I thought one of the most interesting things about our discussions on The Curious Incident was the very clear division between those who thought Christopher's father was a complete asshole and those who thought he was a man dealing with a terrible situation the best way he could. Apparently, according to various reviews of the book (my totally legit source: amazon.com), this conflicting reaction can be found among every group of people who reads it. I am in the camp of "everyone's only human", which is a bit more forgiving, and even though I read the same book those who disagree did, I still can't quite see it from the opposing perspective. No one is purely good or purely bad, and I have never met a single person who hasn't done something they regret or who hasn't handled a situation in a way that, looking back, was possibly the worst option they could have taken. One of the things I like about The Curious Incident is the emotional connection the reader develops with the characters, despite Christopher's issues regarding feeling; I found it extremely easy to empathize with Christopher's father. Imagining being in his situation is a little unbearable; the bond between a parent and a child is supposed to be one of the strongest, and not only is his son incapable of returning that bond in a "normal" fashion, he has absolutely no support system. He's floundering, trying to do what's best for his son, trying to avoid causing more problems, and once he begins the lie about Christopher's mother there really is no way that he can rewind and try again. Even after Christopher's trip to London and the disruption of whatever fragile status quo had been established, the only thing his father is concerned about is regaining Christopher's trust. So yes, he makes mistakes... but he's no monster.