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Blogs by Jerome Parisse
A Spot of Bother 1/20/2011 4:00:29 PM
I enjoyed reading "A Spot of Bother" by Mark Haddon, the author of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". It is the story of a family getting ready for a wedding, but nothing goes as planned of course. George, the father, discovers a lesion on his hip and thinks the worst, starting to slowly lose his mind. His wife Jean is having an affair with an ex-colleague of his. His gay son Jamie is having relationship issues of his own; and his daughter Katie is having second thoughts about getting married... I won't say more as I don't want to spoil the book. Each character is well crafted and contributes to a funny, fast-paced story where something happens in every chapter. Haddon is a master of voices. He did it in "The Curious Incident..." and he's doing it again in this one. Haddon has managed to capture George's voice particularly well as he is sinking into depression and madness. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the main characters, and this is highly entertaining. This is an easy read, but probably not one that will stay with you forever: the messages may be important, but they are not unusual. At times the story feels even a little forced, almost turning into slap-stick comedy. But despite its flaws, I found it a good read, and you may agree with me as long as you don't come to it expecting another tour-de-force like "The Curious Incident...".
Post a Comment More Blogs by Jerome Parisse Body Swap Interview and Yunnan Trip... - Thursday, March 10, 2011 The Corrections - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Buried - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Black Swan - Monday, March 7, 2011 Educating Rita - Sunday, February 27, 2011 Bidrman, by Mo hayder - Sunday, February 27, 2011 The Insomnia of Stars - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 If I Stay, by Gayle Forman - Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Blacklands by Belinda bauer - Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Where is Marc Levy's respect for his readers? - Saturday, February 12, 2011 The Wings of Leo Spencer at $10 only! - Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Boracay, twenty years later - Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Hereafter - Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Gone (Mo Hayder) - Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Free e-books until 6 February! - Monday, January 31, 2011 Two Brothers - Sunday, January 30, 2011 Miserere - Saturday, January 29, 2011 Shanghai - Saturday, January 22, 2011 3 e-books for free until 6 January! - Thursday, January 20, 2011 A Spot of Bother - Thursday, January 20, 2011 Sarah's Key - Wednesday, January 19, 2011 The Tree - Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Norwegian Wood - Tuesday, January 18, 2011 The American - Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Eat Pray Love - Saturday, January 8, 2011 50 literature ideas you really need to know, by John Sutherland - Saturday, January 8, 2011 Aftershock - Thursday, January 6, 2011 Room by Emma Donoghue - Tuesday, January 4, 2011 Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows - Friday, December 17, 2010 The art of happiness - Thursday, December 16, 2010 The Scold's Bridle by Minette Walters - Wednesday, December 15, 2010 Worst film ever? - Sunday, December 12, 2010 Trailer for BODY SWAP - Friday, December 10, 2010 Hong Kong Murders - Monday, December 6, 2010 The kids are all right - Monday, December 6, 2010 The Killing Fields - My Father's Guests - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Interview on Body Swap and publishing on Kindle by David Wisehart - Friday, November 26, 2010 The Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival - Monday, November 22, 2010 What is it about Japan? - Saturday, November 13, 2010 The Ice House - Sunday, November 7, 2010 Body Swap - Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Taipei: the city that reads... - Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Free royalty-free music - Monday, October 25, 2010 Trailer for THE WINGS OF LEO SPENCER - Saturday, October 23, 2010 Reference Material for Learning Chinese - Saturday, October 23, 2010 The world’s first text message adventure romance with the other side! - Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Grease.... or a failed English test - Monday, October 18, 2010 The jungle temples of Angkor, Cambodia - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 A little lower than the angels - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 61 Hours by Lee Child - Friday, October 1, 2010 The obsessions of Amelie Nothomb - Monday, September 27, 2010 Kaohsiung, the friendly city - Sunday, September 26, 2010 A concise history of Hong Kong - Tuesday, September 21, 2010 Nicaragua, twenty years on... - Monday, September 20, 2010 We all make mistakes, don't we? - Saturday, September 18, 2010 Serena - Thursday, September 16, 2010 Early works: Coben takes us for a ride - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Tokyo / The Devil of Nanking - Sunday, September 12, 2010 Young and bold - Saturday, September 11, 2010 Gay marriage anyone? - Thursday, September 9, 2010 iPad anyone? - Wednesday, September 8, 2010 Online book promotion: The French strike again! - Tuesday, September 7, 2010 Blood Canticle - Monday, September 6, 2010 More Vampires! 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