Book: A spot of bother
Jul. 2nd, 2010 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livAuthor: Mark Haddon
Details: (c) Mark Haddon 2006; Pub Vintage 2007; ISBN 978-0-099-50692-8
Verdict: A spot of bother is readable but fairly generic.
Reasons for reading it: Well, it's by the same author as The curious incident of the dog in the night-time, which is definitely a selling point. And I do seem to be on a reading kick at the moment, I've read two and a half books in just a few days, and this one in more or less one gulp.
How it came into my hands: Library.
A spot of bother is fun, and the characterization was strong enough to keep me reading, but it's not remotely in the same league as tCIotDitN. Plot-wise it's a paint by numbers rom-com, almost falling into the chick-lit category. The plot centrers around Katie's plans for her second wedding, with side-plots about her family disapproving of her fiancé, her mother having an affair, and her gay brother growing up and discovering romantic commitment. The ending is not so much predictable as pre-written by the genre conventions: everybody ends up happily coupled with the appropriate mate. (Kind of nice that this includes the gay characters, but that's hardly ground-breaking these days.)
Even though the characters are slightly generic types, they are vividly drawn, and I cared about them. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the heroine's dad, George, the middle-aged, rather boring but loyal cuckolded husband, who usually doesn't get much of a voice at all in this kind of book. And his struggles with hypochondria and anxiety are portrayed in a way that seems believable and sympathetic, despite being over the top.
The other trouble with this book is that Haddon is a lot less funny than he thinks he is. Well, I've heard him speak and he's quite witty as an orator, but I found this book a little irritating in the way that you could almost hear the canned laughter. A lot of the situations are set up as being absurd, bordering on farcical, but just don't manage to be funny. Maybe if you saw them on screen and the slapstick element could be conveyed visually they would work better. But the well-drawn characters made humour based on putting them in absurd and humiliating situations work less well.
Basically, if you liked tCIotDitN, this will disappoint you. And if you like humourous, slightly blokish chick-lit, David Baddiel, Tony Parsons and a whole bunch of women do it better than Haddon.
Details: (c) Mark Haddon 2006; Pub Vintage 2007; ISBN 978-0-099-50692-8
Verdict: A spot of bother is readable but fairly generic.
Reasons for reading it: Well, it's by the same author as The curious incident of the dog in the night-time, which is definitely a selling point. And I do seem to be on a reading kick at the moment, I've read two and a half books in just a few days, and this one in more or less one gulp.
How it came into my hands: Library.
A spot of bother is fun, and the characterization was strong enough to keep me reading, but it's not remotely in the same league as tCIotDitN. Plot-wise it's a paint by numbers rom-com, almost falling into the chick-lit category. The plot centrers around Katie's plans for her second wedding, with side-plots about her family disapproving of her fiancé, her mother having an affair, and her gay brother growing up and discovering romantic commitment. The ending is not so much predictable as pre-written by the genre conventions: everybody ends up happily coupled with the appropriate mate. (Kind of nice that this includes the gay characters, but that's hardly ground-breaking these days.)
Even though the characters are slightly generic types, they are vividly drawn, and I cared about them. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the heroine's dad, George, the middle-aged, rather boring but loyal cuckolded husband, who usually doesn't get much of a voice at all in this kind of book. And his struggles with hypochondria and anxiety are portrayed in a way that seems believable and sympathetic, despite being over the top.
The other trouble with this book is that Haddon is a lot less funny than he thinks he is. Well, I've heard him speak and he's quite witty as an orator, but I found this book a little irritating in the way that you could almost hear the canned laughter. A lot of the situations are set up as being absurd, bordering on farcical, but just don't manage to be funny. Maybe if you saw them on screen and the slapstick element could be conveyed visually they would work better. But the well-drawn characters made humour based on putting them in absurd and humiliating situations work less well.
Basically, if you liked tCIotDitN, this will disappoint you. And if you like humourous, slightly blokish chick-lit, David Baddiel, Tony Parsons and a whole bunch of women do it better than Haddon.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-02 12:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-02 04:51 pm (UTC)