Possibly my favourite book ever. Read it.

I greatly recommend this book which I read the third week of April of 2008. It is very interesting, literate, and paints a good portrayal of some family’s lives. It also conveys what people with autistic like traits go through in their daily thought processes. Please read this you will most likely love it!

I loved this book, it was something completely different from what I usually read and it had a refreshing quirkiness and bluntness to it. I loved all the little details, the maps, the explainations, the prime numbers. I’m glad I bought it to read instead of getting it from the library – I’ll definately read it again.

I found this book to be utterly pretentious and overrated, especially the main character, who did not seem autistic as much as completely lacking in personality. The chapters being in prime numbers was just annoying.

Worthwhile only for people who are totally unfamiliar with autism. If you, like me, are interested in it and picked up the book hoping to gain more insight into the disorder, or (again, like me) you like murder mysteries and hoped to get a really fresh and interesting take on the genre, you will probably be disappointed by what amounts to fluffy gimmick lit.

Another book that was bought because I was hanging around the airport waiting for a flight. You know the stalls, they have some Dan Brown (yechhh) novellas, some self-help/brain improvement books, some magazines etc.

And this little gem. Written from the perspective of an autistic boy it will drag you in and take you along for the ride. And a good ride it is. It was finished before my flight even took off.

I particularly liked how we never got a complete picture of the other characters in the book. We saw Christopher’s father, mother, and other adults just as he saw them.

I liked it. Autism is both a blessing and a burden. I am reminded somewhat of Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko, which also involves autism, though perhaps to a more serious degree. I agree with many, if not all of the things which Christopher discusses.

This was one of my favorite books ever! And that is saying a lot because I work in a library and I read ALOT!

Before I start talking about this book, I have to say that I sat down to read for 20 minutes before bed. Nearly 2 hours later, I’d read 185 of the 226 pages. Then I sat down as soon as I came home from lunch today to finish it. It’s that gripping.

On one level, it’s a murder mystery, but overall it’s a trip into the fractured mind of an autistic boy, and the traumas of his life that he can’t quite feel. If it doesn’t make your throat constrict with tears at least once… well… It’s fascinating to look at the world from a whole new angle, one where the looks on people’s faces mean nothing, where metaphors are nothing but baffling lies, and where the world closes in on you regularly to a point where you just can’t cope…

It’s fascinating to see ourselves reflected in the way the general public reacts to the main character. Do we lack so much understanding? Do we lack that much empathy?

This book is amazing and touching and drags you along at a breakneck pace.

I’m glad I don’t have to review this book for money, because I’m not quite sure how much more I can say.