs
Kent Anderson
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Sympathy for the Devil
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Six Bad Things: A Novel
ASIN: 0553578774
Release Date: 1999-04-06 |
Amazon.com
"Every June 15th out at North Precinct, 'A' relief and graveyard shift started killing dogs. The police brass and local politicians only smiled if they were asked about it, shook their heads, and said it was just another one of those old myths about the precinct. The cops at North Precinct called them 'Night Dogs,' feral dogs, wild and half-wild, who roamed the districts after dark. Their ancestors had been pets, beaten and abandoned by their owners to breed and give birth on the streets." That's the stately, carefully weighted language and metaphor that begins what James Crumley (The Last Good Kiss) calls "the best cop novel I have ever read." Of course, the "night dogs" are not only the roaming canines but also the people from the rougher neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon--most particularly the police who work out of North Precinct. Seen through the eyes of a patrolman named Hanson, a Vietnam vet who thought he had seen the worst the world had to offer over there but is proved wrong every day, the story at first seems episodic, unconnected. But gradually all the threads of anger and pain come together to create an unforgettable picture of urban angst. Author Kent Anderson, who was a Vietnam vet and a Portland policeman in the 1970s, says that some readers might find his book disturbing or offensive: "The truth sometimes affects people that way." Then he adds a chilling footnote: "Things are much worse now than they were in 1975."
Book Description
Former police officer Kent Anderson, author of the memorable Vietnam War novel
Sympathy for the Devil, returns with a powerful new novel about a Vietnam-vet cop who still carries the war inside himself. Searing and brutally honest,
Night Dogs plunges us into the free-fire zones of our cities, where the legendary thin blue line is breaking down.
The North Precinct of Portland, Oregon, is home to two kinds of cops: sergeants and lieutenants who've screwed up somewhere else, and patrolmen who thrive on the action on the Avenue. Officer Hanson is the second kind, a veteran who has traded his Bronze Star for a badge. War is what Hanson knows, and in this battle for Portland's meanest streets, he's fighting not so much for the law as for his own code of justice.
Hanson is a man who seems to fear nothing--except his own memories. And it is his past that could destroy him now: An enemy in the department is determined to bring him down by digging into his war record and resurrecting the darkest agonies of that nightmare time. And Hanson himself risks everything--his career, his equilibrium, even his life--when the only other survivor of his Special Forces unit comes back into his life. Doc Dawson is a drug dealer and a killer...but he's the one man Hanson can trust.
Night Dogs is an extraordinary work from a powerful and authentic voice in American fiction. Recoiling from the violence that Hanson deals with every day, the violence that is in Hanson, readers will also understand the compassion that drives him. A novel remarkable for its razor-sharp characterizations and dialogue, its freshness of observation,
Night Dogs--and Hanson--will remain etched in the memory for a long time to come.
Customer Reviews:
Six Years Later.......2007-01-03
I first wrote a review of this novel over six years ago when I was a brand new police officer. I had problems with the book. But back then what did I know about police work? Nothing.
Skip ahead to the present and I find that this book is more truthful than I realized. Though he was only a cop for a few years Anderson manages to capture the essence or truth (that's an overused word)of police work.
Now I haven't been involved with any questionable shootings and I don't carry a throw-away piece, but the changes that a person goes through after a few years are accurate. The anger, the sense of isolation and disgust that one comes to feel towards the citizenry are dead on.
A cop gets to wade chest deep int the ugliest areas of our society. A cop isn't loved like a firefighter. It's inevitable and we all tell ourselves that we don't care, but there are times that it sets our teeth on edge. Almost nobody really likes or isn't bothered by hatred or disdain. the anger that comes from this situation is made even greater when people who are so vocal in their criticism of cops are the first to dial 911 when something bad is going on. Hypocriscy at it's finest.This and other situations will affect a cop and how he approaches things.This book shows that and more.
The novel is set in the early seventies but nothing has changed. Its a grim job and Anderson captures it. It's also a job that I won't ever quit even during the worse of days Anderson dosen't see it that way, but nevertheless it's an accurate book. Read it and you'll have a better idea of what cops experience and feel.
Raw, powerful narrative.......2006-10-08
Lots of raw, in-the-trenches writing about a street cop. Over 500 pages long (paperback), I was impressed how the narrative hung together. Not sure it's a police procedural although much of the action takes place during the cop's work day. All in all, a terrific read that goes fast. And I like that the loner cop takes in a dog.
Kent Anderson does it again.......2006-08-17
Kent Anderson is one of the most clever writers I have come across. I first read Sympathy for the Devil years ago and have read it numerous times since. Anderson tells an interesting tale in a uniquely humourous way, but he also injects into the book an ongoing commentary on the human psyche and his understanding of it is nothing short of brilliant. Hanson is also a very likeable character.
