A Spot of Bother

Haddon's narrative remains as fresh and engaging as ever. His story flows from one Narrator to the next in perfect form, never missing a beat or straying from one story for too long, never paying more attention to one story over the other no matter the place of the character in the story. In this story of family strife and disintigration it would have been easy to create a lopsided...more

Haddon's narrative remains as fresh and engaging as ever. His story flows from one Narrator to the next in perfect form, never missing a beat or straying from one story for too long, never paying more attention to one story over the other no matter the place of the character in the story. In this story of family strife and disintigration it would have been easy to create a lopsided narrative, playing to one character over the other and creating a protagonist and an antagonist. Haddon deftly maneuvers around this, weaving a tapestry that is perfectly even, strengthened by the character threads on all sides and drawing the reader into caring for each and every one of them, often because of and not in spite of their foibles and shortcommings. In the words of our now lame duck president, it is "unputdownable".   hide

Comical but heavy. An easy read but tackles a deep topic that a lot of people have been through at one point or another. Interesting book.

I picked this book as the "Curious Incident" is too brilliant. I am kind of opposite of my friends who read this book, I think this is much better than "Curious Incident" as the author is able to make each character lively and witty, especially when the old man became traumatic when he believed he was dying, found out his wife got an affair with his friend, his daughter...more

I picked this book as the "Curious Incident" is too brilliant. I am kind of opposite of my friends who read this book, I think this is much better than "Curious Incident" as the author is able to make each character lively and witty, especially when the old man became traumatic when he believed he was dying, found out his wife got an affair with his friend, his daughter re-marrying to another guy he is not familiar with... funny but very meaningful. I am pleased I could have read this book in my life.   hide

A good lighter read. Well written and a good characterization of a man facing his mid life crisis with a stiff upper lip.

By turns hilarious and stomach churning. Laugh out loud funny, and wincingly disturbing. I love the dry, ascerbic wit and Britishisms. What I most appreciate is Haddon's ability to capture moments of very real life, and shine a light on it - the sort of moments most of us choose to forget (such as vomiting, panic attacks, embarrassing, scary skin rashes, etc). But through all the...more

By turns hilarious and stomach churning. Laugh out loud funny, and wincingly disturbing. I love the dry, ascerbic wit and Britishisms. What I most appreciate is Haddon's ability to capture moments of very real life, and shine a light on it - the sort of moments most of us choose to forget (such as vomiting, panic attacks, embarrassing, scary skin rashes, etc). But through all the disturbing stuff, what I love is the humanity of the characters, their vulnerability, their hopes, their courage, their efforts in the face of despair, and, despite their many flaws, each character is redeemable, even lovable. This story will stay with me for a long time.   hide

I love Mark Haddon's books.

There was something extremely likeable and real about the story. George, Jean, Katie and Jamie are all humans - with their own issues - which make them slightly crazy, yet real. I dont know what the writer wanted the 'take-home' for his readers to be - but for me it just is 'crazy is what life does to us' - thats it!!!

Boon asked me why do you read a book on a 57 years old guy..? Hhhmmm, (thinking)- maybe because as convenient that I've read the first book and I enjoy it.I would say I prefer The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Somehow a story of an autistic child interest me more. But I can't help it to think that each family has their own secret to keep.I would say I might relate o Jamie...more

Boon asked me why do you read a book on a 57 years old guy..? Hhhmmm, (thinking)- maybe because as convenient that I've read the first book and I enjoy it.I would say I prefer The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Somehow a story of an autistic child interest me more. But I can't help it to think that each family has their own secret to keep.I would say I might relate o Jamie in my late teen years but now more to Katie's; especially on the marriage topic. I hope by the time I'm in my fifty I won't relate to George or Jane =P ~~~~   hide

Decent book. Quite compelling in some places. An easy read but it's often about some touchy subjects. Worth a try.