MPOV: A Spot of Bother

My rating: 3/5
Goodreads rating: 3.46/5

First published: August 31, 2006
Author: Mark Haddon
Genre: Fiction, humour, contemporary, psychology

A Spot of Bother is Mark Haddon’s unforgettable follow-up to the internationally beloved bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

At sixty-one, George Hall is settling down to a comfortable retirement. When his tempestuous daughter, Katie, announces that she is getting married to the deeply inappropriate Ray, the Hall family is thrown into a tizzy. Unnoticed in the uproar, George discovers a sinister lesion on his hip, and quietly begins to lose his mind.

As parents and children fall apart and come together, Haddon paints a disturbing yet amusing portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely.

The above taken from Goodreads.

This is an interesting book as when I've started reading it, it somehow reminded me of J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy and Sarah Water's books. Though not politically inclined, it's more about this middle class British family and their mishaps that happened just before a wedding. Now it sounds like Four Wedding's and a Funeral LOL! While reading it, somehow I've imagined the Frasier's casts as the leads LOL! David Hyde Pierce as Jaime, Kelsey Grammer as dad George, Peri Gilpin as mom Jean with Jane Leeves as Katie!

Anyway, A Spot of Bother's plot is way different from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time which is more suited for younger readers, this one is more for adults especially since it involves LGBT, extra-marital affairs and the likes. It is well written with wits and humour plus anxieties and sadness, all kinds of drama that could happen to any one. Dad has anxiety attack, mom has an affair, brother is gay and sister is getting married. Such a tumultuous dramatic BBC kinda movie or TV series. It just boils down to the wedding which ended in a good way with much realisation and anticipation to a better family relationship.

Kudos to Mark Haddon for such a well scripted book - from many alternate views, nicely laid down in an entertaining facade with drama. It did started out a little dull but from midway onward, the pace picked up and had me wanting to know how it will end though I did kinda guessed it :-)

Some memorable captions:
I wonder which Atwood's book Katie is referring to:

After Jacob had gone to bed she made herself a gin & tonic and sort of looked at the latest Margaret Atwood without actually reading it.

The dilemma Katie is in to:

If things went particularly badly they could have an argument about her own wedding, Dad's mental health and Mum's lover all at the same time.

Just loving this quote from Ray to Katie:

"We're just the little people on top of the cake. Weddings are about families. You and me, we've got the rest of our lives together"

A new word:
Bonbomie - I've only found 'bonhomie' which means good-natured easy friendliness.