Amazon.co.uk: A Spot of Bother: Mark Haddon: Books

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Product Description

Evening Standard: Rev'd Catherine Shoard
`It's a resolutely unpretentious read: drily, almost flatly funny,
but with a deep, sharp humanity...'
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

The Independent
One of the '50 best holiday reads' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

122 Reviews

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(17)

Average Customer Review

(122 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

A riotously funny look into the lives of ordinary people, 16 Nov 2007

By	Gordon Eldridge (Southport, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Spot of Bother (Paperback)

This book has been criticized by some reviewers because its characters are too ordinary. This is the very quality that makes the book such a delight for me. The book exposes a family dealing with aging and retirement, a homosexual son, marriage and relationship difficulties and the opinions of the world around them. The dilemmas faced by these ordinary characters are familiar to us all, but Haddon's humorous and insightful treatment of them can be quite thought-provoking.

The book is riotously funny. Haddon's metaphors and similes alone will have you in stitches and dying to try them out yourself to show what a witty conversationalist you are. Let me give you an example:

"George could do the bluff repartee about cars and sport if pressed. But it was like being a sheep in the nativity play".

A thoroughly enjoyable read. You will finish it in a few nights.

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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

The Curiously Good Second Novel, 11 Sep 2007

By	Waterbaby - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Spot of Bother (Paperback)

Mark Haddon, damn him, has written a second novel which is better than the first. It isn't LIKE the first one, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, so ignore the reviewers below who seem to think that like a brand name, an author's name should guarantee an identical experience every time. This time Haddon approaches a superficially ordinary family, perhaps like yours or mine, and goes into the little crises and difficulties which make family life so hard to bear. Dad may be an alcoholic, may be a hypochondriac, may be going mad.... you make your own decision as you read his narrative of the family going through weddings, arrivals and departures, illnesses and just day to day coping. But the style is distinctively, freshly, hilariously Haddon and very recognisable as the work of the same hand.

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

A riotously funny look into the lives of ordinary people, 1 Feb 2008

By	Gordon Eldridge (Southport, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Spot of Bother (Paperback)

This book has been criticized by some reviewers because its characters are too ordinary. This is the very quality that makes the book such a delight for me. The book exposes a family dealing with aging and retirement, a homosexual son, marriage and relationship difficulties and the opinions of the world around them. The dilemmas faced by these ordinary characters are familiar to us all, but Haddon's humorous and insightful treatment of them can be quite thought-provoking.

The book is riotously funny. Haddon's metaphors and similes alone will have you in stitches and dying to try them out yourself to show what a witty conversationalist you are. Let me give you an example:

"George could do the bluff repartee about cars and sport if pressed. But it was like being a sheep in the nativity play".

A thoroughly enjoyable read. You will finish it in a few nights.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

A fun read, but lacking real emotion
When starting to read this book I thought that I was in for a real treat - an every day story told with charm, wit and clever insights into modern life. Read more

Published 8 days ago by B. M. Bush

You could develop psychological problems reading this book!
I had never read any of Mark Haddon's books before so I did not know what to expect. I took this on holiday to read for fun and ended up feeling as though I was having a nervous... Read more

Published 12 days ago by Mr. K. R. Smith

A heart warming and hilarious novel
George has just entered retirement and likes to spend his time building his studio at the bottom of his garden. He lives with his wife Jean who works part time in a bookshop. Read more

Published 14 days ago by KM

Spot on!
After enjoying 'Curious Incident' so much, I was actually a little apprehensive when it came to reading Haddon's next novel aimed at adults. Read more

Published 15 days ago by Lukens

More than a spot of boredom
I usually manage to finish novels, but had to give up on this one half way through. I was finding it boring after the first few pages but persevered because the central incident... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Malcolm

A sorry waste of time
Having enjoyed 'Dog' I was expecting more from this book but I'm very disappointed! Frankly it's utter rubbish. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Chris Chamberlain

A lazy Summer Sunday Afternoon.
I have read The curious Incident of The Dog in the Night and it was a total delight. When I read the synopsis of A Spot of Bother I knew this was going to be a very different... Read more