I was so excited to read this book:
It sounded so interesting:
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. 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, for which he is initially blamed.
Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, 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.
I LOVE how it started. I was quite taken-in, even after only a few pages. Until I read a not-so-pleasant word. (An F word. My least favorite.) Woah. Ok. Well, that's just one. Maybe they'll be few and far between...I'll keep going just to see. I gave it a good shot. I allowed it 8 pages and finally had to close the book. I ran into 2 F words, 1 D word and a few S words. Not that many, by most people's standards. But too many for me. SO dissappointed. Seriously. I really wanted to read this book. It was turning out to be a very good book with the exception of those few words. Why did the author have to choose those words? Didn't he know that he'd be completely excluding an entire mass of readers by including such vocabulary? It wasn't as bad as the ones I came across in this book:
It was highly recommended by a neighbor friend. I'll remember not to ask her for further recommendations. Quite racy and full of explicits. Darn. Isn't it such a bummer when you get really excited for a good book and have to give up on it?
So, back to my long list of books-to-read. So sad that I have to cross that dog one off so early. I'm hoping for better results from future selections. Up next: Skippy Dies, The Book Thief, and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. Wish me luck (or warn me if you know something I don't). :)
5 comments:
The Curious Incident. I read this. I too was disappointed by the f word just a few pages in. I kept going. The bad language stopped probably just a few pages past where you stopped. But it picked up again here and there and then there's a bunch more of it at the end.
I'm glad I read the book, but by not reading it, you are not missing out on anything amazing. Several members of my family read it and they didn't like it as much as I did. Worth reading, but not lovable.
Haven't read the others, but I heard the same about water for elephants.
Are you on Goodreads?
I am on Goodreads. And I'm glad I'm not missing anything...because since you said that the language slowed up, I wish I had continued. But I already returned it to the library. Oh, well.
I started the Book Thief yesterday. Loving it so far.
I hate it when you are looking forward to a great read, only to find it's a cuss-a-palooza. Grrr. I tried reading Julie and Julia. Same story. Boo! The Book of Ruth was really good, until the end. I threw it across the room, literally. I was so appalled by the graphic details. Who needs that when life is already messy? Good luck on the next read!
Book Theif cusses in German a bunch...I just didn't count it.
I took German in High school, so unfortunately I know what they're saying. But it's not that bad and not very often. :)
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