Description

This is an auction for A SPOT OF BOTHER by Mark Haddon.

“A Spot of Bother snaps, crackles and pops with humour and pathos. . . . Sparklingly written. . . . Haddon deftly pulls this off with what we can now hail as his trademark tenderness.”

Los Angeles Times

"Totally brilliant. . . . Wondrously articulate.... A Spot of Bother serves as a fine example of why novels exist.”

The New York Times Book Review

“Superbly entertaining.”

The Washington Post Book World

“A Spot of Bother is a wonder and a joy.”

Chicago Sun-Times

"Recent retiree George Hall, convinced that his eczema is cancer, goes into a tailspin. George, 61, is channelling a host of other worries into the discoloration on his hip (the "spot of bother"): daughter Katie, who has a toddler, Jacob, from her disastrous first-marriage to the horrid Graham, is about to marry the equally unlikable Ray; inattentive wife Jean is having an affair; and son Jamie doesn't think George is OK with Jamie's being gay. Haddon gets into their heads wonderfully, from Jean's waffling about her affair to Katie's being overwhelmed (by Jacob, and by her impending marriage) and Jamie's takes on men (and boyfriend Tony in particular, who wants to come to the wedding). Mild-mannered George, meanwhile, despairing over his health, sinks into a depression. It's an odd plot—something like the movie 'Father of the Bride' crossed with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" (as skin rash)—but it zips along, and Haddon pulls it all together with sparkling asides and a genuine sympathy for his poor Halls. No bother at all, this comic follow-up to Haddon's blockbuster (and nicely selling book of poems) is great fun."