Doug's review
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
As many readers probably found this book, I had read "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" and couldn't resist reading Haddon's next book. True to form, this novel was an extension of 'Curious Dog' in that it was an elaborate character study told in the first-person (this time in quadruple first-person).
I can acknowledge that many people will probably complain that the characters were plain or trite, but I think that was the beauty of it -- normal people with ordinary problems exploding them to disaster-sized issues.
The description really encapsulates the feeling of the book "The way these damaged people fall apart – and come together – as a family is the true subject of Haddon’s disturbing yet amusing portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely." I appreciated how Haddon never tried to make it more than a story about family members dealing with the dysfunction of their relationships, but barely realizing the absurdity or impli...more
I can acknowledge that many people will probably complain that the characters were plain or trite, but I think that was the beauty of it -- normal people with ordinary problems exploding them to disaster-sized issues.
The description really encapsulates the feeling of the book "The way these damaged people fall apart – and come together – as a family is the true subject of Haddon’s disturbing yet amusing portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely." I appreciated how Haddon never tried to make it more than a story about family members dealing with the dysfunction of their relationships, but barely realizing the absurdity or impli...more
