Susan's review
A Spot of Bother (Vintage) by Mark Haddon
Despite the obvious ending, this book was entertaining along the way. Haddon’s use of short chapters each ending with some sort of plot twist or climax worked for me. It may be a convention but with his wit and attentiveness to the narrative Haddon leaves no chapter empty.
Each character struggles with life and most of their actions or thought processes are believable. For those who have seen the film, I compare the concept (not execution) to Little Miss Sunshine. The rich characters, their interaction and their values at least progress or even mature. Mind you the book is no Little Miss Sunshine, but Haddon did a pretty good job of creating characters that were complex and human.
I was slow to warm to it and Haddon’s overuse of analogies became tiresome quickly. But about one-quarter through the story, it became worth investing my time.
Each character struggles with life and most of their actions or thought processes are believable. For those who have seen the film, I compare the concept (not execution) to Little Miss Sunshine. The rich characters, their interaction and their values at least progress or even mature. Mind you the book is no Little Miss Sunshine, but Haddon did a pretty good job of creating characters that were complex and human.
I was slow to warm to it and Haddon’s overuse of analogies became tiresome quickly. But about one-quarter through the story, it became worth investing my time.
