A Spot of Bother (Vintage)
by Mark Haddon
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Book Reviews of A Spot of Bother (Vintage)
Book Review: A hilarious, yet tender extra-ordinary novel about ordinary people
Summary: 4 Stars
The author himself has this to say:" I wanted to write about ordinary people living ordinary lives in an ordinary place, because they seldom feature in fiction and because it felt like fallow ground ready for harvest."
Nothing remains ordinary when it is written about in the highly original voice of Mark Haddon, author of "The curious incident about the dog in the night time".
Mark is a sharp observer of human nature, which he renders with both compassion and that great dry deadpan British humor. His lines crackle. He is even better read out loud.
The first book was written in one voice: that of a high-functioning 15-year old autistic boy.
In "Spot of Bother" the point of view shifts between 4 members of the Hall family, Mom, Dad, and two grown children.
The point of view most often used is Dad George. At 61, freshly retired, George is undergoing a life crisis, "A spot of bother", as unobtrusively and politely as possible. While George fears he is losing his health and his mind, not neccessarily in that order, the pace of life around him accelerates.
Daughter Katie, divorced and mother of high-maintenance preschooler Jacob, has just announced her upcoming wedding to the inarticulate Ray, who is definitely "not one of our kind of people". Nobody, not even Katie herself, can tell whether Ray is really the right man for her or if she is just looking for security.
The wedding is on and off a few times while that gets sorted out.
The wedding invitations force big brother Jamie to redefine his comfortable relationship to his boyfriend, Tony. He is encouraged to 'bring someone', but can't quite face the prospect of his parents gamely pretending to be cool and liberal, while trying to hide the truth from the extended family. Boy loses boy, will he manage to win boy back once he figures out the true meaning of love?
Meanwhile Mom Jean has been having a delicious affair with an ex-coworker of Dad. All in its own little compartment and non-threatening to the sexless but companiable marriage, until George stumbles upon the pair in flagrante delicto while he is supposed to be hiking in Wales. Rarely has an act of sex, described in detail, been less erotically stimulating. It is hilarious.
Does he let them know he knows? Does he let David's invitation to the wedding stand? Is the wedding happening or not anyway?
By the end of the book everyone is both wiser and more loving. What more can a non-dramatic life ask for?
A synopsis of the plot does not do this book justice. The joy of reading it comes from the meticulous observations and terrific style.
A quick and delicious read with lots of evil grins that still manages to leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.
Book Review: This would make a great film!
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very impressed with Haddon's first novel, the award-winning _Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time_. This one is about as different as it's possible to be, and it's also pretty impressive. George Hall is in his sixties, a retired builder of playground equipment, who has always been a little off-center in his method of dealing with life. Mostly, he tries to ignore things that make him uncomfortable -- even more than your typical Englishman. Things like jetliner crashes and dying of cancer. He's coping with retirement in part by learning to lay brick and building a small art studio at the bottom of his garden. Meanwhile, his wife, Jean, has been coping with George by having an affair with one of his ex-colleagues. It isn't that George doesn't care, exactly, but he doesn't often show it and David simply makes her feel good. And David kind of wants Jean to leave George. Meanwhile, their daughter, Katie, who is really hard work, and who has a child by a guy who walked out on her, is contemplating marriage with Ray, who has a nice house and makes good money, even though he's large and hyper-masculine and not as intelligent as she is. But Ray brims with natural competence and he's really, really good with Jacob, and he loves her. It doesn't matter that her family seems uneasy, almost a little afraid of Ray. Meanwhile, Jacob, being about three and semi-hyperactive, is fixated on Bob the Builder and Power Rangers, and on asking whether Grandpa is dying. (No, dear, Grandpa is just having a breakdown.) Meanwhile, Katie's younger brother, Jamie, who is an estate agent and gay (Katie taught him everything he knows about self-defense), has just broken up with Tony, who has finally had it with Jamie's inability to stop being single and in control of absolutely everything in order to love someone else. Having laid out these separate lives for the reader's perusal, Haddon then stands back and allows them all to gradually merge. George sees something he wasn't meant to see and decides to engage in do-it-yourself cancer surgery. Jamie finds himself actually bonding with Ray. Ray wonders whether, for her own good, Katie ought to be marrying him. Jean has no idea what's going on but she's making sure the nuptials come off properly and on schedule. And it all comes together in one of the most dramatically entertaining weddings you're likely to see. Why hasn't this delightful novel been made into a film?Book Review: I Was "Bothered" Just a "Spot"...