I bought Night Dogs recently and I have only one very great regret about the book .... that it had to have an end. It is a work of true genius. Anderson again gets inside your head and chronicles all of your inner hates, prejudices, fears and rage. Typical of this was the scene where Hanson hammered the dog to death with his torch. You could feel his pain and rage. He wanted to kill the dog to spare it the pain of living just as he wanted the pain of his own life to end. The dog only knew that Hanson was hurting him and he felt revulsion towards himself for doing it, but he had to do it because if the dog suffered as Hanson himself did it was better off dead. Just do it and stop the pain.
I'm glad he used the Hanson character again because it made Night Dogs all the more enjoyable. But do yourself a favour, don't read Night Dogs until you have read Sympathy for the Devil. If you don't, you may not enjoy Night Dogs because you won't be able to identify with Hanson and his experiences as a cop won't have as much meaning.
I can't wait for the next Hanson book.
Bitter Truth.......2006-04-15
There are a lot of reasons not to read Kent Anderson's "Night Dogs". Aging Viet Nam War protestors, dusting off old placards and tired slogans to recycle for the War in Iraq, will be infuriated with Anderson's laser-focused skewering of the liberal mindset. Those wishing to maintain a romantic view of an idyllic northwest paradise will risk having these illusions shattered by Anderson's Portland's mean streets of depravity and violence. If you prefer neat little stories ending with the bad guys rightfully dispatched, you'll find little redemption here. And anyone with the slightest affection for dogs or kids will cringe in the raw reality of this unvarnished tail of a street cop's nightly grind in post-Viet Nam America. So while there are lots of reasons not to read "Night Dogs", you'd be missing a powerful example of American fiction at its best, a gut-wrenching and emotionally draining dissection of pop culture disguised as a crime novel.
Street cop "Hanson" is a unique and tragic hero - an Army Special Forces veteran from Viet Nam, returning to test his well-honed skills for survival and violence in Portland's worst neighborhoods. Loosely autobiographical, the two decades that have passed since the end of the war and the writing of "Night Dogs" have done little to blunt the ferocity and passion of Anderson's lean prose. Far from Dirty Harry, Anderson's stoic and cynical loner Hanson delivers his brand of street justice without theatrics - he is simply the cop on his beat doing his job while doing his best to bury the daily horror show of his life with drugs, alcohol, and rough sex. Non linear with little allegiance to a central plot, the reader is led in stops and starts from the jungles of Viet Nam to the night shift in a Portland patrol car. Make no mistake - this is not a "pleasant" read. Brutal and violent - the "dog lab" is one of the most disturbing chapters of fiction I've ever read - Anderson pulls no punches and offers no apologies. "Night Dogs" may shock you, it may enrage you, it may make you cry, but it will also make you better understand and appreciate a period of American history many of us would just as soon forget.
gritty, beautiful cop story.......2006-02-16
I don't read cop books, or anything in the crime genre, including detectives. Just no interest. I started 'Night Dogs' working a graveyard shift and bored to tears and I took it home with me and finished it in one sit. Kent's is not an average cliche-ridden cop tale. His portrait of Portland and cops and perps is gritty and brutal and beautiful and feels through and through authentic. The story builds to it's climax without skipping a beat and I thought it was frankly unnerving. Kent's writing is easy and confident and he spins his story well. I don't read cop books because I find them so horribly cliche-bent and bland and predictable. This was none of those things. If more cop books were written to the tune of 'Night Dogs', I'd read them all. Great read.
Book Description
Illus. in full color. A dog and his pet cat share good-night kisses and playful dreams until morning wakes them, in this bedtime story for youngest beginning readers.
Customer Reviews:
Cute Book.......2007-01-08
This is a very cute book for small children and those beginning to read. Makes a wonderful bedtime story when it is late and there is no time for a longer one. My daughter loves it.
Sleepy Dog.......2003-12-17
This book is great. It's easy to read, and very cute. I think it's a great beginners book.
Best kids book EVER written hands down!.......2002-12-07
This was the book I learned to read with. It is still my favorite, even though I am now 18. I buy it for ALL baby gifts. No words can describe how fun this book is. MUST BUY!!! :)
Couldn't live without it!.......2001-07-14
Just as a previous reviewer stated, I am ordering a second copy of this book. I bought it on a whim when my son was 6 mos old. He's a little over two now and still wants this book read EVERY night as part of his routine.
The big pictures and easy words are a great learning tool. It's just enough to stimulate interest but not overstimulate. The length is pretty good too.
Definately worth the money!
We love Sleepy Dog.......2000-01-09
Sleepy Dog has eased our child into bedtime every night for over a year.The book contains recognizable subject matter for even the youngest of children. It even brings up a nightmare in a very lighthearted way, so as not to frighten children. This book has prevented our child from ever having a traumatic bedtime experience. Thumbs up!
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