A Spot of Bother
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 1/28/2017
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 1/28/2017 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I found this good-condition softcover at a local Goodwill thrift shop, and nabbed it for another release copy.
I simply loved Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and while I did't expect him to be able to pull off such a coup again, I was still eager to try his next book. Turns out that A Spot of Bother IS quite different from Curious Incident in almost every way -- style, content, tone, person -- and that's probably just as well, since it made it easier for me to appreciate the book for itself without undue comparisons to the previous one. [At least one of the characters in Bother is suffering from mental problems, so there does seem to be a bit of a theme there; in this case the problems are much more common and could affect anyone, so that makes it more immediate.] I found it a marvelous read in its own right, with some great family-dynamic scenes, and with plot twists ranging in tone from pathos to slapstick.
It started off a bit slowly with the introduction of the entire family's worth of main characters, all of whom are having assorted personal and romantic tribulations in the days leading up to the second marriage of the daughter. It has a similar mix of humor, quirkiness, and occasional bits of darkness and/or stark terror as in Haddon's first book, but has a very different feel; as I said, it took a while to get going, but once I figured out who was who I got involved in their lives and read on with much enjoyment.
Perhaps my favorite sets of relationships included those between Jamie (the main couple's son, a gay man whose relationship has been a bit of a challenge to his well-meaning but sometimes clueless family) and his sister Katie, who's the most supportive; at times the two of them ally against (or on behalf of) their parents in a way that's "essence of sibling". Both Jamie and Katie are having problems with their own love-lives as the story progresses -- in fact, all the relationships (siblings, parent/child, friends/lovers/exes) are presented in a believably imperfect, yet affectionate, manner that I found very entertaining.
[FWIW, there's an excellent unabridged-audio version of this available, read by the talented Simon Vance. And I see that there was a 2009 French film adaptation!]
I simply loved Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and while I did't expect him to be able to pull off such a coup again, I was still eager to try his next book. Turns out that A Spot of Bother IS quite different from Curious Incident in almost every way -- style, content, tone, person -- and that's probably just as well, since it made it easier for me to appreciate the book for itself without undue comparisons to the previous one. [At least one of the characters in Bother is suffering from mental problems, so there does seem to be a bit of a theme there; in this case the problems are much more common and could affect anyone, so that makes it more immediate.] I found it a marvelous read in its own right, with some great family-dynamic scenes, and with plot twists ranging in tone from pathos to slapstick.
It started off a bit slowly with the introduction of the entire family's worth of main characters, all of whom are having assorted personal and romantic tribulations in the days leading up to the second marriage of the daughter. It has a similar mix of humor, quirkiness, and occasional bits of darkness and/or stark terror as in Haddon's first book, but has a very different feel; as I said, it took a while to get going, but once I figured out who was who I got involved in their lives and read on with much enjoyment.
Perhaps my favorite sets of relationships included those between Jamie (the main couple's son, a gay man whose relationship has been a bit of a challenge to his well-meaning but sometimes clueless family) and his sister Katie, who's the most supportive; at times the two of them ally against (or on behalf of) their parents in a way that's "essence of sibling". Both Jamie and Katie are having problems with their own love-lives as the story progresses -- in fact, all the relationships (siblings, parent/child, friends/lovers/exes) are presented in a believably imperfect, yet affectionate, manner that I found very entertaining.
[FWIW, there's an excellent unabridged-audio version of this available, read by the talented Simon Vance. And I see that there was a 2009 French film adaptation!]
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Little Free Library, Grappone Hyundai in Bow, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, January 28, 2017
GoryDetails at Little Free Library, Grappone Hyundai in Bow, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, January 28, 2017
Released 7 yrs ago (1/28/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library, Grappone Hyundai in Bow, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in the Little Free Library in the service area at around 2; hope the finder enjoys it! [I was tickled to find that all four of the Grappone dealerships have placed LFLs in their waiting rooms - very cool!][See other recent releases in New Hampshire here.]
*** Released as part of the 2017 Movie release challenge. ***
