A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

I read Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time several years ago and really enjoyed it, so I really have no grounds for why it took me so long to come back and read his next novel, A Spot of Bother. He has such a nice voice for for his characters - they are comedic and human and frail all at the same time. They are people you think you could know.

In A Spot of Bother, George Hall is nicely settled in to his retirement. He's working around the house, nice and quiet, when one day he finds a nasty looking spot on his hip, his daughter Katie decides to marry the wholly inappropriate Ray, and all hell breaks loose. George is convinced he has cancer and is dying, Katie starts to doubt her relationship with Ray, son Jamie, the responsible one, ends up ruining his relationship, and everyone slowly starts to fall apart all while the mother of the family tries to plan the perfect wedding in the garden. It's a comedy of errors, with George trying to hide from the inevitable in bushes and hotel rooms, Katie trying to mend or not mend her relationship with Ray, and Jamie try to decide who he is after all of these years.

I really don't know how to do the book justice. It's funny and sad, truthful and joyous in all of those ways that families can be but in an entirely British sort of way. It's Teas and Tescos. It's like you see your own crazy family in the Halls every step of the way as they fall apart and find themselves joined as a tight family unit somehow in the end in a way you hoped for but didn't really expect. Sort of like you do when the life you planned isn't how you ended up, but you are all the more complete because of it.

You should try one of Mark Haddon's books and see how you like it. He's refreshing, a voice of craziness and sanity all in one shiny package, and an author who is able to show you the not so nice sides of humanity without removing the humanity, if you follow. I need to add his next books to my wish list. I don't think I will wait as long to read them this time.

 Rating: 4 Purrs for a delightful, easy read that made me think a lot about how to cope with realities without trying to make the rest of my days by hiding in bushes. Here's to crazy families!