Summary: 3 Stars
I was "bothered" just a "spot" by Mark Haddon's latest offering, and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why. Was the book funny? Yes, in quite a few parts. Did the book seem to portray flawed and fully human characters? Yes. Was the book engaging, plot-wise? Yes, very much so!
So why didn't I like it, or at least like it enough to give it more than 3 stars? Maybe it's because I'm an American and was confused by all the British slang. Maybe I got a little discombobulated trying to keep up with all the things the different characters were doing at the same time. Or maybe, just maybe, the characters all seemed too harsh, too unlovable, and too unsympathetic. I wasn't expecting "Full House" dynamics here, but neither was I expecting a family as quite without warmth as the Halls.
George Hall, as he tries not to lose his mind, is never treated very well by his immediate family even when he's completely lucid. Sure, George is irascible and far from perfect, but I felt, and only felt, for George.
What is Jean Hall doing "shagging" her husband's business colleague when she has a husband that truly does love her even when not in his right mind? At the end of the book, she seems to resolve to stay with George more out of resignation than love, which is a terrible motive for doing so. Either you truly love someone, or you should leave them. So say I.
Katie Hall is the ultimate "Bridezilla", and her hapless fiance Ray doesn't even suspect it until the end. He still marries Katie, and I pity the future he'll have with her. Between Katie's temper tantrums and those of her young son, Jacob (not to mention wiping the latter's bottom), will Ray ever come to figure out that Katie doesn't really love him? (Note: Their 'falling in love' part doesn't seem convincing to me, Mr. Haddon.)
I didn't even mention Jamie, or the boyfriend that dumped him and then came back to him for--I still can't fathom what reason. What the dvukh?!?
My verdict: Skip this one, or borrow it from the library or your friends!
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
Mark Haddon's first adult novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, was so impressive, that when I picked up A Spot of Bother, I was sure it was going to be a great read. It wasn't. The characters were so disagreeable that I honestly could not drum up any kind of sympathy for them.
Basically, the plot revolves around George, a 61-year-old retiree, who is convinced that he is dying of a lesion on his hip. Of course, being British, he says nothing about the lesion, or his anxiety. Instead he politely goes mad. We don't really know why, because there was nothing in George's character to suggest that a small lesion would cause such intense paranoia. George's wife is having an affair. Again, we don't really know why, because, like her husband, she doesn't indulge in verbal expression. George's daughter, a selfish, impulsive creature, is about to marry a complete boor, whom nobody likes. Nor do we, as he seems to have no redeeming qualities. Various events occur, none of which you will remember five minutes after reading about them. Eventually, the boor shows himself to be a better person than we thought, and the other dysfunctional characters, while not really improved, somehow manage to resolve their various problems. I am pretty sure that I didn't actually care when they did.
I had the feeling that Haddon intended this to be a critique of British reserve. Critiques, like any other sort of novel, need to have characters we care about. They also need plots. Haddon, in spite of being a very fine writer, failed on both these counts. And while I didn't regret reading A Spot of Bother (it does have an occasional entertaining scene, and I wasn't doing anything else that day), I can't honestly say it is the sort of book that I would recommend to anyone else.
Book Review: A spot is bothering them...
Summary: 4 Stars
The painful anatomy of a family, with a funny side to it. And for those who, like me, have already read and appreciated `The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time', this is a very different book by the same author.
George, the father, has retired and seems content with his pressure-free life. His wife Jean is mightily distracted by some private matters and the organization of the wedding reception for their daughter Katie, who is getting married for the second time. Her parents disapprove of Ray, the future son-in-law and Katie herself is starting to have doubts. Does she want to marry Ray because she loves him or because he seems to be a very good and reliable provider for herself and her son Jacob? Meanwhile Jamie, Katie's brother, is having problems with his boyfriend Tony. His parents are aware of the relationship but an invitation to the wedding seems inappropriate given the fact that none of the other relatives/friends know about Jamie's homosexuality. Jamie himself is not sure whether he wants Tony to come to the wedding or not.
The buzz & fuzz of the wedding preparation go almost unnoticed by George, however, as he discovers a problem on his body. Almost simultaneously and by pure coincidence, an entirely different matter, of a different nature but very disturbing indeed, comes to light. Unbeknownst to all, he starts to slowly disintegrate psychologically.
Among the tragicity of some of the episodes, the author was able to combine the intricacies of the mind and soul of the Hall family, with an easy and accessible narrative. Many hilarious and funny moments dot this novel without lessening the emotional impact. Very well done.