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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
If the reader were to give a voice to Haddon's protagonist, it would sound just like Keating's. George is an introverted, mild-mannered 61-year-old newly retired Brit who wants to ignore the emotional undertow of his conventional, middle-class family. Without trying to act out the characters, Keating clearly delineates each: George's wife (who is having an affair), his daughter (who is about to embark on another disastrous marriage), her fiancé (whose cockney accent highlights class antagonisms) and his son (who fears bringing his male lover to the wedding). To avoid the family fracas, George focuses on his eczema-the "spot of bother" of the title-convinced that it is cancer and that he will die soon. Keating tries to establish a lighthearted tone, but Haddon's descriptions of the characters' misery, especially George's rapid descent into madness, are too graphic to be comical. Tone aside, Haddon writes well and Keating reads well, so many listeners will enjoy this contemporary British family portrait in which everyone will live relatively happily ever after-if only they can learn to communicate with one another. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover (Reviews, July 17).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Praise for THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
“Moving . . . Think of The Sound and the Fury crossed with The Catcher in the Rye and one of Oliver Sacks’s real-life stories.” —Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
“Both clever and observant, and the effect is vastly affecting.” —Washington Post Book World
“This original and affecting novel is a triumph of empathy.” —The New Yorker
“Gloriously eccentric and wonderfully intelligent.” —Boston Globe
“Disorienting and reorienting the reader to devastating effect . . . as suspenseful and harrowing as anything in Conan Doyle.” —Jay McInerney, New York Times Book Review
“Funny, sad and totally convincing.” —Time
“More so than precursors like The Sound and the Fury and Flowers for Algernon, The Curious Incident is a radical experiment in empathy. ” —Village Voice
“One of the strangest and most convincing characters in recent fiction.” —Slate
From the Hardcover edition.
“Moving . . . Think of The Sound and the Fury crossed with The Catcher in the Rye and one of Oliver Sacks’s real-life stories.” —Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
“Both clever and observant, and the effect is vastly affecting.” —Washington Post Book World
“This original and affecting novel is a triumph of empathy.” —The New Yorker
“Gloriously eccentric and wonderfully intelligent.” —Boston Globe
“Disorienting and reorienting the reader to devastating effect . . . as suspenseful and harrowing as anything in Conan Doyle.” —Jay McInerney, New York Times Book Review
“Funny, sad and totally convincing.” —Time
“More so than precursors like The Sound and the Fury and Flowers for Algernon, The Curious Incident is a radical experiment in empathy. ” —Village Voice
“One of the strangest and most convincing characters in recent fiction.” —Slate
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
funny andd thought-provoking,
By Alixe (Montreal, Qc) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Spot of Bother: A Novel (Paperback)
A Spot of Bother: A Novel I enjoyed this novel and was quite taken by the various emotions it stirred up in me. Indeed, it seemed to me as an accurate depiction of someone going not quite insane. It also accurately depicted how complicated relationships can be. I realize that many, many novels address this issue, but "a spot of bother" tackles it brilliantly. Often funny yet somewhat sad, this is definitely a thought-provoking story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Bookish Thoughts...,
By
This review is from: A Spot of Bother: A Novel (Paperback)
In "A Spot of Bother," the follow-up to Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nighttime," protagonist George Hall becomes convinced that his eczema is actually cancer. He launches into a psychological tailspin while trying to channel a host of other problems: his daughter, Katie, is raising a toddler and is engaged to the unlikable Ray, his wife, Jean, is having an affair with George's co-worker and his son, Jamie, has been dumped by his boyfriend. Haddon does an amazing job of getting into the head of each character, intimately describing Jean's waffling over her affair, Katie's overwhelmed state as a single mother and George's depression. The book is hilariously odd but also touching and it leaves the reader with a genuine sympathy for poor George.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Spot of Brilliance,
By SoMisguided.com "somisguided" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Spot of Bother: A Novel (Hardcover)
Definitely as funny as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.The shared madness of these characters is over Katie and Ray's wedding. There's a great quote in the book that weddings are not about the people getting married. They're just the two little figures at the top of the cake. Weddings are about families. This is one crazy, messed up family. Haddon writes this fictional family's madness so well that I'm curious to meet his family.
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