... But I did make an effort to read this one – A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.
I bought it, because I enjoyed his previous novel – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – and was interested to see what this one would be like. But I was also attracted by its theme of depression, ... Read review
...to read this one – A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.
I bought it, because I enjoyed his previous novel – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – and was interested to see what this one would be like. But I was also attracted by its theme of depression, as I have suffered with that myself, on and off for five years. So I bought the paperback version of the book from Amazon for £3.99. The cover price is £7.99.
...on the shelves. It has a red front cover with a picture of a house, marquee and a man with an umbrella. This fits in well with the content of the story.
The novel is around 500 pages long, but it is split into short chapters, so it doesn’t look too daunting and is an easy read.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT THEN?
George and Jean are a retired couple with two grown up children, Katie and Jamie. On the surface, ... more
WHY THIS BOOK?
I haven’t read much fiction this year. In fact, only five of the twenty-seven books I have read so far in 2007 have been fiction. But I did make an effort to read this one – A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.
I bought it, because I enjoyed his previous novel – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – and was interested to see what this one would be like. But I was also attracted by its theme of depression, as I have suffered with that myself, on and off for five years. So I bought the paperback version of the book from Amazon for £3.99. The cover price is £7.99.
It’s the sort of book you would probably notice on the shelves. It has a red front cover with a picture of a house, marquee and a man with an umbrella. This fits in well with the content of the story.
The novel is around 500 pages long, but it is split into short chapters, so it doesn’t look too daunting and is an easy read.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT THEN?
George and Jean are a retired couple with two grown up children, Katie and Jamie. On the surface, everything looks cosy. They have a nice house and an apparently idyllic existence. But – as with most families – scratch under the surface and you find secrets, deceptions, unresolved issues and hang ups.
Jean is having an affair and is contemplating her future with George. Katie is considering marrying a man she probably doesn’t love, while Jamie is thinking of dumping a man he probably does love. And in the middle of it all, George is fighting to keep his sanity.
It is about many things – ageing, infidelity, self-esteem, love, companionship, sex, desire, happiness, security, prejudice, class, tradition – and especially about people and family. Everyone will find something or someone in here that they can relate to.
BUT IS IT ANY GOOD?
Yes, definitely. I really enjoyed it.
The characters are beautifully written and skillfully constructed, so as you read, you discover more about them and feel you get to know them better. You see them reacting to their family and friends and in various situations. Just as in real life, they act differently in private to their behaviour in public. They chat in a different way to their friends than they do to their parents or distant relatives.
It is very well observed and therefore realistic. Everything in this book is possible and believable, but that does not make it dull. There is plenty of humour and farce about the novel, so that the overall tone is light and fun, but there are plenty of serious, dark and sad elements.
Each character goes on a journey throughout the book, coming out the other end changed in some way – usually for the better. But the rocky road provides plenty of adventure along the way. It feels rather like a soap opera, where we feel we know the characters personally and want them to solve their problems, marry the right man, make the right decisions and come up smiling.
George’s depression is very different to my experience of it, but there were some elements I recognised and I certainly felt sympathy for him. I could relate to the apathy and having a ‘safe place’ but his symptoms were much more severe than mine have been.
It is the sort of book you get into easily, then want to keep reading to find out what happens to everyone. I have had several late nights this week, when I have gone to bed, but still been awake an hour or more later, playing the ‘Just one more chapter’ game with myself.
Mark Haddon gets into the minds of his characters really well, regardless of age or gender. He describes the retired George just as well as little Jacob, his grandson. If I did not know who was the author of this book, I would have problems guessing their gender and age, because Haddon doesn’t seem to favour one over another. This has the added appeal of making his novels equally accessible to both men and women. This is neither chick lit like Jill Mansell nor bloke lit like Nick Hornby. I can see my husband enjoying this as much as I did.
Having said that, it isn’t really suitable for pre-teens because of the language and imagery used. It also wouldn’t be the best book to buy for your prudish spinster aunt – you know, the one who raises her eyebrows if you utter the word ‘bloody’ and still thinks the word ‘gay’ means happy. But otherwise, I would recommend it.
I really enjoyed it, read it quickly and will remember it for a while too. It is well written, holds your interest throughout and is a good view of modern society and our roles within it.
I enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, but I think A Spot of Bother was even better. It gets a nine out of ten from me.
Advantages: Excellent writing. Nice balance between humour and sadness. Disadvantages: Lost pace in places
...of Bother' was written from a more conventional narrative, I was keen to see how Haddon would fair. My hopes were high as the book jacket boasts accolades such as 'unforgettable' and ' brilliant'. 'A Spot of Bother' introduces the reader to a far from functional family. We meet father (George), mother (Jean), sister (Katie) and brother (Jamie). And surprisingly enough, they each have their own spots of bother (some more literally than others) that ... ...Some chapters are less than a page long. For this reason, I found it to be quite a page-turner, in the sense that I found the same thing with 'The Da Vinci Code'. I kept thinking to myself 'well, the next chapter is only 2 pages, I'll quickly read that, oh and the next is 1, I'll read that too'...etc. Conversely however, it took me a month or so to read. I kept leaving it and started to read other books instead, as it was never at the forefront of ...
