A very entertaining and intelligent "page-turner", which is a rare combination of traits. As a story told from four well-written viewpoints, it succeeds in evoking an emotional connection with the characters. But I worry about too much modern fiction presenting the literary equivalent of short serial television episodes all jumbled together in something described as a novel. I suppose readers' attention spans are becoming shorter, but should fiction really cater to that fact? There is definitely...

A man thinks he might have cancer whilst his family is all over the place life-wise; oh, and he might be having a mental breakdown! From Mark Haddon, who brought us 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" comes another character study, this one being a delightful dark comedy nearing farce at times, which I thoroughly enjoyed.For those of you that actually read my reviews (thank you so much), you'll know that first and foremost, for fiction, what matters most to me is story, and in th...

As we approach the end of my first year of recorded and reviewed reading, I have read almost no bad books. The Fermata was bad, but the guy could write, he just decided to write something we all thought was fucking awful.This was a bad book.Oh how do I hate this book? Let me count the ways:1) Every word in this novel is written in conversational, lazy prose. "Absolutely" is used repeatedly for emphasis. "Cue" something or other. The kind of verbal junk we are all guilty of in verbal conversation...

Wow..............I just notice Mark Haddon has a new book coming out (short stories) ---"The Pier Falls"I entered the 'give-a-way' (a girl can hope) -- :)I LOVED this book sooooooooooooo much --I had a few copies at one time.... (gave copies away).For some reason --I like this 'MORE' than a few of my friends --but I was DYING LAUGHING ...(forgive me if I sound nasty) ....during the bedroom scenes....and then there was the daughter's wedding... (I just LOVED this book --and could read it again).....

A Spot of Bother is a 2006 family dramedy by the author of the fabulously quirky bestseller, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-time. It’s been sitting on my to-read shelf for about ten years since picking it up at a book fair, but I’m on a mission to read more tree-books this year, so selected it because I thought it would be funny. Sadly, it was not - it’s actually hard to believe it’s the same writer. I was forewarned by the mostly negative reviews, but wanted to make up my own mind. I

This is a really good, absorbing drama about a family in crisis and in particular tells the story of George who, at the age of 57, suddenly faces the fact that he is not going to live forever upon the discovery of a lesion on his hip. Wife Jean is sleeping with an old work colleague of his. Daughter Katie is preparing her wedding to Ray, a man who is universally disliked by her family and to be honest, she is not sure whether she is marrying him for the right reasons. Finally, son Jamie is facin...

A Spot of Bother is an alternating-POV story about going quietly mad and loudly sane, and love under all our layers of repression and confusion: There’s newly-retired dad George, politely failing to bury his increasing obsessive thoughts of mortality under a zest for home renovations. Mom Jean, already balancing familial duty and work and volunteering, is just trying to find more time for her passionate affair with a long-time acquaintance. Their outspoken grown-up daughter Katie intends to marr...

I'm not really sure what to say about this one. I really can't generate strong feelings one way or another on its behalf. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good - and conversely, it wasn't good but it wasn't bad. It had likable moments and parts that I laughed at. And some of Haddon's descriptions were priceless (e.g., the "chickeny scrotum" bit). But then there was the rest of it. I kept feeling that if it was either good or bad, I would have relished finishing it so that I could relish talking about...

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 dysfunctio...

Having read Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, I expected my sophomore foray into Haddon's style of novel-writing to be a bit of a departure. If you don't know already the book was written from the point-of-view of a boy with Asperger's Syndrome (a functional form of Autism) and delivered with a fair amount of empathy that warmed the reader to an otherwise antisocial and charmless character.However, I felt that even from an omniscient point-of-view, Haddon hardly piqued my personal

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.

First the quibbles: Haddon's a young guy. He has a young guy's perspective, which is to say, a limited perspective. His portrayals of the middle-aged are in places laughable. Mark, I've got to tell you: people over fifty don't think the world belongs to the young. They don't think they're obsolete. It's young people who think that about their elders. Youngsters are often (not always) better at the very latest technology, but that's their only advantage. Well, that, and the good health they take

Firstly, I'd like to point out I have NOT read The Curious Incident.. but given the hype surrounding the author I was expecting big things.To be honest, if this was his first book we probably wouldn't know who Mark Haddon is. I am not sure it would even get published. It doesn't mean it's a completely bad book - it will keep you hooked during that morning tube ride, but it doesn't stand out. Considering the profoundness of the characters epiphanies you could think the author is ten years old. T

It's official, Mark Haddon and I just don't mesh. He's not for me! But to be fair, I won't rate this because it is really just me. Others seem to be drawn to his writing, but I just am not a fan.