A Spot of BotherMark Haddon
Having already read (and enjoyed) Mark Haddon’s first novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, I was excited to read his new book, A Spot of Bother. Sure, it's not technically new -- it's been out for awhile -- but it's newly in paperback, so let's not argue over semantics, okay?
A Spot of Bother begins as George Hall, buying a suit for the funeral of a friend, finds a small spot on his hip. It is merely “a small oval of puffed flesh on his hip, darker than the surrounding skin and flaking slightly,” but it is enough to send poor George into a tailspin. Convinced it is cancer, George must confront his mortality and the accompanying all-consuming fear it causes.
A Spot of Bother begins as George Hall, buying a suit for the funeral of a friend, finds a small spot on his hip. It is merely “a small oval of puffed flesh on his hip, darker than the surrounding skin and flaking slightly,” but it is enough to send poor George into a tailspin. Convinced it is cancer, George must confront his mortality and the accompanying all-consuming fear it causes.
Excuse me while I try not to vomit everything I've ever eaten
George is consumed by panic (and if his spot looks anything like the above example of eczema, who the hell could blame the poor fellow? I mean, am I right, or am I right?), and as a result, he suffers panic attacks and spells of incoherence. Unfortunately this all couldn’t come about at a worse time: everyone in George’s family is experiencing some sort of personal crisis right now as well, and George’s issues are only making everything worse. George must deal with his divorced daughter's impending marriage to a man disliked by everyone, come to grips with his son's homosexuality, and confront the fact that his wife is having an affair with an old coworker.
Poor fellow, indeed.
Admittedly, this entire situation does seem a bit contrived, and yet it all works, culminating is a brilliant comedic scene that actually made me guffaw a few times while reading -- and I do not use the word guffaw lightly.
My only gripe with A Spot of Bother is regarding the length; in my most humble opinion, the novel would be more effective if it were about 50 pages shorter, but this is nit-picking, really, since it was enjoyable all the same. I'm still a little freaked out by the pictured I posted above, so I think I'll just quit while I'm ahead. I suddenly feel the need to moisturize.
In a nutshell: An admirable follow-up novel; while it's not perfect (nothing ever is, though), A Spot of Bother is an amusing read that elicits both laughter and pathos.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars
Poor fellow, indeed.
Admittedly, this entire situation does seem a bit contrived, and yet it all works, culminating is a brilliant comedic scene that actually made me guffaw a few times while reading -- and I do not use the word guffaw lightly.My only gripe with A Spot of Bother is regarding the length; in my most humble opinion, the novel would be more effective if it were about 50 pages shorter, but this is nit-picking, really, since it was enjoyable all the same. I'm still a little freaked out by the pictured I posted above, so I think I'll just quit while I'm ahead. I suddenly feel the need to moisturize.
In a nutshell: An admirable follow-up novel; while it's not perfect (nothing ever is, though), A Spot of Bother is an amusing read that elicits both laughter and pathos.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars
4 comments:
Lovely picture...not! Sounds like a fun book, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I usually wait until books are out in paperback so I know what you mean by it being new to you.
Yes, I do love Haddon's writing. Must admit to enjoying "Curious Incident" more than "Spot of Bother", but he's always worth reading.
But I just couldn't read the chapter about the self-operation - I had to flick through it with my eyes half-shut trying not to vomit!!! Which probably shows how well-written it was.
I also loved the son - though, being me, I'm always a sucker for the gay characters. Hmm, maybe I ought to rephrase that?
==:O
Have a great weekend!
A
xxx
cool. I was wondering about this book. My son read his first one when we were in a pinch to find him a YA-ish read on my bookshelf. He loved it so much he read it again a few months later. Think this would be good for a 13yr old?
There are a few sex scenes that you might want to monitor, but they might be good for opening a dialogue if you read the book along with him. In general, I'm of the mind that if a 13-year old's reading, I'm just happy he's reading.
Then again, I'm not a parent, and if/when that time comes, I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune.
:)
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