MarcoG 20.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
Advantages: Funny, easy to read. Disadvantages: None
...and ability to make such a tale an absolute page-turner, I knew his next one would be a must read. Strangely enough, though, it took me nearly three years to read _A Spot of Bother_. My brother lent me the paperback version, and it then went on to sit on my book shelf for far too long. He kept asking me if I had read it yet, to which I would reply No, and therefore fear that I may get into a spot of bother because of this… But during a recent holiday ... ...==So what about A Spot of Bother?== This is the story of the dysfunctional Hall family. 57 year old George is suffering deep anxiety and is slowly going mad, not before finding out his wife is having an affair, which sends him further over the edge. Jean Hall is having said affair with George’s ex work colleague David. Their daughter Katie has announced she is going to get married again, this time to a man all the family hate and whom she wonders ...
Borg 15.08.2009 (19.08.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
Advantages: Very funny, fast moving Disadvantages: None
...few years. It only took a few days to finish as I couldn't put it down. It tells the story revolving round a family and all the individual charcters within the family... in the lead up to the daughter, Katie's wedding.
'If he drank enough whisky he might be able to summon the courage to crash the car. There was a big stone gateway on the A16 this side of Stamford. He could hit it doing 90mph with no difficulty whatsoever.
But what if his nerve ... ...and died of cancer in a wheelchair in prison?'
The main characters are George, who is the father going through depression and anxiety attacks as he has discovered his wife is having an affair, and he has noticed a spot which he presumes is cancer and no matter what anyone tells him, refuses to see it for what it really is (eczema)! George is the best character in the book, as we slowly see him go completely crazy during his retirement - which is ...
LADYFUCHSIA 24.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
Advantages: Good plot, interesting and real characters, enjoyable Disadvantages: At some points long winded, not as funny as I expected it to be
...==
George Hall is a 57 year old retired man who, on the surface at least, lives a comfortable life with his wife Jean. As with most families, George's nice family life is soon stripped bare and secrets, problems and lies are all exposed. Jean has been having an affair with one of George's old work colleagues and is contemplating leaving George all together, Katie his fiery daughter is considering marrying a man that she might not be in love with ... ...cancer whilst slowly falling into a deep hole of depression and anxiety causing him to do the craziest things in the lead up to Katie's wedding day and causing his family to worry about his sanity......
== STORYTELLING ==
I found this quite a hard book at first to get in to. It may have been all the names thrown in to the mix at once, George, Jean, Jamie, Katie, Ray, Jacob....the first two chapters I kept constantly getting them confused with each ...
burtybookworm 27.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
Advantages: Wry, funny, wicked, cruel, you name it, it's got it! Disadvantages: None
I'm going through a phase. It's a very enjoyable phase. After years of reading typically 'highbrow' literature like Dickens, Hardy, the Brontes and various other whopping great tomes, I have just discovered the joys of modern authors like Joanne Harris, Nick Hornby and, most recently, Mark Haddon.
Haddon has written two novels 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' (review to follow shortly) and, most recently, 'A spot of Bother' which ... ...should be a peaceful, enjoyable and selfish relief from the world of work. This is certainly how George, the unlikely 'hero' of the tale views it. At the start of the book, he is happily building a studio at the end of the garden and preparing to devote his time to drawing and painting. Time has passed since he retired from his job as a children's play equipment salesman and he is settling into a more sedentary life with his wife Jean, who works ...
jm160 01.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
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Advantages: Nice writing style, written from a child's point of view Disadvantages: Depressed tone, lack of explanation
Published: 2004
Introduction
I've picked up this paperback from a charity shop recently as I was drawn to the synopsis at the back while my appetite was further whetted by two references to MarkHaddon (A Spot of Bother, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) whose works I had read previously. With hindsight the comparison turned out to be wrong and now I'm more cautious about giving credit to such statements.
About the author
Clare Sambrook graduated from Cambridge and works as an investigative journalist. She debuted with Hide & Seek in 2004 a book well-received by critics. She lives in Cumbria and working on her second novel.
The plot
Harry aged 9 and his 5 year-old brother go on a school trip where the little brother goes missing. How will Harry cope not only with his loss but ...
Product Information for "A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon" »
Product details
Type
Fiction
Genre
Modern Fiction
Title
A Spot of Bother
Author
Mark Haddon
ISBN
0099506920; 0224080466; 0385520514; 0385662440
Manufacturer's product description
George Hall doesn't understand the modern obsession with talking about everything. 'The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely.' Some things in life, however, cannot be ignored. At fifty-seven, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden, reading historical novels, listening to a bit of light jazz. Then Katle, his tempestuous daughter, announces that she is getting remarried, to Ray. Her family is not pleased - as her brother Jamie observes, Ray has 'strangler's hands'. Katie can't decide if she loves Ray, or loves the wonderful way he has with her son Jacob, and her mother Jean is a bit put out by all the planning and arguing the wedding has occasioned, which get in the way of her quite fulfilling late-life affair with one of her husband's former colleagues. And the tidy and pleasant life Jamie has created crumbles when he fails to invite his lover, Tony, to the dreaded nuptials. Unnoticed in the uproar, George discovers a sinister lesion on his hip, and quietly begins to lose his mind. The way these damaged people fall apart - and come together - as a family is the true subject of Mark Haddon's disturbing yet very funny portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely.
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