Rachel Reviews: A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

I can remember reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Haddon's debut novel, and being struck by it. Sometimes you read books that are extraordinary and unlike anything you've ever read before. And then, I read a book of short stories by him which I enjoyed but a friend, to whom I had recommended them, pointed out to me were all about death and for some reason, I shied away from his fiction for a bit.

Until now.

This book should have been my next choice of reading material of his, instead, which is, aptly, his second novel and what a great book!

The novel concerns itself with the Hall family, three generations, made up of George and Jean, the parents of Katie and Jamie. You also have Ray, Katie's significant other and her son, but not Ray's, Jacob.

Haddon has chapters written from the perspective of each different character but not in the first person. It is told by an omniscient narrator but one who relates fully the thoughts and meanderings of each person so we are aware of their fears, their impulses, their desires, their irritations - you get the idea.

And what an entertaining bunch, although they probably would not perceive themselves as such but Haddon, in taking the lives of ordinary people and putting them under the microscope has written something which is two things: warm and funny and therefore, in its vulnerabilities, something human.

George is 57 and is having a crisis about how he is going to die, and soon. When he finds a patch of what he thinks is skin cancer on his leg, it sends him into a panic, totally uncharacteristically, and this is the cause of a lot of chaos and misunderstanding in the story as well as the humour and pathos.

Jean has been married to George for a long time but has embarked on an affair and is trying to decide what to do. Is it time to give up on her marriage?

Katie is marrying Ray but is not actually sure if she loves him. Is it okay to marry someone for the security and stability they offer?

Jamie is gay and frightened of commitment. His parents do not know how to deal with his sexuality at all and what it means for their family dynamic.

And so the stage is set. It made me laugh, sympathise, empathise, cringe. A great read.

Thoroughly recommended.

Rachel Rating: 5/5 stars! A full compliment of stars!

Parts of this review were first published on Reedsy Discovery:

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