Since I wasn't a big fan of The Curious Incident I put off reading another Mark Haddon book. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that A Spot of Bother entertained me to the point of almost laughing out loud! A dysfunctional family with the main character, George, slowly going insane isn't exactly a laughing matter! The author surrounded George with likeable characters and funny situations (there was one gross scene that turned my stomach) that were heartbreaking and tender at the same time. The "crazy" chaotic ending wrapped the story up nicely. I really liked this book but I can see why the reviews are all over the place. 3.5 stars

I read Curious Incident (which I loved) eight years ago, which I’m glad about because I read this one in its own right and without comparing them overly. Gosh I enjoyed this book! It’s very different from my usual reading fodder (I’m a thriller addict) but I was absolutely absorbed by the characters and the minutiae of their modern family lives, which revolved around a family wedding. Funny and sad, giving insights into a small, almost claustrophobic world, the story built into a beautiful climax I was waiting for, and didn’t disappoint.

This was both funny and deep though it ended in kind of a silly way.

"Talking was, in George's opinion, overrated. You could not turn the television on these days without seeing someone discussing their adoption or explaining why they had stabbed their husband. Not that he was averse to talking. Talking was one of life's pleasures. And everyone needed to sound off now and then over a pint of Ruddles about colleagues who did not shower frequently enough, or teenage sons who had returned home drunk in the small hours and thrown up in the dog's basket. But it did not change anything." (4)

"The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely. How anyone could work in the same office for ten years or bring up children without putting certain thoughts permanently to the back of their mind was beyond him." (4)

"He looked round at the stained-glass lambs and the scale model of the crucified Christ and thought how ridiculous it all was, this desert religion transported wholesale to the English shires. Bank managers and PE teachers listening to stories about zithers and smiting and barley bread as if it were the most natural thing in the world." (44)

"What was Jamie going to say? It seemed so obvious what he felt. But when he tried to put it into words it sounded so clumsy and unconvincing and sentimental. If only you could lift a lid on the top of your head and say, 'Look.'" (243)

"That was the problem, wasn't it. You left home. But you never did become an adult. Not really. You just fucked up in different and more complicated ways." (274)

"And it occurred to him that there were two parts to being a better person. One part was thinking about other people. The other part was not giving a toss about what other people thought." (288)

Well-written and entertaining, but ultimately a bit of a bore. All the arguing and complaining that Haddon's characters continually engage in starts to grate on one's nerves after a while. Even the little kid in the story was more annoying than he was cute. The homosexual encounters were unnecessarily graphic, and Haddon's occasional digs at Christianity come across as needlessly pissy. Haddon was apparently attempting to push people's buttons a bit with this one, perhaps wanting to distance himself from his reputation as the writer of the incredibly charming and internationally best-selling THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME. Unfortunately, A SPOT OF BOTHER is a book desperately in need of some charm. It's mostly a story of small-minded people behaving in inexplicable ways. I'd recommend it to people who enjoyed watching families duke it out on Jerry Springer.

Brilliant, even better than his other bestseller The Curious Dog. Loved it.

Five stars.

Hilarious!!!! What a wonderful story, that kept me laughing the whole time. Haddon does a wonderful job giving his characters life. It made me wonder what I'll be like when I retire will I be as crazy and eccentric as the main character.

This book made Curious Incident fans wail and gnash their teeth in 2006. Who knows how Haddon’s reputation fares today, following the lukewarm response to this breezy domestic drama? I get the impression children’s voices are more his forte, what with being a bestselling kids' author and all. In fact, some of the best lines in this book belong to the toddler Jacob and revolve around poo and ice cream. But this is hardly worth a literary excommunication. It is the sort of book only established authors can release, but it does satisfy as a “warm-hearted page-turner” (does anyone else feel sick?)

George is the centre of the story, a retired bourgeois gent who becomes a hypochondriac, a depressive and—later on, when he watches his wife being ploughed by another man—a self-harming borderline psychotic. His descent into madness while his selfish little brood run around arguing and breaking up and making up forms the moral centre of the book, though Haddon works hard to make the selfish people loveable in the end, and almost succeeds. Katie is still about as pleasant as a wet haddock in the face, and the mother is Hyacinth Bouquet without the moral compass. The men are nicer. The women not so nice. Discuss.

So there isn’t much in the way of style, originality or humour—this is David Nicholls territory, best left to David Nicholls—but it does provide an engaging and cosy alternative to being alive for a few hours, and that’s perhaps the best thing a book can offer.

Dear Budding Indie Film-maker,

I know how tempted you are to turn this quirky little book into a quirky little movie. You've mentally cast James Cromwell as the family patriarch who's sure the excema on his leg is actually cancer. You know just how the camera will close in on the faces of the actors as they make realizations that will change their life.

And you're really looking forward to filming some of the genuinely sweet and funny scenes, knowing the audience will roar with laughter while wiping tears from their eyes.

Don't do it. It won't work. I've seen that movie so many times, and the close ups are pointless, the wonderful actors wasted.

The charm of this book is knowing what the characters are thinking, and what they've been through. Flashbacks and narration would just get annoying in a film version. And though there are some terrific lines, the kind you read over and over again, and would probably rewind the DVD for, those lines aren't gonna carry a whole movie.

Instead, filmmakers, just enjoy this book as it is. Go ahead and picture the action in your mental movie, because that's going to be lots better.

Recently retired George Hall, a quiet family man, is thrown into a panic when he finds a large spot on his skin. Although his doctor assures him it's not serious, George is convinced it's cancer and he's going to die. Meanwhile, his daughter Katie announces that she is going to marry Ray, a man who might not be right for her. Katie's gay brother, Jamie, is on the outs with his boyfriend. Adding to the stress, George's wife has a smooth, handsome lover.

This is a domestic comedy about a dysfunctional family trying to cope with wedding preparations for an "on again, off again" wedding. In real life, one would hope that George's mental health problems would be taken more seriously. Everyone seems caught up in their own problems and the impending wedding. There are lots of humorous situations with the family members eventually finding out what is important in life. "A Spot of Bother" was a fun read full of catastrophes and comedy. 3.5 stars rounded up.

A good holiday read

This is the story of Kate's wedding. That seems straightforward enough, but she has a mother who is having an affair with her father's ex work colleague. Her father believes that he has cancer and cracks up with near disastrous consequences. Her brother is homosexual and worried about inviting his partner to the wedding. Actually, her brother is probably the most sane character in the whole book; or maybe his partner is. With all of these nutters around, the wedding may never happen. And if it does, there are bound to be ructions.

This book is just hilarious, Despite seeming to be very far-fetched, there are parts of the lives of each of the characters with which I am sure any of us can identify.

Once again, Mark Haddon succeeds in writing in a style that imitates him sitting in your front room telling you the story.
Just a very pleasant and easy read.

Well that was ODD. What type of story was this? One with a bunch of thankfully short chapters. Some rude chapters, a lot of interesting characters. Hmmm.

Nothing like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by the way.