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Books : A Spot of BotherIn association with Amazon.comby: Mark Haddon List Price: $39.95 Amazon.com's Price: $30.36 You Save: $9.59 (24%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: Audio CDDewey Decimal Number: 823.914 EAN: 9780739342640 Format: Audiobook, Unabridged ISBN: 0739342649 Label: Random House Audio Manufacturer: Random House Audio Number Of Items: 10 Publication Date: September 05, 2006 Publisher: Random House Audio Release Date: September 05, 2006 Studio: Random House Audio Sales Rank: 930114 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: George Hall is an unobtrusive man. A little distant, perhaps, a little cautious, not quite at ease with the emotional demands of fatherhood or of manly bonhomie. “The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely.” Some things in life can’t be ignored, however: his tempestuous daughter Katie’s deeply inappropriate boyfriend Ray, for instance, or the sudden appearance of a red circular rash on his hip. At 57, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden and enjoying the freedom to be alone when he wants. But then he runs into a spot of bother. That red circular rash on his hip: George convinces himself it’s skin cancer. And the deeply inappropriate Ray? Katie announces he will become her second husband. The planning for these frowned-upon nuptials proves a great inconvenience to George’s wife, Jean, who is carrying on a late-life affair with her husband’s ex-colleague. The Halls do not approve of Ray, for vague reasons summed up by their son Jamie’s observation that Ray has “strangler’s hands.” Jamie himself has his own problems — his tidy and pleasant life comes apart when he fails to invite his lover, Tony, to Katie’s wedding. And Katie, a woman whose ferocious temper once led to the maiming of a carjacker, can’t decide if she loves Ray, or loves the wonderful way he has with her son Jacob. Unnoticed in the uproar, George quietly begins to go mad. The way these damaged people fall apart — and come together — as a family is the true subject of Haddon’s hilarious and disturbing portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely. A Spot of Bother is Mark Haddon’s unforgettable follow-up to the internationally beloved bestseller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Once again, Haddon proves a master of a story at once hilarious, poignant, dark, and profoundly human. Here the madness — literally — of family life proves rich comic fodder for Haddon’s crackling prose and bittersweet insights into misdirected love. From the Hardcover edition. Average Rating:
![]() Rating: - Strangely Comforting......This guy knows how to tell a story. Endearing and frightening at the same time. He will make you squirm uncomfortably. The mesmerizing high points are worth the effort. His female characters are believable even though they are not created with the passion or the compassion as the male. Overall, the character development was still outstanding. The story moves brilliantly. It cohesiveness and irony make a warm and fantastically ordinary story memorable. I loved his previous work (The Curious ... Read More Rating: - A great story about unfortunate facts of getting olderI got this book after I thoroughly enjoyed "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." At first I was disappointed because it was very different, almost like it was written by a different author. But then I was impressed with Haddon's versatility. Though a different feel, this was equally as good a book about real people in the real world and the real unpleasantnesses that come along with it. This one features an aging man whose life just starts to mean nothing, and worsens every day. Who ... Read More Rating: - A spot is bothering them...The painful anatomy of a family, with a funny side to it. And for those who, like me, have already read and appreciated `The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time', this is a very different book by the same author. George, the father, has retired and seems content with his pressure-free life. His wife Jean is mightily distracted by some private matters and the organization of the wedding reception for their daughter Katie, who is getting married for the second time. Her parents ... Read More Rating: - Dull, Dull, DullI couldn't get even halfway thru this book. The characters had barely any life to them and I didn't care, or care to read, about any of them. I haven't read "The Curious Incident..." also by this author, but I don't think I want to after attemping this boring book. Rating: - This is my favorite book!I love Mark Haddon!To start off the storyline did not attract me at all,but i loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,(Brilliant book)and figured I'll give it shot,and i was so happy i did!At first i only liked Jamie but the more and more i read i started to fall for the rest of the Hall Family were i get concered and want them to pull thro their problems,it was funny,and it gave me the ending i wanted(AND MORE!^,,^)without being cheesy,Mark Haddon has a gift for writting and at times make me put the book down ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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